Black Nickel finish can be removed ... Kinda?

[zmcclish]

Ok, I had had some rust I wanted to get off my 2009 Vokey Spin Milled Black Nickel 52* wedge. Usually, I use a rag and soak it in vinegar and wrap it around the club head let it sit over night and the rust comes right off no problem.

 

Well this time I didn't have a shop towel available so I just used a paper towel thinking no this will be no problem. Well to my surprise the next morning I remove the paper towel to find portions of the black nickel finish was removed. I am not happy about this. I do not mind the raw look but I hate this blotchy look. I have tried this process 4 times now thinking I could remove all the finish this way but with no luck.

 

It was my understanding that short of an electrolysis process a plated finish could not be removed. What did I miss and how can I fix it?

[zmcclish]

Any help?

....Sorry to be a pest!

[goldenEAGLE]

I have a callaway jaws vintage wedge and after one round of use the finish looked awful. I decided to "coke" it which strips all the vintage finish off. Try soaking it in coke for about an hour. That should strip the finish off if I am correct.

On my callaway, I "coked" just the clubhead while leaving the hozzel part the orginal vintage finish.

[jewofgolf]

Coking only works on raw finish. This wedge has a black nickel finish.

If somehow vinegar got some of it off, try leaving the head in a bath of vinegar overnight and see if anything happens.

[Nismottgtr]

I have a black nickel mizuno wedge that I put in coke for a week and it came out looking like your vokey does now. I took my Dremel to it with a detail abrasive brush. Then went over it with 1500 sand paper and it came out great.... then I started a custom grind but that's a whole other story

[nochct1]

You could try using a scotchbrite pad on it. It won't take the finish off, but it might make it look a bit better.

[Pigems]

Good old fashioned sand paper will remove anything with a little elbow grease

[Pigems]

Not sure if it was black nickel finish but I did this just last night. Its not done yet hut it wasn't to hard. Here's the before and after so far.

[Pigems]

Now me wedges match up a little better, it was bugging me that one was so different.

[Pigems]

...

[GWD]

Question is, how did you get those clubheads to come out backwards?

(OK, not funny. I deserve this.... )

[TJCDAS]

Has material actually been removed, is surface is no longer smooth and you can feel a ridge between the light and the dark sections?

Most likely the vinegar has just removed oxidation as the paper towel dried unevenly giving the metal and uneven dose of vinegar.

[Pigems]

If you set them in front of a mirror long enough they will magically change over night to left hand

[Pigems]

The first pics were after only the 100 and 120 gritty papers. This is after the 220 and 400 gritt paper. Next I'll go 600 and 800 and see how it goes. Then maybe 1000 if need be

[GWD]

Your hard work and patience are paying off nicely. The club looks great.

You aren't really going to hit it, are you? That would be a shame.

[Pigems]

Unless the 48* purespin wedge that's in the mail kicks it out its going in

[Pigems]

[quote name='zmcclish' timestamp='1396228137' post='8983363']
Any help?

....Sorry to be a pest!
[/quote]

Did you end up doing anything with you wedge? If so how did it turn out?

[Pigems]

This is after the 600 gritt. I like it as is and I don't think I'll go any further with it. But if you kept going you could eventually get to a chrome like finish

[Pigems]

And the whole process only cost maybe $10.00 worth of sandpaper and a couple hours while your watching TV

[zmcclish]

Update, I have tried to soak the wedge in vinegar overnight and nothing changed.

My engineering dad suggested wrapping it in a paper towel then soaking it since the finish may need something to pull off on too so that is in the process right now. He also agrees that the finish should not have came off and added it was probably a bad plating job and didn't cure correctly.

If this doesn't work, I think my next step is fine sand paper.

Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions.

[Pigems]

Your very welcome, thanks for starting this thread and inspiring me to sand down my own wedge. It was really bugging me that it was so different from the other three. I started the new painfill today on it

Keep us updated on how you make out with your wedge or if you have an questions about the sanding part.

[zmcclish]

Well the vinegar soak did nothing ... the clubhead wrapped in a paper towel then soaked in vinegar did nothing ... to the sandpaper I went. Couldn't be happier! Club looks 100% better after just 15 minutes with 100 grit sandpaper. It certainly could use a few more sandpaper sessions with finer and finer grit sandpaper. Check out the new pics! Thanks y'all!

[Pigems]

Looking good, soon she'll be like a brand new wedge

Then you just need a couple bottles of nail polish for some custom paint fill and Bam! You just customized your own wedges!

[zmcclish]

I was thinking going simple with the wedges and only paint filling the Titleist Script. Going Lime in the 52* Royal Blue in the 56* and lime again in the 60*.

This may sound silly but this is to match my favorite Titleist hat.

[attachment=2154665:$_12.jpg]

[Pigems]

Nice choices, I hope it turns out great my friend. Make sure you post some pics when it's done