Iron Refinishing

[bm303]

I've had my irons for about a year now, and they certainly are starting to show some wear. There are lots of little scratches and nicks on the impact area and the sole. I am curious to know what "at home" methods there are to make these irons look like new. I suppose a little steel wool couldn't hurt, but I doubt that would give them that out of the box look. Any tips on products/methods to clean the clubheads and give me that same feeling I had when I purchased them one year ago. Thanks a lot!

[joshtpa]

Steel wool will most likely clean well, but add a few more scratches to them. I once a year use metal polish. But that is more to the back to clean them up. The face is what it is. After all, we are hitting them off of the ground.

[Harry Longshanks]

I don't think this is what you are looking for (i.e. "refinishing"), but I've had very good luck with Mr. Clean's Magic Eracers for general club cleaning. Removes marks (e.g. range ball marks on the face of woods) that I couldn't get off with anything else. You can also clean the painted surfaces (i.e. tops of woods and hybrids) with no visible damage or scratching.


(P.S. Is anyone else a little wigged out by those Magic Eracers?)

[joshtpa]

They also do an amazing job on rims/wheels for cars.

[bm303]

Basically I am looking for a method to get my clubs to look new. I will try out the metal polish technique, and see if that works well. Hopefully someone can give me a method using household ingredients, that I don't have to go out and purchase.

[N.V.M.]

for removing fine/medium scratches, i use ScotchBrite pads. they come in various degrees of coarseness.(i found steel wool too aggressive,even fine steel wool.). they're perfect for wet "sanding" stainless irons.



ScotchBrites are color coded for coarseness as well. i like to use the slightly more aggressive maroon colored one, then finish with the finer light grey.i cut them up into smaller chunks with scissors before i start. but remember to keep the pads wet, and you'll get a near perfect smooth finish.takes a lot of elbow grease, or more aptly, thumb grease. seriously, my thumb aches when i'm done.

[tonyy]

Could you use those ScotchBrite pads on forged irons?

[N.V.M.]

forged irons are plated are they not? i don't think they would work mainly because stainless steel is quite soft compared to chrome or nickel. and i'd be afraid to wear off the plating too.

[mkistler24]

Just use some scotch brite pads. Get the pad wet and scrub the club head for a good five minutes. Use some elbow grease and the scratches come right off! Makes your clubs look brand new and the pads only cost like $3 for 3 of them.

[dbuck]

Mother's Mag and Aluminum wheel polish will improve the looks a lot. First give all the heads a good bath in warm soapy water using a stiff nylon bristle brush on the grooves. Rinse and dry. Rub on Mother's with a soft cloth, buff off with a clean one. Be sure to keep using a clean spot on both your applicator cloth and your buffing cloth; other wise you are transferring dirt from one place to the other. I wouldn't use the Mother's on the grooved area--a bit hard to get out plus makes it slick.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by bm303

Basically I am looking for a method to get my clubs to look new. I will try out the metal polish technique, and see if that works well. Hopefully someone can give me a method using household ingredients, that I don't have to go out and purchase.

The Erasers help get dirt you can't see off the face, sole, back. Try those. Metal polish helps, but the eraser is what makes the difference.

They won't look new. If you want something that looks new all the time with a touch of an eraser, buy some Pings. Otherwise, be happy that you have a set of irons you like.

I will give you the secret for making your irons last longer -- clean the grooves every few shots on the range. Dirt blasting against dirty grooves with a hard ball wears down a club - take a break, have a wet towel on your bag, and a handy little brush. Clean'em every few shots.