Rust a rusty wedge (rtg raw oilcan)

[PJS]

(Entered a few words into the title so people can find this thread if they ever search for how to do this. Hope it helps)

Bought an RTG+ LW not long ago but didn't like the purple shiny finish on it. Read pretty much everywhere the way to speed up the rusting was to use salty water.

First off tried to do it by leaving the club head to soak suspended in a strong brine, but the finish didn't react evenly. Something to do with how the finish is applied? Who knows. Looked poxy.

Lightly sanded the finish off with fine wet + dry sand paper (finish is extremely thin so didn't need to go overboard). Soaked again. Still didn't rust evenly. Soaked it about four more times hoping it would even out but no joy. Still looked pox.

Best result was with electricity. Lots of ways to do this, but this is what I had lying around:

Gave the club head a light sand again with the wet/dry (just to even out the rust).
Suspended the club head in water. Folded up two bits of alfoil into long strips, one long enough to circle the inside of the bucket (this makes it rust evenly), the other just to reach the shaft of the club. Hooked up 3 AA batteries with masking tape (get fancy if you want) and then connected it to the strips. IMPORTANT : positive side to be connected to the shaft, otherwise you'll disolve the club head instead of rusting it. The water should be covering all of the longer strip and all of the club head. Obviously you don't want the club head to touch the longer strip circled in the bottom of the bucket. Add salt to the mix untill bubbles start pouring off the alfoil strip in the bucket. You're in business.

3 AA batteries is pretty low in voltage so it's hard to stuff up. Check on it after an hour and see how you're going.

Another thing - when you pull the club head out of the water it will be a gun metal colour. Don't touch it, just rinse it with some hot water. As it evaporates you'll see it go orange. Then you can buff it with a cloth and youll have the deep red rust underneath. Chuck it back in for another blast if you're not happy with it.
Should get a good finish doing it this way.

[Wood]

Interesting! Gone are the days of playing in the club. Seems like a lot of work when you could just buy a spin milled vokey and get the same amount (if not more) of bite.

[DBake]

Isn't their somethine like put a penny on the face when it a full moon out?

[iacas]

Another thing - when you pull the club head out of the water it will be a gun metal colour. Don't touch it, just rinse it with some hot water. As it evaporates you'll see it go orange. Then you can buff it with a cloth and youll have the deep red rust underneath. Chuck it back in for another blast if you're not happy with it.

How about a picture? I've never really tried to rust my wedge because I tend to like the pre-rusted ones. Rust doesn't "do" anything except remove the shine.

[Wood]

I've never really tried to rust my wedge because I tend to like the pre-rusted ones. Rust doesn't "do" anything except remove the shine.

I've always thought that rust helped to give more spin, since the uneven face of rust between the grooves would grip the ball more than smooth between the grooves. Just an observation from someone who has never defaced currency.

[sungho_kr]

RUST DOES NOT IMPART SPIN!!!!!, rust actually decreases spin because it wears out the grooves and makes the clubhead uneven!!!

SPIN is imparted by the compression of the club at an downward angle (AKA hitting down on the ball), the faster the speed the better the compression the more spin, also grooves do not grip clubs, all they do is channel away the dirt and water so there is better contact with the ball for maximum compression.

[iacas]

RUST DOES NOT IMPART SPIN!!!!!, rust actually decreases spin because it wears out the grooves and makes the clubhead uneven!!!

Further reading:

thesandtrap.com/bag_drop/is_rust_a_must.php

[sungho_kr]

Further reading:

OMG, DEAD ONNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PJS]

Thanks for that, was a good read.

[Black_Black]

I like my sand and lob wedges rusty for cosmetic purposes. I have rusted numerous raw and oil can vokeys by soaking them in vinegar. works great pretty evenly rusted.