Scratch on Crown of Titleist TSi3

[babelmh13]

Just got a new TSi3 and took it out of the plastic and theres a small scratch on the crown, that I'd like to fix myself. It's very hard to capture with a camera but pretty visible at address.

The scratch is not down to the paint, but when I run a fingernail accross the top of it I can feel it if that helps with a remedy.

Wondering what I can do to make this disapper (please dont hit me with "scratches happen just live with it" or the like). I have touch up car clear coat that I though about trying. Id prefer not to do any sanding because even like 5,000 grit sand paper must leave very noticable scratches right?

Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[MPAndreassi]

I definitely wouldn’t use sand paper. You could try a light buffing compound and then wax. I use the stuff below and it works great. 
 

Chemical Guys Wax

[jmt90403]

All honesty, I’m ocd with this kind of stuff... but have always worsened any scuffs or scratches when trying to “fill” or hide them with automotive products. I can never seem to blend the new filler enough and it ends up leaving a larger perimeter of blemish.. Hoping someone has some good insight!! 

[jvincent]

Something like Meguiar's Scratch-X is very good at removing light scratches on club heads.

 

I've used it whenever I pickup a used head that has any blemishes on the top.

[Loose_Ferrule]

Why don't you just return it?

 

 

[Dpavs]

I use a combination of Meguiar's Fine cut and Scratch-X... if you want to be even more finicky about the finish you can add swirl remover to the mix. Make sure you have some microfiber and lint free clothes. In this video he uses T-Cut but same idea. You do need to go through the motions a few times to get the desired result but it does work as long as the scratch is not deep and through the paint. (it will still help on those but it will not eliminate them without applying some touch up paint too)

Edited March 9, 2021 by Dpavs

[Shilgy]

1 hour ago, Simmer7 said:

Why don't you just return it?

 

 

Yep, agree there. If it was straight out of the plastic wrap that way I would return it. Even ask a local store, if you got it online, if they would swap heads and deal with a return to Titleist.

[beluga99]

4 hours ago, jvincent said:

Something like Meguiar's Scratch-X is very good at removing light scratches on club heads.

 

I've used it whenever I pickup a used head that has any blemishes on the top.

This.  Works beautifully.

[babelmh13]

On 3/7/2021 at 1:37 PM, Shilgy said:

Yep, agree there. If it was straight out of the plastic wrap that way I would return it. Even ask a local store, if you got it online, if they would swap heads and deal with a return to Titleist.

Cant return it, as its already a warranty replacement for a TS4, so i dont have a receipt for it unfortunately

Edited March 9, 2021 by babelmh13

[babelmh13]

On 3/7/2021 at 4:46 PM, beluga99 said:

This.  Works beautifully.

I have a bottle of Scratch Doctor Nu Finish.. Same same? Also have Meguiars Mirror Glaze 205 and Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer. Id love to just use the Nu Finish if that works.. I do also have auto touch up clearcoat.

[beluga99]

Not sure on the Nu Finish as I haven't used it but if it's a non abrasive cream I think it should do the job.  From what I know the Meguiars is used for superficial scratches on car paint.  If this is what the Scratch Dr is for, should be good to go. 

[dwboston]

31 minutes ago, babelmh13 said:

I have a bottle of Scratch Doctor Nu Finish.. Same same? Also have Meguiars Mirror Glaze 205 and Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer. Id love to just use the Nu Finish if that works.. I do also have auto touch up clearcoat.

Nu Finish works.  Might have to do a couple of applications of it, but I've used it many times and it works fine as long as the scratch isn't too deep.

Edited March 9, 2021 by dwboston

[Valtiel]

Agreed with the above, and don't be afraid to do multiple passes with a decent amount of elbow grease. As long as the scratch hasn't reached metal you have a decent chance of getting rid of it, it just depends on what tools you have at your disposal. Level 1 is the various scratch/swirl remover compounds you guys have already covered, and that is your first attack. Multiple passes with lots of elbow grease and then see how it looks. If it is still noticeable then the next step is liquid (NOT paste) rubbing and polishing compounds like Turtle Wax (my favorite) which you can get at most home improvement stores. Same process as the scratch removers, multiple passes with elbow grease and evaluate. The rubbing compound can take you further with multiple passes and the liquid stuff has never even come close to going through any finishes for me, so don't be scared to give it a number of passes as the scratch can and will often fade slightly with each pass. I have done 10+ without issue. 

Beyond that it starts to get more specialty. For stubborn/deeper scuff and scratches, I like using special scientific supply sanding sponges made for glass (microscopes specifically). They go from 1,000 to 20,000 grit and I have successfully removed some pretty heinous "demo club" crown wear completely using these to wet sand with the rubbing and polishing compounds. It creates a 99.9% perfect mirror finish when given enough passes and time (@jmt90403 I recommend looking into this method if you're OCD enough, heh).

Edited March 9, 2021 by Valtiel

[llewol007]

Dont think you can sand it down and add your own polish or shine to make it go away. Maybe a scratch remover will help make it disappear but when water gets on it, it will start to show again. What I suggest is to purchase one at a local golf shop and switch out the heads. Tell em when you got home you noticed it when you got home. Yes it is wrong but I had a friend of a friend whos best friends uncle told him to do it. I would never think of doing something like that. 😂 

Edited March 9, 2021 by llewol007

[Loose_Ferrule]

8 hours ago, babelmh13 said:

Cant return it, as its already a warranty replacement for a TS4, so i dont have a receipt for it unfortunately

The club has a serial number and either Titleist or the retailer you got it from will know its a warranty replacement. They do keep records....I don't see the issue with trying to return it

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Simmer7

[babelmh13]

Update, did a couple passes of Nu Finish and I do see slight improvement with the coloring of the scratch mostly, but still fairly noticeable. I think its a fairly deep clearcoat scratch. So like the attached photo,the scratch is noticable at certain angles because of the way light is refracting off of the inside of the scratch where the clearcoat is at an aggressively different angle. I tried applying some clear coat but had to keep wiping it off because i would get a bit outside the scratch and REALLY dont want to introduce sandpaper. I also created some small signs of swirls on the crown. Im not too worried about these because Im sure I can get them out, but the Nu Finish, Meguiars Mirror Glaze 205, and Meguiars Quik Detailer didnt seem to get rid of the swirls. Maybe Im applying wrong? Or maybe I need an actual paste wax?

[babelmh13]

On 3/7/2021 at 1:37 PM, Shilgy said:

 

 

14 hours ago, Simmer7 said:

The club has a serial number and either Titleist or the retailer you got it from will know its a warranty replacement. They do keep records....I don't see the issue with trying to return it

 

So, the reason I dont want to bring it back to the PGA Tour Superstore if for several reasons. I went in with my TS4 which had a small "cave in" on the toe crown from a ball I hit high on the face (not at all on the crown) which pushed the crown back. They talked to Titleist and after a week, told me i could either get a new TS4 if they had any in stock, or a brand new TSi 3. So i tested the TSi3 for like 2 hours and took that home (it had been out for like a week tops). Then a week or so later, i saw adam scott using a TSi4, and actually got someone at Titleist to tell me they were coming out in the spring. So I went back in and told them, and they said if i put the club away and didnt take the plastic off theyd let me come back in and test the TSi4. I had already taken the plastic off and noticed the scratch, but didnt think theyd believe me, plus they were a little annoyed. This was all back in November. Fastforward to last week, i went in and tested the TSI 4for like another 2 hours hoping i would like it more, but wasnt s consistent with it for a minimal enough spin reduction. So ive wasted a lot of their time, and I dont think theyll swap the head at this point especially since its out of the plastic.

Edited March 10, 2021 by babelmh13

[Loose_Ferrule]

Quite frankly I don't think its fair to another retailer for you to purchase a new club head from them and return a defective one.....thats not cool. 

 

If you can't return it to where you bought it then it looks like you own a driver with a scratched crown. It sucks but looks like there has been some good insight from other members on how to help with the scratch.

[LeoLeo99]

12 hours ago, babelmh13 said:

Update, did a couple passes of Nu Finish and I do see slight improvement with the coloring of the scratch mostly, but still fairly noticeable. I think its a fairly deep clearcoat scratch. So like the attached photo,the scratch is noticable at certain angles because of the way light is refracting off of the inside of the scratch where the clearcoat is at an aggressively different angle. I tried applying some clear coat but had to keep wiping it off because i would get a bit outside the scratch and REALLY dont want to introduce sandpaper. I also created some small signs of swirls on the crown. Im not too worried about these because Im sure I can get them out, but the Nu Finish, Meguiars Mirror Glaze 205, and Meguiars Quik Detailer didnt seem to get rid of the swirls. Maybe Im applying wrong? Or maybe I need an actual paste wax?

I thought the 205 is more abrasive than the Scratch remover.  Basically, you need to use an abrasive to remove clear coat to level out the scratch.  The you use products of decreasing abrasiveness to repair the damage from the previous abrasive product.  My 917F fairways seem to scratch easy.  I've had to dig into my box of auto supplies to get out some scratches and polish them up.  

[babelmh13]

1 hour ago, Simmer7 said:

Quite frankly I don't think its fair to another retailer for you to purchase a new club head from them and return a defective one.....thats not cool. 

 

If you can't return it to where you bought it then it looks like you own a driver with a scratched crown. It sucks but looks like there has been some good insight from other members on how to help with the scratch.

I mean it just goes back to Titleist it doesnt hurt their business at all. I dont plan on doing it cuz like I said, out of the plastic it turns into a playability return. And Im not too upset, I got a brand new driver this year for nothing.

[babelmh13]

56 minutes ago, LeoLeo99 said:

I thought the 205 is more abrasive than the Scratch remover.  Basically, you need to use an abrasive to remove clear coat to level out the scratch.  The you use products of decreasing abrasiveness to repair the damage from the previous abrasive product.  My 917F fairways seem to scratch easy.  I've had to dig into my box of auto supplies to get out some scratches and polish them up.  

Correct, 205 is more abrasive than the scratch doctor. I just didnt get the results I was looking for which is why I went ahead and tried the 205 after. But I dont see the swirls coming out with the scratch doctor so far.

[junkfry]

Most of the liquid swirl remover or scratch remover products and a felt-like buffing wheel on a drill will get out most all surface scratches, sky marks and paint imperfections on glossy black or any gloss finish drivers. Matte finish.....forget it.

[toc]

No idea how to fix the issue, but this thread is one or two more particular type of posts away from completely unraveling.

Edited March 10, 2021 by toc

[jas904]

I would give Continental Golf a call and ask them how much it would be to fixit. They refinish club heads and from what I’ve seen in here it looks professional. I also think their prices are pretty reasonable. Dig up the Continental Golf thread and take a look at their work. 

[babelmh13]

Wanted to give an update on this finished product as it came out great, and most threads neglect to do so.

 

The Meguiars Mirror Glaze 205 was what did best the job for me. Applied a small amount right on the scratch and rubbed in with a microfiber towel with light pressure then increasing to pretty strong pressure (by hand) for a few minutes then let dry to a haze for 15 minutes, wiped clean and repeated. I probably did 3-4 cycles for my scratch, and finished it off with the Nu Finish. Very happy with the results.

 

Thanks for the input gents

[mpetruzz]

I have a similar question…my dumbass hit the ground before I made ball contact which kicked up some mud and left a mark of the face of my TSI3. 
 

it’s only a surface scratch but when you hold it just right you can see it and it triggers my OCD haha. 
 

without making it worse anything I can do??

[jvincent]

@mpetruzz for that kind of scratch you're probably going to have to wet sand it with a really fine grit like 1000 or 2000 but that might also take off some of the OEM pattern.

[Dpavs]

6 hours ago, mpetruzz said:

I have a similar question…my dumbass hit the ground before I made ball contact which kicked up some mud and left a mark of the face of my TSI3. 
 

it’s only a surface scratch but when you hold it just right you can see it and it triggers my OCD haha. 
 

without making it worse anything I can do??

 

 

In my experience, other than to stop looking at the face, nope not really. Most everything you can do, will only make it worse or result in something that is even more noticeable.

[rustyneversleeps]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but wondering if anyone else has run into this? My OCD is driving me nuts with the micro scratches on my Tsi3 driver and 3 wood. 
 

I’m about to order some mirror glaze and nu finish but wanted to see if anyone had tried anything different? Thanks!

Edited September 19, 2022 by rustyneversleeps

[daddy0neputt]

On 3/7/2021 at 10:54 AM, jvincent said:

Something like Meguiar's Scratch-X is very good at removing light scratches on club heads.

 

I've used it whenever I pickup a used head that has any blemishes on the top.

+1 works wonders!!