Life's Happy Accidents: First Restoration of a Scotty

[shanked]

I'm going to be honest with you guys (and gals)... I relapsed.

 

It all happened a few months back, on a night like any other. I was sitting at work, browsing the Bay, and that's when it happened: An impulse purchase. I didn't need to, but I can't help it, I'm a ho. It was so beautiful, so beat up, and just wanted a good home. I had always wanted a Scotty, and with the harsh NY winter in full swing, it was the perfect time for a project. Four days later it was on my doorstep, and that's when the fun began.

 

I've tried to detail my step-by-step process of restoring my Pro Platinum Laguna as simply as possible. If anyone is looking to do a resto and has a laundry list of questions, as I did, I will do my best to answer them in this post, with photos no less.

 

Big thanks to Jeremy (jrich61820) for the help with the Plum Brown and Brett (crpcaver) for help with stripping the Pro Plat. I encourage anyone who is planning on doing a restoration to search the forums for their posts, because they know what to do.

 

Without further ado:

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the putter was pretty rough to start with. I did quite a bit of forum browsing to figure out the best plan. After some searching, I decided on doing jrich's 3x PB Finish, with the hopes of matching it to the head cover (Club Cameron 10th Anniversary) and grip (BestGrips) I had also picked up.

 

 

 

The main supplies needed were:

• Sand Paper (240, 400, 800, 1000 grits) and 0000 Steel Wool
  
• Caswell MetalX B9 Nickel Stripper (to remove the pro plat finish)
  
• Birchwood Casey Plum Brown Barrel Finish
  
• Heat Gun and/or Propane Torch
  
• Grip Tape, Solvent, Epoxy
  
• Testor's Enamel
  
• PVC Brushes
  

 

 

Since this was my first time, I was not sure of what to do. I hit the hosel with the heat gun for about 5 minutes and removed the head, using a piece of sandpaper taped to a drill bit to remove the residual epoxy on the inside. I then soaked it in acetone to remove the paint fill and prep for stripping. I did some sanding before putting the head in the nickel stripper. Although it looked nice, once the nickel was stripped, it looked the same as it did in the before photos. The best time to sand is in between the nickel stripping and the bead blasting.

 

 

 

I ran my first batch of the MetalX outside on my grill's side burner. However, aside from the back of the putter, it still looked the same after bath. I only made a half batch at first, but ended up adding the rest of the powder and running a second batch. The Caswell's MetalX is nontoxic, so I ran the second inside on the stove, with good ventilation, of course. It still looked the somewhat the same, so I moved on, hoping it would come out after bead blasting.

 

The Caswell's requires a temperature between 120* and 150*, as well as agitation. I used a probe thermometer to monitor the heat and occasionally stirred the solution. I've seen a few posts saying to use an aquarium air pump to give constant agitation. For about $10, I will definitely try it next time. Also, I suspended the head rather than let it sit on the bottom to make sure nothing remained. Not sure if this is required though or if flipping it over halfway will suffice. The head will come out of the solution black, so just run it under warm water with dish soap to clean up.

 

After the nickel was removed, it was time for sanding. I started out with 240 grit, which I tried to run it in one direction, since it will leave scratches. As I got closer to the look I wanted, I moved on to the next grit to smooth out the bumps and remove the scratches. It was not perfect when I sent it out for blasting, but there were too many deep scratches at the start to worry about everything being perfect, as I did not want to shave off too much weight.

 

 

 

Although it was not perfect beforehand, everything seemed to correct itself in the bead blast. I know next to nothing about media blasting, but I recall my buddy saying he shot 80 grit beads at about 80-90 PSI., if that's a thing. Next step was the Plum Brown finish. I will add that I only smoothed with steel wool, so it was still a bit rough from the bead blast. If you choose to polish it with a high grit, the PB finish will not be as dark.

 

 

 

Rather than give detailed instructions, I encourage everyone to visit jrich's post on the finish, as he's the master. The photo's don't show up, so please refer to the above. As you can see in the top right photo, the finish was uneven at first. I ended up applying more heat and solution to the spot in question and smoothing it out with steel wool, which did the trick. Also, read the instructions on Birchwood's site, as this stuff is pretty nasty if you breath the fumes. Make sure to do it in a well ventilated area with a mask. It is important to work quickly, as once the club head cools, application will not be effective. Try your best to be as even as possible. Also, I used PVC applicators, as they're basically cotton balls with a 3 inch handle, making application easy.

 

Link to jrich's instructions: http://www.golfwrx.c...y-3x-pb-finish/

 

This is where things got wacky: I was very happy with the third coating of the Plum Brown, which meant it was time for an oil quench. I didn't bother to look up any info about this step, as it seemed pretty straight forward. However, I never bothered to think about the difference between using new oil vs used. Turns out, that dipping the hot club in used oil for an hour or so will actually turn your plum brown finish into a dark oil can finish.

 

 

 

tl;dr

 

 

 

This is definitely not an easy refinish, as there are a lot of steps and some pretty nasty chemicals involved. However, with patience, access to tools, and common sense, it is very manageable, even if you have no experience. Although it was not what I originally planned for, I liked the end result too much to start over. I was hoping for a nice brown to match the head cover and grip, but will save those for the next project since, as a ho, it was much easier to purchase another grip (black and red Superstroke) and head cover (TBD).

 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and I will answer them the best I can. I had a lot of fun working on this and am psyched to hit the course with it.

 

-Dave

 

"I'm a [ho], but I can change... If I have to... I guess"

[dronell19]

Both Jeremy and Brett do some really nice work and sure know their stuff. You have done pretty well yourself great work!

[percymon]

Great result, perhaps not what you were aiming for initially, but a very nice end finish - enjoy.

[smeech8000]

Great result and an even better pictorial walkthrough. Thanks for taking the time to post!

[mttmilner]

I agree with the above. It looks great.

[Crpcaver]

Shanked: very nice job. It was a pleasure to share whatever knowledge with you. Using Jeremy's process, it is very easy to do. You can also very the amount of heat and new or used oil, to get different finish colors. Used oil gets an oil can finish. New oiL gives a chocolate color. Mixing some 2 stroke oil in gives it a blueish tint. Don't be afraid to experiment, that produces unexpected results that may be the perfect finishes.