How to polish ferrule after turning with acetone?

[e-man]

Hey guys. I just reshafted a club and turned down the ferrule with acetone. It now has a dull finish. How do I get the shiny plastic black finish back?  

[TwistedSister]

Put more acetone on it , do not rub just let it dry.

[weavej1]

Spin

[e-man]

I did spin it but maybe it’s because I used a paper towel and not a cloth towel?

[taki27]

I’m terrible at it, but I agree with the comments above.  Use enough acetone, spin it and let dry.  

[e-man]

When you say spin it, I assume you mean spin it with acetone soaked on a rag? Right?

[Nessism]

A quick swipe vertically downward, not going around, using a piece of paper towel that's quite wet with acetone.  It takes practice.  That said, this method will not make the ferrules as nice as if you use some polishing compound in a strip of soft cloth.  You can even use toothpaste.  Shoe-shine the ferrule with a piece of cloth and it will look its best.

[e-man]

How about car wax?

[NerdyGolfer]

So interestingly enough I’ve had mixed results with acetone. Build a ton and found that I never could get a super shiny finish that I wanted. Now I use plastic polish for cars and it’s excellent.
 

Don’t have to worry about “too much” or “too little” and it’s super simple. Fills in small blemishes too if your finish isn’t perfect 
 

acetone has just been too finicky for me. 

[MFBach]

5 minutes ago, Nessism said:

That said, this method will not make the ferrules as nice as if you use some polishing compound in a strip of soft cloth.

Pretty much this. I can get a decent shine by finishing them with acetone, but if you want them to look shiny and get the pop back in the gloss, I hit them with a wax polish and a couple of spins with a paper towel. 

[NerdyGolfer]

Just now, e-man said:

How about car wax?

 

4 minutes ago, MFBach said:

Pretty much this. I can get a decent shine by finishing them with acetone, but if you want them to look shiny and get the pop back in the gloss, I hit them with a wax polish and a couple of spins with a paper towel. 

That’s what I do and it works well. I like shoe shine with light sand paper, felt belt, linen belt, then polish and it’s super smooth. Paper towel method 👍

[e-man]

Okay, so the stuff that clears up headlight covers, like PlastX, should work?

[MFBach]

4 minutes ago, e-man said:

like PlastX, should work?

I’ve never tried it, so my only concern would be that something like PlastX is a cleaner as well as a polisher. I’m not sure what affect it might have on the ferrule material, but it’s possible that you could “roughen” the surface again with something like that. It might be worth a shot if that’s all you have on hand. I wouldn’t let it soak in it or anything though. 

 

7 minutes ago, NerdyGolfer said:

That’s what I do and it works well. I like shoe shine with light sand paper, felt belt, linen belt, then polish and it’s super smooth. Paper towel method 👍

Yeah, I guess I could have been a little more clear with my initial response. I still go through the regular turning process, hit them with acetone to smooth everything out, then finish with a polish. I’d love to have a belt sander at home, buts it’s hard to justify for ferrule work only. I’m stuck with a clean cloth, towel, microfiber rag, etc. and a little elbow grease for now 😆

[e-man]

So if plastx is too gritty, how about a soft liquid wax, like meguiars.  I’ve got plenty of that. 

[Gohigh]

Use 91% alcohol. Just damp a clean rag with it, spin or turn it like you do with Acetone. It will look a bit cloudy and hazy, but once its dry, just wipe it off with same towel and you will be left with a shiny, polished surface. If it still looks a bit too grainy, just repeat the process. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Gohigh

[PeanutsDaddy]

28 minutes ago, e-man said:

So if plastx is too gritty, how about a soft liquid wax, like meguiars.  I’ve got plenty of that. 

I have used both Meguiars and Mothers with success. 

[MFBach]

36 minutes ago, e-man said:

soft liquid wax, like meguiars.

Now you’re taking. Polish away. 

[e-man]

Yep, the liquid car wax did the trick.  Thanks everyone for the helpful tips. 

[ktyler2]

2 hours ago, e-man said:

Hey guys. I just reshafted a club and turned down the ferrule with acetone. It now has a dull finish. How do I get the shiny plastic black finish back?  

 

And good job figuring out how to turn a ferrule with acetone to begin with. I tried about five or ten clubs this way and they all looked like garbage. I invested in a belt sander with a good felt belt and a turning arm and will never touch acetone again haha. 

[Nessism]

1 hour ago, e-man said:

Okay, so the stuff that clears up headlight covers, like PlastX, should work?

 PlastX is perfect.  That's what I use.

[Billfitz]

I use the same heavy cut compound, light cut compound and polish that I use on my car. I don't bother to break out my DA buffer, though.  😉

[Ger21]

I just use an old t-shirt rag, dripping wet. Wipe very lightly and quickly, to get the entire ferrule wet (direction along the shaft). Then let dry completely, and buff with a clean dry rag (firmly).

Edited August 2, 2022 by Ger21

[NerdyGolfer]

14 hours ago, PeanutsDaddy said:

I have used both Meguiars and Mothers with success. 

I use meguiars too. It is dirt cheap and excellent 👍

[NerdyGolfer]

12 hours ago, Billfitz said:

I use the same heavy cut compound, light cut compound and polish that I use on my car. I don't bother to break out my DA buffer, though.  😉

Interesting. I’d like to try this out.

 

To what level do you sand prior to doing this?

[Wardonation]

Use a Mustard bottle and place a few drops of acetone on the ferrule and let air dry ..

[ballzo]

I always finish with just acetone on toilet paper and like others have said, soaking wet, light touch and let it dry. You're putting the shine on it by putting the acetone on there.

[Klubster]

17 hours ago, dhacker56 said:

Put more acetone on it , do not rub just let it dry.

Quick, easy and has always worked for me.

[Billfitz]

2 hours ago, NerdyGolfer said:

Interesting. I’d like to try this out.

 

To what level do you sand prior to doing this?

3000 grit 3M Trizact, also the same as I do with my car. I keep my car pristine, to the extent that I fill every scratch when I discover one, and do a complete paint correction every 12,000 miles, so I've got all this stuff to do it with in my garage. Doing this to a ferrule takes maybe five minutes. I clamp the club into my gripping vice, using the old shoeshine method with both the sand paper and compound on the ferrule, rotating the club 180 degrees after thirty seconds with each step. I mask off the shaft and hosel.

[GLF4EVR]

On the workbench I have 91% alcohol, rubbing & polishing compound, 2 different car waxes, up to 2000 wet/dry sandpaper, 3 different buffing wheels for a Dremel & the acetone.  On plastic ferrules I use the 91% alcohol at least 91% of the time.

 

[third-times-a-charm]

I use the blue shop paper towels, small piece, soak in acetone, do a quick a light revolution all the way around and then wait a few seconds and do another few revolutions firmly with a dry piece of towel.

 

Took me a while to figure it out.