DIY Grip Replacement - Old Glue Residue

[xrayvizhen]

I just replaced the grips on my irons. First time ever I did it myself and was actually surprised how easy it was. That is, except for getting rid of the glue residue after removing the old tape. I used a heat gun to soften the old glue and on some of the clubs the tape would bubble up after a minute or two and then peel right off, nice and easy without leaving a trace. On other clubs I really had to work at it to remove the tape and was left with patches of the old glue that just wouldn't come off unless I really scraped at it which I didn't want to do on the graphite shafts. So at that point I just applied the new tape over whatever was left on the shaft, the new grips went on and that was that.

They all feel OK to me, but I'm just wondering what the standard practice is. Do professional club techs obsess over making sure the shafts are clean and pristine without worrying about the old adhesive and whether or not there's old residue left over? And then what about next season and I do this again. If I didn't remove the old, old residue will it be even harder to remove? Finally, is there something I could have applied to the old glue so that it would have come off easier?

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Edited March 20, 2021 by xrayvizhen

[geb324]

I use Acetone comes right off, or denatured alchol

[boogielicious]

Naphtha works too.

[Darkfrog]

With steel shafts I usually try to rub it off with my thumbs with a little heat from a heat gun. I do like to have pristine shafts before installing, but that's my anal retentiveness, I don't think it is totally necessary.

Before I started using Pure grips, I always had plenty of grip solvent which worked to get the last stubborn bits off. Acetone, goof off, denatured alcohol, etc. all work. My roommate in college who got me into golf used gasoline (I didn't think it was a good idea then or now).

For graphite shafts, I use some sort of solvent. I don't like rubbing the raw end of the graphite shaft with my thumbs as I don't want to get a graphite splinter.

[Billy Z]

Funny, I'm just the opposite, when I remove the old grip and put on a new grip I'll just reuse the old tape if it still retains it's adhesion properties. I just re-lube with solvent and slip the new grip back on. Never had an issue with my regrips. 

[Adam C]

Just a note. If you are using the heat gun on the tape be careful. If you get the tape hot enough where it's actually bubbling up, you are getting hot enough to damage those graphite shafts.

[xrayvizhen]

52 minutes ago, Adam C said:

Just a note. If you are using the heat gun on the tape be careful. If you get the tape hot enough where it's actually bubbling up, you are getting hot enough to damage those graphite shafts.

I don't believe that's true. I was out and about yesterday and dropped into my local Golf Galaxy and watched for a bit as the guys were changing lots and lots of grips. I asked them the very questions I posed here and they said the tape won't come off at all until it does start to bubble and the heat doesn't affect the shaft. As far as removing the residue, they don't bother but they mentioned they have some kind of Golfworks solvent they use every now and then but they don't actually know what it is.

[ChetlovesMer]

On 3/20/2021 at 9:35 AM, xrayvizhen said:

Finally, is there something I could have applied to the old glue so that it would have come off easier?

 

I just peel off the old stuff and then I'm a huge fan of "Goo-Gone" works great. Smells funny. 
So, my method is peel it with your fingers as best I can. Use Goo-Gone. Wash with soap and water. Let dry. 

OR.......... You can just use PURE grips and life gets a lot easier. 

[NHpro]

On 3/20/2021 at 9:35 AM, xrayvizhen said:

They all feel OK to me, but I'm just wondering what the standard practice is. Do professional club techs obsess over making sure the shafts are clean and pristine without worrying about the old adhesive and whether or not there's old residue left over?

 

I do.....

[Typhoon92]

On 3/21/2021 at 9:59 AM, xrayvizhen said:

I don't believe that's true. I was out and about yesterday and dropped into my local Golf Galaxy and watched for a bit as the guys were changing lots and lots of grips. I asked them the very questions I posed here and they said the tape won't come off at all until it does start to bubble and the heat doesn't affect the shaft. As far as removing the residue, they don't bother but they mentioned they have some kind of Golfworks solvent they use every now and then but they don't actually know what it is.

I would believe Adam before 99% of the hacks that work at Golf Galaxy.  I have friends that work there... I wouldn’t let these dudes make toast for me.

[Darkfrog]

On 3/21/2021 at 6:59 AM, xrayvizhen said:

I don't believe that's true. I was out and about yesterday and dropped into my local Golf Galaxy and watched for a bit as the guys were changing lots and lots of grips. I asked them the very questions I posed here and they said the tape won't come off at all until it does start to bubble and the heat doesn't affect the shaft. As far as removing the residue, they don't bother but they mentioned they have some kind of Golfworks solvent they use every now and then but they don't actually know what it is.

I've damaged the tips of several graphite shafts with a heat gun pulling them out of a head or adapter. Luckily they weren't shafts I was planning to use, although I could have sold them if I hadn't damaged them. This was likely due to bad technique on my part, but heat can certainly cause damage to a graphite shaft.

[Billy Z]

1 hour ago, Darkfrog said:

I've damaged the tips of several graphite shafts with a heat gun pulling them out of a head or adapter. Luckily they weren't shafts I was planning to use, although I could have sold them if I hadn't damaged them. This was likely due to bad technique on my part, but heat can certainly cause damage to a graphite shaft.

I would have to agree, a person can damage a graphite shaft with heat, somewhat easily, and I have done it. Maybe I also have done it incorrectly, but I kept applying heat until I could just get the head off. At that point it had turned the shaft to rubber and bent. To remove tape residue, I would use just a little heat and also some goo gone, if that didn't work I would just leave it alone. With a little work the glue/residue will come off. For some reason if it did not, what will it hurt?

[xrayvizhen]

On 3/22/2021 at 12:12 PM, Typhoon92 said:

I would believe Adam before 99% of the hacks that work at Golf Galaxy.  I have friends that work there... I wouldn’t let these dudes make toast for me.

Let's not disparage big box store employees. I have some friends who work there too. They're excellent golfers and are fastidious about the way they take care of their equipment and try to do the same when working on customer's clubs. I watched them...carefully. That being said though, that's why I decided to try to do it myself being certain that I would be more careful than anyone else.

When I replaced my grips last week, I found that the tape definitely would NOT come off at all unless it bubbled up as a result of waving the heat gun up and down for about 2 or 3 minutes. Next time I'll try the mineral spirits because that seems the quickest and safest way. Yeah, maybe if you spend 10 minutes with the heat gun on each grip then yes, I'm certain that could damage the shaft, but it didn't take nearly that long.

Finally, I played yesterday for the first time this season. The clubs did not go flying off into the wild blue yonder with me left holding just a grip in my hand so I guess I did it correctly!

Edited March 24, 2021 by xrayvizhen

[Larrh7]

I use stuff called Ungoo.  Comes in a plastic spray bottle. Spray the shaft down and just wipe it off. Come clean and will not hurt anything.  No heat gun is required.  Take the hooked knife and make a slice in old grip. Pull it off and peel off tape. If anything is left I use the Ungoo.  I have like others just used the old tape under it.  If it looks good I don't always take it off. Never had a grip come loose and I've done quite a few. 

[RayG]

Fancy names with fancy prices. "Goo-Gone", "Ungoo"... Nail polish remover works or just plain denatured alcohol. The stuff is at most a cupla bucks a GALLON. Instead of $5 for 2 OUNCES.

[Lasorcier]

I believe grip solvent, at least the one from Golf Works is naptha-based.  It is similar to goo-gone.  I will reuse the same tape unless it is highly damaged (i.e., bunched up such that it would leave an amount where I would feel it).  It has to be a large amount for me to feel it since I use jumbomax grips.  In any event, I find it makes tape removal pretty easy.

I do find that the Golf Works grip tape is relatively easy to come off because it is thicker.  Most of the time I can peel it off in strips.  Thinner tapes, like what I would find on a stock club are harder to remove with the exception of Ping.  Ping does their grips with a narrow tape, applied in a spiral, which is very easy to remove.

I hate losing grips, so I make efforts to save them, unless they are at the end of their useful life.  I got a flattish metal skewer and smoothed the tip such that it is a little bit pointy (pointy enough to go between the grip and the tape, but not pointy enough to rupture the grip).  I then slide it between the grip and the tape a little bit, pour some solvent in, work the skewer around and deeper, add more solvent, twice, etc., until the grip eventually gives.  Works almost all of the time.  In the absence of a skewer, I think Golf Works sells a grip remove tool.  I am just too lazy to buy it.  There are some good videos out there on Youtube in regards to saving grips and the technique to use. 

It pays for itself especially when changing putter grips, since they are generally expensive.

I have never used a heat gun.