Painting your clubs

Heya...didn't have golf this weekend and it was raining as well so I was packing my golf bag when the idea hit me to ZHNG my 4 hybrid! there were quite abit of swirls and chips on the crown from the previous owner battle hardened ways anyway...always wanted to try it so might as well since i had no golf this weekend haha..

read alot about it online and wanted to give it a try. i know there was a thread previously on paint filling the clubs but i guess i gave painting the crown a try..still experimenting and this is considered a prototype lol

anyway..to put it simply:

1. make sure that the surface to be painted is cleaned of all dust and mud...i washed my club with some soap and let it dry completely before i embarked on the taping up of the club

wrap up the club areas where you do not want to spray (duh)..abit of patience required as i realised that there were loads of curves on the club that requires carefeul taping

2. once that is done, time for the spray painting. go easy on the coats..i did about 4 coats to cover the black (i chose tm style matt white). allow ample time for the paint to dry between coats (roughly 5 mins between coats)

3. remmeber less is more so i can't emphasis enough not to over spray which will result in smudging or running of the paint. i used normal spray paint for this..perhaps you can use heat resistant paint as that would be more hardy..

4. allow paint to settle over night and viola!! zhnggged!

did not manage to cover up abit of the chips (thats why they putty over the car dinks before spray painting ) so I will probably paintfill it with a toothpick later.

anyways..took me about an hour but some fun if you're bored with how your clubs look.

*warning* please try on your more veteran clubs before embarking on zhnging your clubs..we don't wanna be ruining that lovely driver head now would we

here are the pics...enjoy

Nice...

Nice job, btw what type of spray paint u used? those for modelling or those u can get in hardware shop?

Wow I did think if painting one of my driver cos of sky marks.. What brand paint did you use? You didn't do like a outer layer to seal the paint? Wonder how the paint will hold up after afew rounds of golf, keep us updated.

@enwee i used the normal craft paint..hopefully it holds up i reckon using industrial strength one would be better..

@dom normal craft paint dude..i didn't spray a layer of lacquer as i didn't want the glossy finish..will update after i put it throught the durability test on the course

Nice job bro. I also recently resprayed my driver head to matte black. Looks really stealth!

Very important thing to remember is not to spray too many coats which can make the head too heavy esp the crown which will affect the balance of the club. I overdid my first attempt and added extra layers on areas prone to damage like where the crown meets the top of the club face and it was bad. The ball had a weird flight. Like a volleyball in strong crosswinds n was slicing like crazy.. spraying too many layers might also lead to peeling when u remove the masking tape and will/might protrude out fr the surface.

It's also best to totally remove the original paint w paint remover or by sanding. This will give u a clean and smooth surface to work with. So u don't need to fill the dings or deep scratches. It also ensures even paint distribution. I also recommend spraying an under coat of primer. Thin layer is enuf. This ensures the paint will stick. The new paint job might peel or flake off if sprayed over original paint. U also dun need to spray too many layers to cover original color if u r gg for a lighter color.

What I did was cut some masking tape into thinner 1cm thick strips so it's easier to bend the tape to mask our those curved areas.

my 2nd attempt was a success. Stripped off all original paint. Didn't prime cus the shop sold out , sprayed just a very thin 1-2 layers of matte black just enough to cover the head evenly..

This time I was more patient..I waited over an hour b4 I sprayed on matte clear coat. I think this is the most critical part. More layers or clear and less of the color. The clear is the thing that protects the actual color.

The key thing I learnt from my experience.. try not to add on too much weight to the clubhead. The crown is supposed to be the lightest part of the head. All e weight is designed to go into the bottom or sole of the club.

Think my 2nd attempt made the head slightly lighter and driver works better than w original paint..haha

Gd luck and be patient for those who wanna try.

schnell wrote:

@enwee i used the normal craft paint..hopefully it holds up i reckon using industrial strength one would be better..

@dom normal craft paint dude..i didn't spray a layer of lacquer as i didn't want the glossy finish..will update after i put it throught the durability test on the course

Thx. maybe should try with those paint they used for model, maybe better?

Nice job bro. I also recently resprayed my driver head to matte black. Looks really stealth!

Very important thing to remember is not to spray too many coats which can make the head too heavy esp the crown which will affect the balance of the club. I overdid my first attempt and added extra layers on areas prone to damage like where the crown meets the top of the club face and it was bad. The ball had a weird flight. Like a volleyball in strong crosswinds n was slicing like crazy.. spraying too many layers might also lead to peeling when u remove the masking tape and will/might protrude out fr the surface.

It's also best to totally remove the original paint w paint remover or by sanding. This will give u a clean and smooth surface to work with. So u don't need to fill the dings or deep scratches. It also ensures even paint distribution. I also recommend spraying an under coat of primer. Thin layer is enuf. This ensures the paint will stick. The new paint job might peel or flake off if sprayed over original paint. U also dun need to spray too many layers to cover original color if u r gg for a lighter color.

What I did was cut some masking tape into thinner 1cm thick strips so it's easier to bend the tape to mask our those curved areas.

my 2nd attempt was a success. Stripped off all original paint. Didn't prime cus the shop sold out , sprayed just a very thin 1-2 layers of matte black just enough to cover the head evenly..

This time I was more patient..I waited over an hour b4 I sprayed on matte clear coat. I think this is the most critical part. More layers or clear and less of the color. The clear is the thing that protects the actual color.

The key thing I learnt from my experience.. try not to add on too much weight to the clubhead. The crown is supposed to be the lightest part of the head. All e weight is designed to go into the bottom or sole of the club.

Think my 2nd attempt made the head slightly lighter and driver works better than w original paint..haha

Gd luck and be patient for those who wanna try.

Bro, you really liking the hybrid hor. And now.....it matches your car!

@abadan thanks for the advice..what brand of paint remover to use to remove the top layer?

@hara lol..yah hands itchy from lack of golf lol meet up for kopi or golf soon man..miss playing golf with ya..oh yah..need to get back to you on the u know wat

Another piece of advise. U could get paint from hobby shops. Small little cans for remote control cars. They usually have a much wider color range to choose from. If u want matte black or matte white, any hardware shops will have them as well as matte/flat lacquer. Avg bout $5 a can. I use The brand RJ fr my neighborhood hardware store.

The brand is not so impt. But the spray nossle is. Some cheaper brands tend to be less even.

Another important thing to note when spraying is the distance between the club and the spray can. Closer = another of sheen. Farther = more matte and a bit of a powdery texture. This applies for the clear coat as well.

I recommend trying out on a piece of cardboard first to get a feel of how far u away u should spray for the desired look and texture.

I'd leave a good 8-12 inches away for the black and slightly closer for the clear as it gets pretty powdery. Different brands of spray might have different nossles that would lead to different results. So best to test b4 actually doing it to ur precious club.

Even strokes back and forth or up and down and make sure u mask at least half ur shaft to prevent any paint from getting on them.

yup i did that..only thing i didn't do was remove the top coat..darn!

hope i don't get a federer top spin when i try it out at the range tomorrow haha

schnell wrote:

@abadan thanks for the advice..what do i use to remove the top paint layer?

@hara lol..yah hands itchy from lack of golf lol meet up for kopi or golf soon man..miss playing golf with ya..oh yah..need to get back to you on the u know wat

Bro. U can get paint remover from most hardware shops. Saw small tins selling for $4.50 where I bot my paint. Be careful when handling paint removers as they are very acidic and can burn ur skin. U can use a paint brush and apply the paint remover. Leave it for a few mind and the paint will start to bubble. Then u can use kitchen towels to remove all the old paint.

I opted not to use the remover but rather sand down the club w 150grade sand paper then smooth with 360grade. A little tedious, esp around the base of the hossle. But it really didn't take very long to sand.

Bare in mind the weight issue. Think about all the new clubs on e market. Most come w weights placed at strategic locations of the club. A slight change in weight configurations will lead to different ball flights and trajectories.

Think the rule of thumb is more weight off the toe will promote draw and more weight on heel will produced more draw.

I used almost an entire can of black on my first attempt. Swing weight for my driver went ground D6 to D9.

2nd attempt.. 2 very thin layers of black and 1 even coat of clear.

PS. Primers come in several different colors too. White, gray, brick red,etc

Interesting topic! Great work by schnell n Abadan! Appreciate yr sharing!

- U guys were saying the paint which in bottle can tt just press the nozzle to spray?
- Don't need air brush?
- how many coats considered enough?

Thx!

Tamiya paint...

Nice !

Yah bro. Those cheap $5 spray paint can already. As I said, stripping off the original paint b4 spraying will produce the best results. Cus uve removed weight then add back. Thus will be more to factory weighting. If u don't, then ure just adding weight.

As to how many coats is enuf? I did 2 thin layers. As long as cover the entire surface area. U can be a little more generous with the clear coat. I was abit kiasu the 2nd time around and only did 2 thin layers of clear. Main thing on my mind was... keep it lite.

Airbrush more for fine graphics. Eg. The white smokey effect on motore shafts.

woah...a whole can?! haha no wonder change the whole swing weight..i sprayed 4 thin layers..felt like i barely used much from the can haha

abadan wrote:

Yah bro. Those cheap $5 spray paint can already. As I said, stripping off the original paint b4 spraying will produce the best results. Cus uve removed weight then add back. Thus will be more to factory weighting. If u don't, then ure just adding weight.

As to how many coats is enuf? I did 2 thin layers. As long as cover the entire surface area. U can be a little more generous with the clear coat. I was abit kiasu the 2nd time around and only did 2 thin layers of clear. Main thing on my mind was... keep it lite.

Airbrush more for fine graphics. Eg. The white smokey effect on motore shafts.

Care to show pictures of your clubs?

@abadan, this thread is worthless without pictures!!!

And thank you for transforming my limey to matt black.

Here are some pics from my first attempt. Note that i didn't remove the original paint. Even though i sanded down the surface, the paint did not stick and started to peel and flake.

i stripped the original paint but didn't spray primer for my 2nd attempt. so far so good.

Note: if u don't spray clear coat. even putting on or taking off the headcover will also scratch the paint work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37951758@N08/

schnell wrote:

woah...a whole can?! haha no wonder change the whole swing weight..i sprayed 4 thin layers..felt like i barely used much from the can haha

Haha. yah lor. kiasu mah! first attempt didn't know anything. didn't consider about the weight.

Bro. if u want a matter finish like the taylormades. u can try spraying the last layer further away. that'll leave a more matte and powdery finish. then finish off with matte lacquer. but spray the clear coat a little closer. or the finish will be like sandpaper. rough rough kind.

Shafts can also be spray painted if anyone feels like doing so. Similar process, but instead of stripping the paint. i just sanded it down to leave a slightly rough surface so the new paint will stick. same.. light layers of color and clear. no need primer. also note that this will add a few grams to ur shaft.

Let's see if this works...

Nice pics..I was wondering how the hardcover wear would affect the paint job. Keep you guys posted..worst case I will strip off the paint and try again