Simple gripping

[FreeWilly613]

Hey WRX techs.  I'm about to undergo my first grip swap on an old wedge I use in the backyard for messing around.  I got a Tour velvet and just plan to go at it.  I know you fellow wrxers can go from 0-100 real quick but im trying to keep this simple if that's possible.

 

My plan is to use an Air compressor as I've read before.  Im going to wrap masking tape on the cleaned shaft and blow the new grip on and done?  Am I missing something here?

 

Bonus points to the least convoluted answers

Edited June 23, 2021 by FreeWilly613

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Simple step by step guide here, seems like there are a couple of tape options

https://www.quincycompressor.com/regripping-golf-club-air-compressor/

 

Not positive if masking or double sided is preferred using this method, I'm sure someone else will chime in.

 

[mcounci2]

My favorite is the wider blue painter's tape when using air. 

 

Be careful with the air- if you've never done it before or have a lot of pressure, it's pretty easy to to go past the point of plastic deformation and be shopping for another grip.  Once you get the feel down though, you'll never use solvent again

Edited June 22, 2021 by mcounci2

[Ben_Drinking_Cofee]

Please forgive me for answering a legit question by saying that you're asking the wrong question but...

 

Grip tape and solvent is just so easy to use and works great.   It kind of feels like you want to, "keep this simple" but not use the tools that were designed for the job.  I have a compressor and just never use it for the basic stuff.

 

Solvent also allows you to make sure the grip is straight (which can be done with air but chances are it wont be on your first try).

 

Good luck.

[FreeWilly613]

So, I gave it a shot I have a fairly well stocked garage. 

I went with a reverse wrap with the tape(sticky side out)

 

I attempted masking tape but couldn't wrap it tight enough the tape kept sliding down the shaft.

 

So switched to electrical tape which stuck to itself nicely and allowed a nice tight wrap.  

 

Now for the gripping part I got the fist 1/4" of the grip started on the shaft and then attempted to blow in the air and set the grip.  Well as soon as it hit the tape it peeled the tape back.  So I attempted to "wet" the first bit of tape after a rewrite to try slide on easier. As soon as the grip got past the wet spot it stuck again. The grip then bubbled out quite a bit, it doesn't look like it split though.  At this point I remembered reading somewhere about solvant and assumed it's because it will eventually evaporate.  So I sprayed the tape with brake cleaner and hit it with the compressor again and popped right on.  I was able to adjust the grip and "set" the logo right where I wanted it.

 

Seems tight enough at the moment but I'll give it 24 hrs before a full test.  It was one of those quick jobs where I rather try out a few different thing and just make it work with what I had.  I'm pretty happy with the result assuming it stays on lol

 

Any potential downsides of using electrical tape? I assume there is some over priced proper grip tape because it says golf on it.

[Stuart_G]

17 hours ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Simple step by step guide here, seems like there are a couple of tape options

https://www.quincycompressor.com/regripping-golf-club-air-compressor/

 

Not positive if masking or double sided is preferred using this method, I'm sure someone else will chime in.

 

 

Just my opinion but double sided seems to defeat the purpose of blowing the grips on.   If you have sticky side out for the grip you really need solvent - air is not usually enough on it's own to get it on easily.  And if you use solvent, there is no need for air.   And you'd also loose the biggest advantage of air - the ability to easily remove the grip without damaging it.

 

EDIT: in that link. the list of "What you need" lists regular masking tape, not grip tape so pretty sure they are implying the use of single sided tape.

 

7 hours ago, FreeWilly613 said:

I attempted masking tape but couldn't wrap it tight enough the tape kept sliding down the shaft.

 

When using air to blow on grips, the sticky side of the masking tape goes down onto the shaft side - that's what keep the tape in place.   The elasticity of the grip and the natural friction of the rubber is what keeps it in place on the club, not the adhesive on the tape.    Some don't use any tape at all when blowing on the grip.

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by Stuart_G

[webwarmiller]

No, you aren't missing anything.  Using an air compressor is so mind-numbingly simple that I can't imagine ever using solvent again.  The worst part is waiting for the compressor to reach pressure if I just need to change/reposition one grip.  

[dubbelbogey]

With air, regular blue tape, sticky side on the shaft, non-sticky side to the grip. Once you do this once or twice, there is no simpler way. Provided, your air compressor is generally accessible and ready to go. Way faster than the traditional solvent method.

 

Aligning a grip is as simple as continually blowing air as you adjust it.

 

The only thing challenging about using air is  blowing off grips that have been attached with traditional solvent and double sided tape. It can be done, for sure, but there's a few tricks to keep the grip from exploding. If the grip is at all marginal, I just cut them off.

Edited June 23, 2021 by dubbelbogey

[ChristopherMcDonald]

5 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Just my opinion but double sided seems to defeat the purpose of blowing the grips on.   If you have sticky side out for the grip you really need solvent - air is not usually enough on it's own to get it on easily.  And if you use solvent, there is no need for air.   And you'd also loose the biggest advantage of air - the ability to easily remove the grip without damaging it.

 

EDIT: in that link. the list of "What you need" lists regular masking tape, not grip tape so pretty sure they are implying the use of single sided tape.

 

 

When using air to blow on grips, the sticky side of the masking tape goes down onto the shaft side - that's what keep the tape in place.   The elasticity of the grip and the natural friction of the rubber is what keeps it in place on the club, not the adhesive on the tape.    Some don't use any tape at all when blowing on the grip.

 

 

 

He has spoken!

 

Full disclosure I do it the old fashion way with mineral spirits and grip tape. Maybe it's time to look into installing with air

[Bad9]

10 hours ago, FreeWilly613 said:

So, I gave it a shot I have a fairly well stocked garage. 

I went with a reverse wrap with the tape(sticky side out)

 

I attempted masking tape but couldn't wrap it tight enough the tape kept sliding down the shaft.

 

So switched to electrical tape which stuck to itself nicely and allowed a nice tight wrap.  

 

Now for the gripping part I got the fist 1/4" of the grip started on the shaft and then attempted to blow in the air and set the grip.  Well as soon as it hit the tape it peeled the tape back.  So I attempted to "wet" the first bit of tape after a rewrite to try slide on easier. As soon as the grip got past the wet spot it stuck again. The grip then bubbled out quite a bit, it doesn't look like it split though.  At this point I remembered reading somewhere about solvant and assumed it's because it will eventually evaporate.  So I sprayed the tape with brake cleaner and hit it with the compressor again and popped right on.  I was able to adjust the grip and "set" the logo right where I wanted it.

 

Seems tight enough at the moment but I'll give it 24 hrs before a full test.  It was one of those quick jobs where I rather try out a few different thing and just make it work with what I had.  I'm pretty happy with the result assuming it stays on lol

 

Any potential downsides of using electrical tape? I assume there is some over priced proper grip tape because it says golf on it.

 

I'm not totally clear on what you have done but its pretty simple. Put masking tape on shaft(I use blue painters tape), the sticky side on the shafts so it, well, sticks to the shaft, put grip over butt of shaft and line up as best you can, insert air nozzle into grip vent hole and blow it on lining up as best you can(I use 30-40psi on my compressor and could probably use less), once all the way on line it up to final position and release air pressure. That's it, done. No solvent required and grip is ready to play immediately. 

[Bad9]

10 hours ago, FreeWilly613 said:

 

I went with a reverse wrap with the tape(sticky side out)

 

 

Why?

[johnseg]

I use air and no tape. Super easy. I have a really small air compressor and pretty easy. My only question is am I getting the grip "stretched out" enough. Length of the grip is a little inconsistent for me.

[Stuart_G]

1 hour ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

He has spoken!

 

Full disclosure I do it the old fashion way with mineral spirits and grip tape. Maybe it's time to look into installing with air

 

Lots of different opinions - but I use both depending on the situation.

 

Some grips blow on better than others (or rather some don't blow on very well) which also can depend on shaft butt size and how much tape you need to get to your final desired grip size.

 

That's just about how easy/hard it is to get on with air.  The same factors can influence how well some grips will hold onto the shaft (or tape) in the context of more violent swings.  So there are combinations of grips, shafts, and swings that might lead to some slippage when playing.

 

Air is best when you want to play around with different grip sizes or even play around with building test clubs.  It allows one to easily remove the grips, adjust the amount of tape and switch them back and forth between clubs.  Including playing around with different playing lengths for the longer clubs.  e.g. Remove grip, cut down, and reinstall the same grip.

 

With my particular combination of shafts and grips, I don't have any problem with slippage.   So I usually blow the grips on with  my own clubs.

 

When doing a final build for someone else, to avoid any possible risk of slippage, more often than not I'll use double sided tape unless they specifically want them blown on.   The solvent makes it a bit more messy but the difference in the time it takes is not really enough to be a factor for me.

 

51 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

I'm not totally clear on what you have done but its pretty simple. Put masking tape on shaft(I use blue painters tape), the sticky side on the shafts so it, well, sticks to the shaft, put grip over butt of shaft and line up as best you can, insert air nozzle into grip vent hole and blow it on lining up as best you can(I use 30-40psi on my compressor and could probably use less), once all the way on line it up to final position and release air pressure. That's it, done. No solvent required and grip is ready to play immediately. 

 

Looks like a pretty good understanding to me.  However, I find it easier to insert the air nozzle first and start the air flowing as you start to put the lip of the grip onto the butt of the shaft.  Sometimes the lip of the grip can grab and curl under itself without the solvent and the air helps prevent that.   But different grip/shaft combinations have different levels of difficulty for that first step so it may not always be necessary.

[Bad9]

3 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Lots of different opinions - but I use both depending on the situation.

 

Some grips blow on better than others (or rather some don't blow on very well) which also can depend on shaft butt size and how much tape you need to get to your final desired grip size.

 

That's just about how easy/hard it is to get on with air.  The same factors can influence how well some grips will hold onto the shaft (or tape) in the context of more violent swings.  So there are combinations of grips, shafts, and swings that might lead to some slippage when playing.

 

Air is best when you want to play around with different grip sizes or even play around with building test clubs.  It allows one to easily remove the grips, adjust the amount of tape and switch them back and forth between clubs.  Including playing around with different playing lengths for the longer clubs.  e.g. Remove grip, cut down, and reinstall the same grip.

 

With my particular combination of shafts and grips, I don't have any problem with slippage.   So I usually blow the grips on with  my own clubs.

 

When doing a final build for someone else, to avoid any possible risk of slippage, more often than not I'll use double sided tape unless they specifically want them blown on.   The solvent makes it a bit more messy but the difference in the time it takes is not really enough to be a factor for me.

 

 

Looks like a pretty good understanding to me.  However, I find it easier to insert the air nozzle first and start the air flowing as you start to put the lip of the grip onto the butt of the shaft.  Sometimes the lip of the grip can grab and curl under itself without the solvent and the air helps prevent that.   But different grip/shaft combinations have different levels of difficulty for that first step so it may not always be necessary.

 

I have been doing it a long time so have a pretty good feel for it but I read some comments here at times and wonder why people make it more complicated than it is. Back when .580 core grips were common I didn't use tape on .600 but shafts that didn't have much taper on the grip end(FST shafts primarily) and never had slippage problems. I used the same set of Lamkin performance Plus on 5-6 sets of clubs. Like you when doing grips for others I use tape solvent for no other reason than thats what they expect.

[Stuart_G]

12 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

I have been doing it a long time so have a pretty good feel for it but I read some comments here at times and wonder why people make it more complicated than it is. Back when .580 core grips were common I didn't use tape on .600 but shafts that didn't have much taper on the grip end(FST shafts primarily) and never had slippage problems. I used the same set of Lamkin performance Plus on 5-6 sets of clubs. Like you when doing grips for others I use tape solvent for no other reason than thats what they expect.

 

I think there are some legitimate cases where slippage can be a problem but I also think that the number of ams that it will be the case is likely very small.

[copegolfer]

22 hours ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Simple step by step guide here, seems like there are a couple of tape options

https://www.quincycompressor.com/regripping-golf-club-air-compressor/

 

Not positive if masking or double sided is preferred using this method, I'm sure someone else will chime in.

 

Hey thats funny. I work for Quincy Compressor...LOL

[ChristopherMcDonald]

7 minutes ago, copegolfer said:

Hey thats funny. I work for Quincy Compressor...LOL

LOL small world!

[Bad9]

12 minutes ago, copegolfer said:

Hey thats funny. I work for Quincy Compressor...LOL

 

Tell them they made the tape portion of their outline far more complex than it needs to be. Remove grip. Remove old tape. Apply new masking tape.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Bad9

[copegolfer]

2 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

Tell them they made the tape portion of their outline far more complex than it needs to be. Remove grip. Remove old tape. Apply new masking tape.

I'll see what I can do...

 

[FreeWilly613]

Well that clears things up, I expected slippage if the tape wasn't sticky side out.  

 

Classic case of over thinking. Next time I'll try to blow on the grip without any tape and see how that works.  

[Stuart_G]

49 minutes ago, FreeWilly613 said:

Well that clears things up, I expected slippage if the tape wasn't sticky side out.  

 

Classic case of over thinking. Next time I'll try to blow on the grip without any tape and see how that works.  

 

or under thinking 🙂 

 

Sorry couldn't resist - but if you think it all the way through (most people wouldn't) with adhesive on only one side, there would always be the other side left w/o adhesive that could potentially slip.   So it comes down to which surface the non-sticky side of the tape would hold onto better - the hard smooth shaft?   or the soft rubber grip?

 

Electrical tape might do a better job of holding onto the shaft than masking tape - but it's not going to be as good as if it were done the correct way and you're in uncharted territory.  Personally I'm not sure I'd trust it.

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by Stuart_G

[dubbelbogey]

I'm going to advise against electrical tape in any sort of grip application. Not that I've used it on golf clubs - I have not - but I've used lots of it over the years for both electrical and non-electrical tasks. The adhesive on electrical tape is "gooey" - especially when it gets warm. It's not a firm, solid bond like on masking tape or double-sided solvent tape. So it'll slide and move around as it heats up. Obviously, this would be bad for grips. (And this is using good, high quality electrical tape like 3M).

[FreeWilly613]

Well maybe I'll pull it and re do it.  What is the masking tape for then if your just wrapping the shaft,  Slightly increasing the diameter?

[dubbelbogey]

1 hour ago, FreeWilly613 said:

Well maybe I'll pull it and re do it.  What is the masking tape for then if your just wrapping the shaft,  Slightly increasing the diameter?

Exactly. To mimic the thickness of the double sided tape that is traditionally used. Also to tune the diameter in very fine increments with multiple layers.

[FreeWilly613]

I pulled the tour velvet off no problem, and removed the tape and reinstalled.  Had a little air bubble at first but it worked out.  It seems pretty snug.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone.  In the future I plan to re-grip my gamers and wanted to have some confidence before I tackled 100$+ worth of grips.  

 

 

[Quasimoto]

Personally I prefer air for grip installs however I do also use solvent.

With air it is blue painters tape, put a very slight coating of high quality grease in the first inch of the the grip and adjust the compressor regulator to 20 psi. And that’s it. Easy peasey.

[sui generis]

How many OEMs use air? If it's so easy and fool proof, wouldn't they all do it?

[webwarmiller]

26 minutes ago, sui generis said:

How many OEMs use air? If it's so easy and fool proof, wouldn't they all do it?

Well, because what's easier for one person regripping a club here and there isn't necessarily easier in a production line environment.  Ping simply dips the butt end of the club into a tub of solvent and has a specialized machine to coat the inside of the grip with solvent.   They'll grip 1000's of clubs before having to deal with solvent cleanup/disposal.  

 

Ping also sets loft/line by clamping the hosel and not the head, using a rubber mallet to set the lie and a padded bar on the club head to set loft.  Just another example of how something in a large scale manufacturing process will differ from what's used on a smaller scale.  

[sui generis]

Air is fine for garage builders for whom the failures are their own. If air was truly good, you can bet that the OEMs would be all over it. 

[golfortennis]

12 minutes ago, sui generis said:

Air is fine for garage builders for whom the failures are their own. If air was truly good, you can bet that the OEMs would be all over it. 

 

Have you seen the tape OEM's use under their grips?  Guaranteed they have failures as well.

 

I've also seen clubheads fly off a brand new set just in from the manufacturer.  OEM processes are not some infallible gold standard.