Removing tape from graphite shafts; heat gun?

[No Mulligans]

I'm going to change the grips on my clubs and this is the first time I will be doing it myself.  I've watched several youtube videos and it seems like a pretty easy job.

I've seen the recommendation and use of a heat gun to heat up the tape to make it easier to remove.  The demo was with a steel shaft.  Is this okay to do with a graphite shaft?

How do you recommend removing tape?

[Piz]

I use mineral spirits, a paper towel, and my thumb nails.  The most tedious aspect of the entire process is removing old tape.  Usually, the longer its been on there the tougher it is to remove.  Haven't ever used a heat gun.

[phillyk]

I've used hair driers to remove tape on graphite shafts. It should be fine.

[Patch]

I too have used mineral oil on graphite shaft to remove the old tape. Mineral oil tends to soften the tape. The longer it is left on, the softer the tape gets, and the easier it is to peel off. 

Once you get the tape off, clean the area with warm soapy water to remove all the oil residue. Then dry the area thorughly before applying the new stuff. 

[WUTiger]

1 hour ago, Piz said:

 Usually, the longer its been on there the tougher it is to remove.

If the tape is hard and crusty, a heat gun won't help that much. Mineral spirits, with fingernails for clean-up, is the best way to go.

[mvmac]

6 hours ago, phillyk said:

I've used hair driers to remove tape on graphite shafts. It should be fine.

Yep this ^^^^^

[Golfingdad]

I've only done it a couple times and I agree with the posters above that said fingernails. :)

[OrangeHog]

Worst part of re-gripping my clubs.  Like others said, soften up old crusty tape is key to getting that stuff off.  I don't use my fingernails, though.  I tend to roll the tape up with my thumb until I can grab a section and tear it off in long strips.

[nevets88]

I've never tried it, but what if you just spray water (maybe soapy water) on it, let it absorb for a few minutes, rinse and repeat maybe? Like for pesky wallpaper removal. Let the water do the hard work.

[Hacker James]

you might try the product "Goo b Gone" I used it for removing decals off plastic, motorcycles e.t.c.  Just squirt a little on, let it sit for a bit, and rub clean.

[jkelley9]

I see no problem with a heat gun. I used one when doing mine. The grips on the clubs I did were ~4+ years old stock grips. 

Grip tape has a pretty conservative amount of adhesive. It doesn't take much heat at all to get the adhesive to soften enough to pull it off cleanly. It can't possibly hurt the shaft. It's not like you're baking them.

[shanksalot]

Heat gun should do the trick, if your tape is old and dried up you don't change your grips often enough. By heat gun I don't mean butane torch.

Edited December 17, 2016 by shanksalot

[No Mulligans]

So far I've taken tape off of the irons (steel shafts) with a heat gun.  I used a plastic putty knife to scrape the tape... I ended up with a groove in the putty knife because of the heat of the steel shaft.  Definately not going to use the heat gun on the graphite shafts.

I can feel confident I didn't damage the steel shafts.  Graphite shafts, how would I know if I damaged them or not?

[70sSanO]

As far as heat, the answer lies in the thermal properties of the graphite shafts.

I believe that the tolerance graphite (carbon fiber) is very high and exceeds what a heat gun can generate.  I was trying to find that number and saw a value of 1000*C on a website, but I'm not sure how that relates specifically to golf shafts.

It would be interesting research if one was inclined to find out.

John

[shanksalot]

17 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

So far I've taken tape off of the irons (steel shafts) with a heat gun.  I used a plastic putty knife to scrape the tape... I ended up with a groove in the putty knife because of the heat of the steel shaft.  Definately not going to use the heat gun on the graphite shafts.

I can feel confident I didn't damage the steel shafts.  Graphite shafts, how would I know if I damaged them or not?

By heat gun do you mean similar to a hair dryer? I have worked on clubs for years and I found that using a dryer type heat gun works very well on removing tape. The biggest thing with any type heat is to not leave the heat directly on one spot for any length of time. I always move the heat up and down the area I am trying to heat and not leave it in one place but constantly keep it moving. 

[No Mulligans]

2 hours ago, shanksalot said:

By heat gun do you mean similar to a hair dryer? I have worked on clubs for years and I found that using a dryer type heat gun works very well on removing tape. The biggest thing with any type heat is to not leave the heat directly on one spot for any length of time. I always move the heat up and down the area I am trying to heat and not leave it in one place but constantly keep it moving. 

I believe we are talking about the same thing.  It's called a "Heat Gun", I have this one https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LBJMGKQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use it as you described.

[shanksalot]

If that does not remove the tape you may have to follow the other choice to use a solvent to loosen up the tape. Another think you can do if you can't get the tape off either way is to just put your double sided tape over the existing tape on the shaft. It will make the grip a little larger but it would almost be nonexistent to you. If you do go this way just try one and after it dries grab the club by the shaft and see if it feels different. I would not offer this except if you just can't get the tape off. One piece of tape under the double sided tape should not make much of a difference Just trying to offer a solution. You don't have to do it just another thought.