Vokey SM8 Black Finish to Raw

[Perickson]

I stripped a pair of SM8s a couple weeks ago with CLR.  The process was easy and I followed one of the methods found in this forum.  What is interesting about my wedges is that once I stripped the black paint I uncovered cracking on the hosel of both wedges.  Not just a crack, cracking as in multiple on both wedges.  I should have taken some pictures to add to the post before sending into Titleist, but they were pretty clearly cracks.  Enough so that my finger nail would catch on them and a toothpick can be placed in the crack.  I'll let you everyone know what Titleist says about warranty/replacement.  I'll probably have a fit if they claim I voided the warranty because they haven't been used once and it is pretty clear they painted over some cracked wedges and tried to sell them.

 

Am I the first person to uncover this issue?

[TheSphynx]

4 hours ago, Perickson said:

I stripped a pair of SM8s a couple weeks ago with CLR.  The process was easy and I followed one of the methods found in this forum.  What is interesting about my wedges is that once I stripped the black paint I uncovered cracking on the hosel of both wedges.  Not just a crack, cracking as in multiple on both wedges.  I should have taken some pictures to add to the post before sending into Titleist, but they were pretty clearly cracks.  Enough so that my finger nail would catch on them and a toothpick can be placed in the crack.  I'll let you everyone know what Titleist says about warranty/replacement.  I'll probably have a fit if they claim I voided the warranty because they haven't been used once and it is pretty clear they painted over some cracked wedges and tried to sell them.

 

Am I the first person to uncover this issue?

Did you have the lie angles adjusted? Mine were bent 2 up from the factory and when I stripped them, they had little surface cracks around the entire hosel. 
 

Can see them in the first and second pictures I post in the second post in this thread 

[gpeterson63]

On 3/30/2021 at 9:57 AM, AtlantaGolf3 said:

Stupid question, but if you want a rusted wedge why not just buy the raw version to start?

Also, longer order times/availability. I tried ordering a 58D in raw but you can't order on their site anymore.

[Perickson]

13 hours ago, TheSphynx said:

Did you have the lie angles adjusted? Mine were bent 2 up from the factory and when I stripped them, they had little surface cracks around the entire hosel. 
 

Can see them in the first and second pictures I post in the second post in this thread 

Yes I should have mentioned that they were bent 2 degrees flat.  Thanks for the response.

[semarlor]

Is there an easy way to tell if a wedge was originally raw instead of a jet black that had been stripped? I noticed that all of the paintfill on the JB finish is black while the others have white in the bounce number and in the BV logo. Any other clear indicators? 

[bombs]

For those that have stripped Black SM8's...

 

How would you describe the colour? From the photos it appears to be more of a gunmetal grey and darker than the tour chrome finish.

 

How is the glare in direct sunlight? I'm guessing based on the darker colour it would also shine less than tour chrome. 


I've just ordered some black SM8's, and when the finish wears a heap i'll eventually strip them. 

Edited September 24, 2021 by bombs

[sniper]

You nailed it with more of a gunmetal gray. No issues with glare.  I stripped mine about 10 months ago. Very little rust has formed. I like the color but hoped for more of a raw look. 

[Kale_m]

On 9/24/2021 at 3:39 PM, bombs said:

For those that have stripped Black SM8's...

 

How would you describe the colour? From the photos it appears to be more of a gunmetal grey and darker than the tour chrome finish.

 

How is the glare in direct sunlight? I'm guessing based on the darker colour it would also shine less than tour chrome. 


I've just ordered some black SM8's, and when the finish wears a heap i'll eventually strip them. 

Hit them with some steel wool after you use the CLR. It wil make them look way better 

[golfva28]

On 9/26/2021 at 9:34 AM, sniper said:

You nailed it with more of a gunmetal gray. No issues with glare.  I stripped mine about 10 months ago. Very little rust has formed. I like the color but hoped for more of a raw look. 

i’m in the same boat. Mine are a gunmetal color and really rusted much at all. I have two of them and one that was an actual raw wedge. The ones that started black look completely different from the raw wedge. They look really good, just not the same as a raw wedge.

[jaffabell88]

Bumping this for advice... so took my OG milled grind TM wedges and soaked them in white vinegar (5%) for approx 48 hours, after a day or so some of the black wiped off with a cloth but after a quick wash they went a really coppery rust colour.. but I could tell some of the black finish was still there, if I wiped them again they kind of turned black again...

 

Anyways I have taken them out of the vinegar after 2 days of soaking, I have ordered some 600 and 1200 grit sandpaper. I'm a bit worried about doing this wrong as a newbie to this.. so do I just take the 600 grit and gently sand over the whole head, which I assume would take all the rust off and remaining finish to start looking a raw colour? Then, go over the whole head again with the 1200 to smooth it over?

 

Is there any part of this next bit I need to be careful with? I'm not very DIY orientated...

[DaveGoodrich]

@jaffabell88Don't know for certain those milled grind wedges use the same black finish as the vokeys. If so, you may just need to use a stronger acid (pure vinegar, not diluted, etc.).  Once they have had a good soak, youu can use that sandpaper you ordered. I think I used 600 grit wet-dry paper on my last wedge and it came out fine.  I have also just used the "scrubby" side of a kitchen sponge (essentially similar to a scotch Brite pad). 

[jaffabell88]

1 hour ago, DaveGoodrich said:

@jaffabell88Don't know for certain those milled grind wedges use the same black finish as the vokeys. If so, you may just need to use a stronger acid (pure vinegar, not diluted, etc.).  Once they have had a good soak, youu can use that sandpaper you ordered. I think I used 600 grit wet-dry paper on my last wedge and it came out fine.  I have also just used the "scrubby" side of a kitchen sponge (essentially similar to a scotch Brite pad). 

Legend, I have those kitchen pads so will try that initially before the sandpaper to see what happens. Will report back tomorrow after having a go at it.

[Radeon962]

How is the true Vokey SM8 Raw head different than the Black stripped to Raw?  Are there any different markings or identifying marks, paintfill, etc to distinguish if a head started as Raw or started as Black?

 

Seems like I recall in the past that there were differences between the two.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Radeon962

[DaveGoodrich]

Lots of folks say the black wedges are not the same as the true raw wedges.  I don't know if that is true.  I have stripped several black SM6, SM7, and now an SM8.    The black wedges, stripped raw, come out looking like a quality tool steel.  Think of an old, good quality hammer - but one that has been taken care of, not one that has been left out in the rain and left to its own devices.  They don't rust easily, but mine have developed light rust when I left them untouched for some time in the garage.  I have done some grinding on the stripped black wedges, and don't see any evidence that there is any difference in the corrosion resistance at the surface vs. where I ground a bit deeper.  So I'm not convinced that there is anything that "penetrates the metal."   It would have to penetrate pretty far to go beyond the depth that have ground.  

 

All of that being said, I don't know why anyone would want actual significant rust to develop on their wedges.  The corrosion will really attack the sharp edges of the grooves and the fine milling between the grooves.  This will essentially round the edges and destroy the surface texture much more quickly than normal wear alone.   Any "texture" added by the rust will be less effective than intact face milling, not to mention less uniform. 

[zrheisler22]

Stumbled upon this thread. Started with the Cleveland rtx zip core wedges in black satin. Wasn’t a big fan of the black Satan look after some play so grabbed some muriatic acid and let them soak for several hours. After that used super fine steel wool to clean them up. 
 

 

[jaffabell88]

7 hours ago, zrheisler22 said:

Stumbled upon this thread. Started with the Cleveland rtx zip core wedges in black satin. Wasn’t a big fan of the black Satan look after some play so grabbed some muriatic acid and let them soak for several hours. After that used super fine steel wool to clean them up. 
 

 

That looks brilliant, did it take long with the wool to get it to that point? I have some 600 and 1200 grit sandpaper, going to try tonight

[zrheisler22]

11 hours ago, jaffabell88 said:

That looks brilliant, did it take long with the wool to get it to that point? I have some 600 and 1200 grit sandpaper, going to try tonight

I let it soak in the acid for probably 8 hours total (2, 4 hour chunks). I used 0000 fine steel wool and it came off with a little rubbing, nothing massive. 
 

Warning if you do use Muriatic acid. Wear gloves and eye wear, do it somewhere well ventilated, and read up on how to dispose of it properly.

[Radeon962]

This pair just arrived today from 2nd Swing and were listed as Raw.  Look very nice unfortunately we are in the middle of 12”-18” of snow over the next day so it may be a bit before I get to test them out.

 

How does one tell if they actually started their life as Raw or were Black stripped to Raw other than they were listed as Raw when I bought them?

 

[TheSphynx]

31 minutes ago, Radeon962 said:

This pair just arrived today from 2nd Swing and were listed as Raw.  Look very nice unfortunately we are in the middle of 12”-18” of snow over the next day so it may be a bit before I get to test them out.

 

How does one tell if they actually started their life as Raw or were Black stripped to Raw other than they were listed as Raw when I bought them?

 

 

The paint in the BV and the 8 on the jet black finish is black, my current raw sm8 is white in the BV and the 8 just like yours. I guess there could be a chance someone changed it, but I’d say that would be slim odds as your paintfill matches my raws 

Edited February 2, 2022 by TheSphynx

[jaffabell88]

For anyone interested in my TM Milled Grind experiment - I used the 600 grit and then finished with the 1200 grit sandpaper, I had soaked the heads in white vinegar for approx 48 hrs total. They ended up a shiny gunmetal colour, which looks really good but that was with artificial light at home - i'm interested to see how they will look in normal daylight but they look really good to me so far. I assume if I soaked them again, or used CLR (which is hard to get in the UK) I could probably get it down to a more raw/ chrome look like others have in this thread but to be honest I like what I see at this point.

I really like the look of a raw wedge and didn't fancy forking out extra for a raw SM9 so happy with how this has turned out, really enjoy my Milled Grinds and saved some cash too.

[osubuckeyes691]

Did my SM9 wedges today with white vinegar, 0000 steel wool, 600 grit, and very light 1500 grit 

 

Probably going to touch up a little bit but overall very happy 

 

[tweettweet22]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:54 PM, osubuckeyes691 said:

Did my SM9 wedges today with white vinegar, 0000 steel wool, 600 grit, and very light 1500 grit 

 

Probably going to touch up a little bit but overall very happy 

 

 

Those look awesome - mind sharing how long you let them soak for / how many rounds? Did you tape the ferrules?

[osubuckeyes691]

On 3/21/2022 at 6:39 PM, tweettweet22 said:

 

Those look awesome - mind sharing how long you let them soak for / how many rounds? Did you tape the ferrules?

Sorry meant to respond to this today and forgot 

 

I used the distilled white vinegar method. Let them soak for probably 6 hours. Every 2 or so I took some 0000 steel wool and remove some finish. The first 2 hours honestly didn’t take anything off. Seems they need to soak for 5 or 6 and it basically just falls off 

 

After the final soak I took 600 grit sand paper followed by 1500 grit. If I has to do it again I’d probably find 1000 grid and just use that. 1500 almost smooths it out too much 

 

Super simple process and makes the wedges look awesome! 

[CD17]

5 hours ago, osubuckeyes691 said:

Sorry meant to respond to this today and forgot 

 

I used the distilled white vinegar method. Let them soak for probably 6 hours. Every 2 or so I took some 0000 steel wool and remove some finish. The first 2 hours honestly didn’t take anything off. Seems they need to soak for 5 or 6 and it basically just falls off 

 

After the final soak I took 600 grit sand paper followed by 1500 grit. If I has to do it again I’d probably find 1000 grid and just use that. 1500 almost smooths it out too much 

 

Super simple process and makes the wedges look awesome! 

Wow they look great, I’m thinking of doing mine, is it just white vinegar like you put on your fish & chips ?

[WildGoose8]

On 3/20/2022 at 4:54 AM, osubuckeyes691 said:

Did my SM9 wedges today with white vinegar, 0000 steel wool, 600 grit, and very light 1500 grit 

 

Probably going to touch up a little bit but overall very happy 

 

Awesome! Can you share pictures of the actual face and grooves? Wondering if you get the black finish out of the grooves as well? And if so how, you can't sand them right?

[osubuckeyes691]

5 hours ago, CD17 said:

Wow they look great, I’m thinking of doing mine, is it just white vinegar like you put on your fish & chips ?

Idk what you put on fish and chips hahaha but just any distilled white vinegar you can buy at grocery stores

https://www.google.com/search?q=distilled+white+vinegar&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS970US970&oq=distilled+white+vinegar&aqs=chrome..69i57.2881j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[osubuckeyes691]

45 minutes ago, WildGoose8 said:

Awesome! Can you share pictures of the actual face and grooves? Wondering if you get the black finish out of the grooves as well? And if so how, you can't sand them right?

I'll post some pics later tonight. Grooves don't really have a black finish bc they aren't painted in the first place. You 100% can sand the faces though. When I used wet sandpaper to take the finish off, you hardly have to put any pressure at all and the black wipes right off. No way it will impact the face milling

[WildGoose8]

19 hours ago, osubuckeyes691 said:

I'll post some pics later tonight. Grooves don't really have a black finish bc they aren't painted in the first place. You 100% can sand the faces though. When I used wet sandpaper to take the finish off, you hardly have to put any pressure at all and the black wipes right off. No way it will impact the face milling

Tnx good to hear, thinking about doing mine. If the face gets clean too i'm in 🙂

[PINGRebel]

Freshly stripped SM9’s….another bath for cleanup, but super easy to do.  

[spokora]

3x 15-minute vinegar baths w/ Scotch Brite pad wipe down, and #0000 to finish it off. Super easy, less than an hour.