Refinishing a Metal Wood
By Jeff Jackson

The 1950's, 60's and 70's saw the heyday of wooden woods.  "Woods" were considered to be works of art, beautiful pieces of equipment with which to play golf. It took literally hundreds of steps to craft a classic persimmon driver or fairway wood. 

When these woods needed refurbished, it took many hours of intense labor from skilled craftsmen to refinish them back to like new.  The process was time-consuming and expensive.  It simply was not practical for golfers to do work on their own "wooden woods."  Technology entered the golf scene in the late 1970's and the metal wood was born...

Metal woods have replaced wooden clubs in just about every player's bag.  Player and machine tests show they are easier to hit for the average golfer, even for the professional.  They are longer in length and lighter in weight, potentially leading to more distance.  Plus they are more durable than wooden clubs.  They don't swell when subjected to moisture as did persimmon woods.  Their face inserts don't come loose since few metal woods have them.  They have no soleplates to reset after the club has inadvertently hit a rock.  OK, so there isn't as much that can go "wrong" with a metal wood, but take a look in your bag and you will probably find that your metal woods don't look anywhere nearly a good as the day you bought them.  They have probably lost some of their original shine; some of the paint might be missing.  While there may not be any major dents, most likely there are some scratches on the faces and soles due to normal play.  Or what about that shot you sky every now and then?  No doubt there are some telltale scratches on the crown of the club as evidence.  Is an expensive, professionally done repair/refinish job in order?  Not to worry.  The painted surfaces of metal woods are easy to refinish with just some basic tools and a little patience.  In this workshop segment, let's take a closer look at step by step metal wood refinishing.

An initial step related to metal wood refinishing is to determine the type of finish and whether or not it can be duplicated.  A popular finish for metal woods is called a "tumble" finish.  Callaway, among other companies, uses this finish on all of their metal woods.  Unfortunately, to recreate a tumble finish, a specialized machine, a tumbler, must be used.  Additionally, the heads must be removed from the shafts when refinishing a tumble-finished wood.  If you play tumble finished clubs and need them refinished, you have but one of two choices.  You may send them back to the manufacturer or to club repair shop for refinishing that duplicates their original factory look, or you may choose to change their color slightly and do-it-yourself.  Should you have a painted or sandblast (gray) finished metal wood, you will have no problem recreating this finish; and changing from a tumble finish to a painted finish will be no problem either.  Let's explore further...

 
Photo # 1 
The Necessary Materials

What equipment will you need in order to refinish a metal club?  No motorized equipment, with the exception of a drill, is a necessity, although a sanding machine with a flap wheel will make the job easier.  Such a setup may add up to $100.00 or more, which is something to consider due to its time savings if you intend to do a high volume of refinishing.  A drill with a flap sander attachment will do a good job as well, at a cost of less than $8.00 for the flap sander.  Starting out though, you may want to use sandpaper and a file in place of the motorized equipment.  Another attachment you will need for the drill is a Surebrite or Scotchbrite wheel.  Available from hardware stores or component supply companies, the wheel fits into the chuck of the drill and will apply a satin type of finish to specific areas of the club head.  The wheel should cost less than $10.00 and will virtually never wear out.  A medium grit file will be used to remove any large dents from the head; should you not have file in your tool box, a good one will cost between $5.00 and $10.00 and can be purchased locally.  You will also need a utility knife (a less than $5.00 item available virtually anywhere), #240 and #400 grit sandpaper (less than 50 cents per large sheet at hardware or auto parts stores), fine steel wool (#000 grit, approximately $1.00 for a 10" roll at hardware stores), a tack rag (hardware stores; in the $2.50 range), paint stripper (priced depending upon size at hardware stores; expect to pay less than $5.00 per quart for top-quality stripper), masking tape (2" wide is easier to use than thinner tape and can be purchased economically at many locations) and the spray paint for the head itself (from auto parts stores at up to $5.00 per can.  The paint, in small bottles, for the face lines and sole engravings is a quick drying paint such as that used for model building; the paint is inexpensive and available at department stores, among other places.)  Nearly all of the tools last indefinitely; the materials have long shelf lives.  At most, expect to pay $30.00 or so for the initial items for refinishing (shown in photo #1), not including the drill or sander (if one is used), making metal wood refinishing an economical repair to perform on your clubs.  Consider that most clubmakers command in the neighborhood of $30.00 to refinish a single metal wood and the do-it-yourself concept becomes much more attractive, even to a golfer who has never attempted to work on his or her own clubs!

Photo # 2
Old Wood to be Refinished

How do you begin to restore the finish of your metal woods?  Regardless of the make or model of the club, you first have to remove the old finish from the club.  This is very simple.  In our example club, we will change the color of a Dynacraft Vigilante driver from gray (photo #2) to copper.  Using any common household  paint stripper, coat the entire metal surface of the club with the stripper as shown in photo #3.  

Photo # 3
Applying Paint Stripper

A paintbrush makes the job a bit less messy, but a paper towel or rag will work just fine.  You will want to put some masking  tape on the plastic ferrule (The ferrule is the black trim piece that is located at the top of the hosel.) and perhaps on the lower part of the shaft if it is graphite to protect the finish of these areas.  If you are careful, this masking step can be eliminated, but if it's your first time, "Better safe than sorry" as the saying goes!  Anytime during the finishing process that the tape is damaged, be sure to replace it. Allow the stripper to set for a few minutes and then, using steel wool or a coarse rag, wipe the stripper from the club head.  If most of the old finish remains, another application of stripper is in order...it may take several stripper applications to remove nearly all of the old finish.

Now that the old finish is just about totally removed (It's normal for a few small patches of finish to remain.), you now will need to sand the head to remove any existing nicks or scratches.  Here is where a flap wheel will come in handy.  The wheel, attached to either a drill or motor arbor will make short work of any irregularities in the surface of the head.  If you're new to refinishing, you probably don't have a flap sanding wheel; you will have to use a file, sandpaper and "elbow grease."  Take note of any nicks or dings on the club head.  Use the file to smooth these as much as possible; don't try to totally remove any deep nicks, doing so may actually file through the club head.  Keep in mind that most parts of the club head are no more than 1/16" thick, so caution is a watchword when filing a metal head.  Any ding more than 1/64" deep is probably better left alone.

Use the #240 grit sandpaper on the entire surface of the head to smooth scratches and to eliminate file marks from the previous work.  Follow the #240 sandpaper with the #400 grit paper to further smooth the surface of the head.  In either case, when using sandpaper, sand the entire head, concentrating on areas that may have deeper nicks, such as the sole.  Try as best you can to keep the sanding marks going in the same direction.  Doing so will make future steps, especially finishing the sole, noticeably easier.  As a final sanding step, you may want to use #400 paper and water, wet sanding the head to make it smooth.

The next step is to finish the soleplate.  You will use the Scotchbrite or Surebrite wheel to bring the soleplate back to its original satin finish.  With the wheel in a drill or on a motor, hold the head firmly and run the sole plate from heel to toe on the wheel.  (See photo #5.)  Always move in this heel-toe direction in order that any soleplate sanding scratches are removed evenly.  Do not worry if you accidentally touch any other part of the head with the wheel.  The paint will cover these "mistakes."  The wheel will apply a stain finish to the sole; this step is complete when the sole has no remaining sanding marks and the satin effect from the wheel is even.  

Photo # 5
Using a Scotchbrite Wheel

Some heads have a satin area on the hosel also.  This is finished in the same manner as the sole, except that the ferrule will definitely have to be masked with tape so it is not damaged and the had will have to be "spun" against the wheel to achieve a even finish.  One great feature for those who have never used a Scotchbrite wheel before - if you don't get the job correct the first time, just go back and do it again until it looks perfect!

 
Photo # 6
Masking off Soleplate

Now you must mask off the sole plate, as shown in photo #6, and any hosel area that you may have used the wheel to finish.  Using regular masking tape, cover the entire sole, leaving some tape overlapping the edges.  With sharp utility knife, trace the outline of the soleplate on the tape.  Remove the excess tape from around the soleplate.  Care is required since any unmasked area will be painted.  Be extra careful in the masking step; it will be time well spent!  Double check that the ferrule and possibly the shaft near the head (if you new to refinishing) are covered by masking tape. The head is now ready for spray painting.  You will need a primer coat, a color coat for the head color you are painting and a clear gloss coat; all are available at an auto supply store.

Photo # 7
Spraying Color Coat

The first coat of paint will be a primer coat.  Use a tack rag, wiping it over the entire head to remove any dust; be sure to tack rag between all finish coats.  Read and follow the application instructions found on the paint can.  In a well ventilated area, spray a light coat of primer over the head.  One light coat is all that is necessary; heavy coats of primer or paint will tend to chip later as the club is played.  After the primer dries per the paint can instructions (You can place the club under a light bulb to accelerate the curing if desired), tack rag the head and then lightly spray a coat of the color onto the head.  Do not worry at this time if not quite all of the head is covered evenly; you can always go back after this coat dries and apply another light coat for uniform color application.  (Spray painting is shown in photos # 7 & # 8.)

   
Photo # 8
Spraying the Clear Gloss Coat

Once the color coat(s) have dried, lightly steel wool the painted areas of the head. Remove the masking from the sole.   Tack rag the head.  Spray a light coat of clear gloss on the entire head.  Repeat for uniform coverage if necessary.  Now remove the masking tape from the ferrule and shaft.  The final step in metal wood refinishing is to paint fill all of the engravings and score lines on the head.  This is seen in photo #9.  Quick dry enamel model paints work well.  Just cover the lines and engravings with the appropriate color and wipe away the excess with a paper towel- thats all there is to it.  You may have to wipe carefully if you are using more than one color to fill lines or engravings; if you wipe one color into another, you will have to use a separate paper towel to absorb the wet paint and then will have to start the process again. If the engravings are intricate, you may want to use a toothpick in order to paint fill them.

 
Photo # 9
Applying Enamel Paint Fill

Photo # 10
The Finished Product