Spalding TPM 3 Refinish

[wick_dawg]

Just did a refinish on an old beat up Spalding TPM 3 putter. I did Gun Blue on the head with an ocean blue paint fill. This blue color contrasts nicely with the dark metal finish.

 

I did the shaft matte black. This took some experimentation to do. I had some old shafts lying around that I did some trial and error with and found the best way to do it so it has the most even finish, and doesn't chip or crack.

 

The grip is just a simple black Golf Pride grip. This was too keep the blacked out look of the entire putter.

 

Here's some pics. I know it's not perfect, but I've just wanted to try out a few things. I wish I had some "before" photos. It looked like hammered dog crap. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CWB]

Very Nice

anymore details on refinish (sand , buff , tools used) & on the shaft (products used) ?

[wick_dawg]

[quote name='CWB' timestamp='1335362390' post='4786540']


Very Nice

anymore details on refinish (sand , buff , tools used) & on the shaft (products used) ?
[/quote]

Sure.

I got the putter for pretty cheap. It was in pretty poor condition. First off, I removed the head from the shaft.. I used my set of files for the deep nicks. Then did the heavy sanding with a Dremel. I did the fine sanding by hand using progressively finer grits.

For the Gun Blueing, I put it in Caswell Stainless Steel Darkener for a few seconds and that left it with a dark grey. I then use Casey Super Blue to get it darker. Then i took some steel wool with Casey Super blue on it and rubbed it on the head to even out the color, The repeated the process with the Super blue.

I used a hair dryer to get it dry and heat up the Gun Blue a bit. Then used a water displacing oil from Shooters Solutions to protect the finish.

The next day I did the paint fill with an Ocean Blue color enamel. After the paint dried, I recoated it with the water displacing oil.

For the shaft, I really thought a matte black shaft would look cool, so I did a lot of trial and error. I had some old crappy shafts just laying around to test different techniques. I tried spray painting it straight on the shaft, but with the smooth steel, the paint would run and not stick to the steel very well and it also chipped and peeled easily.

The process that worked the best, I found, was to take a scotch brite pad and rough up the shaft. I basically put the scotch brite pad in my hand and gripped the shaft with the pad and twisted the shaft horizontally, slowly working my way from top to bottom and working my way back up. This gave the paint more surface area to stick to. The result was wonderful. The coverage was even, smooth and doesn't chip easily at all. When I roughed up the bottom of the shaft to put the epoxy on, it took a little working with 150 grit sandpaper to even get the paint off. The spray paint I used was Tamiya Matt Black TS-6.

I put the shaft back on and then carefully put the grip on. With the painted shaft, you have to be careful with the mineral spirits that activates the grip tape, because mineral spirits is also know as paint thinner. So this was a very delicate process.

I've taken it on the course and the finish and painted shaft held up perfectly. I can't believe how good these TPMs feel when putting. I had never actually putted with one, but the are easy to line up and have a great pure feel to them.

[twodegreesup]

Hi,

I am tying to perma super blue a TPM 10, but don't want to blue it before the raw finish is pretty shiny (like a mirror) itself.

Can you have a look at my post at

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/632652-re-finishing-to-a-mirror-finish/

and let me know if you think if I gun blued it now (in its current shape) will
it come out like yours?

In other words, before you gun blued yours was it in similar shape to
mine, or better?

Any advice is appreciated.

many thanks,

[wick_dawg]

[quote name='twodegreesup' timestamp='1335504860' post='4798650']
Hi,

I am tying to perma super blue a TPM 10, but don't want to blue it before the raw finish is pretty shiny (like a mirror) itself.

Can you have a look at my post at

[url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/632652-re-finishing-to-a-mirror-finish/"]http://www.golfwrx.c...-mirror-finish/[/url]

and let me know if you think if I gun blued it now (in its current shape) will
it come out like yours?

In other words, before you gun blued yours was it in similar shape to
mine, or better?

Any advice is appreciated.

many thanks,
[/quote]
Scratch what I said if it you saw it. In the last picture you posted, it looked pretty ready for the gun blue.

I poured the Blue out into a small container and soaked the head for about 30 seconds, then dipped some steel wool in the blue and rubbed it all over the head to even out the color. The steel wool will get a little warm in your hands at this point. Then rinse with water and repeat the process until you get the darkness you want. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the process and and debatably darken the blue even more.

After you achieve the darkness you want, use a water displacing oil or a penetrating sealer like liquid wrench and let it chill overnight before doing the paint fill.

Hope this helps.

[twodegreesup]

Thanks.

I've read that I need to degrease it before I blue it (right now, it has a thick coat of silicone spray on it -- I also wet sanded it with
silicone spray).

What is the best way to degrease it? Rinse it with Acetone? or Wash it off with Dawn dish soap?

Also, before I degrease it, should I polish/buff it by hand with some type of compound? emory compound? or Mother's wax or
something like that to bring the shine out of it?

many thanks

[wick_dawg]

[quote name='twodegreesup' timestamp='1335627039' post='4805574']
Thanks.

I've read that I need to degrease it before I blue it (right now, it has a thick coat of silicone spray on it -- I also wet sanded it with
silicone spray).

What is the best way to degrease it? Rinse it with Acetone? or Wash it off with Dawn dish soap?

Also, before I degrease it, should I polish/buff it by hand with some type of compound? emory compound? or Mother's wax or
something like that to bring the shine out of it?

many thanks
[/quote]

Yes, you do need to degrease before you blue. Acetone works fine. Also, you can get a more job specific degreaser from Caswell or shooter solutions. Otherwise, and fingerprints or oils could cause the the it to blue more or less or not at all in certain areas. It will be uneven. Also, wear gloves while doing this, for the sake of not leaving fingerprints as well as the fact that your working with chemicals and possibly acids.

You can buff it before you put the finish on, but if you use a compound, you're just going to have to take it right off before you put the gun blue on. You want the metal to be raw when you put the gun blue on it.

[twodegreesup]

Thanks!

Also, do I need to degrease it before I do the paintfill too?

[wick_dawg]

You don't really need to degrease before you paint fill it. You only need to degrease it before doing anything that affects the overall finish of the putter.