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Little Wedge Project

Nippon Shafts
Bridges said:
That is awesome!

So will the blue/gold/purple stay there forever or will it eventually go away?

*Looks for wedges around the house to do this* lol
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It is a raw finish, so it will rust fairly fast.

McKillian said:
That looks really nice JB. I guess its the citric acid in coke that act as a solvent? How long do you use the torch on the wedge for effect?
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Varying torch time will give you different effects. Anywhere from 5 minutes or so for a nice golden brown, to 10 minutes for some purple hues. I strongly urge gloves and a vice holding the club head.
 
cg13 said:
i saw an article that our state highway patrol carry the coke syrup in gallon bag in a boxes in their trunk for roadkill cleanup - it scrubs the roads clean of the blood/guts better than any solvent cleaner, and is cheaper. lol
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Yikes...I think it's time for me to find a new drink. In any event, the torching looks great so far. Is that the only finish you'll need to apply?
 
I am going to over torch it in some areas for people to see what kind of looks they can get with a torched wedge.

For those that are wondering what type of torch, these work best.


ul100.jpg
 
I can see GG in the office right now saying "please don't burn down the house, please don't burn down the house!"
 
I wondered if you'd touch up the grooves with that groove sharpener. Since you've moved on to the torching my question was answered. hahha It's looking cool so far.
 
That torch finish looks great. I didn't think of that when I did mine. I used an outdoor oven that gave a uniform finish. I like your technique much better.
 
Anybody try Birchwood Casey Perma Blue Paste on a raw wedge. I've used it on a number of Callaway wedges. Best to apply it with a tooth brush. Give you a very nice smoke finish to your wedges. Seams to last longer then some of the other products on the market.
 
Here is a picture of the face after having been torched for about 10 minutes.

1068746189_wXpRR-L.jpg


Now here is the other side. Notice the bottom third of the club is a different color. This was done to show that as you keep the torch on the metal for varying lengths of time, different looks are achieved. While you will see a lot of browns and coppers with some gold tints, right where the torch was left, you see much more vibrant colors.

1068746244_U4weG-L.jpg



That will all come down to personal preference and what you would like the finished product to look like. Some like a coppery gold look and others like more rainbow types of effects.

And here is what it looked like in its raw state again.

1068609705_Nrw9u-L.jpg


The choices are endless. This little guy will go back under the torch for a while to show what happens with even more heat.

A couple of things you MUST remember.

1. Safety is first. When handling chemicals or anything to clean the wedges, ALWAYS wear gloves and even safety goggles to stay away from splashes.

2. Make sure that the club is SECURED in a vice and you are wearing welding gloves during torching.

3. DO NOT touch the wedge after torching or during the process. Let it sit for a few hours before handling.

Safety is the most important thing to remember in all of this.
 
Jimbud said:
Anybody try Birchwood Casey Perma Blue Paste on a raw wedge. I've used it on a number of Callaway wedges. Best to apply it with a tooth brush. Give you a very nice smoke finish to your wedges. Seams to last longer then some of the other products on the market.
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Used it a few times. It is very easy as long as you remember to remove it at or less than the 1 minute mark.
 
that looks sweet JB. That truely is a custom wedge now. Does any of this process wear down the grooves at all?
 
ddec0418 said:
that looks sweet JB. That truely is a custom wedge now. Does any of this process wear down the grooves at all?
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It shouldnt. I have not seen that anyway.
 
This is all very interesting JB and I like the others appreciate you showing this step by step process.
 
JB said:
Used it a few times. It is very easy as long as you remember to remove it at or less than the 1 minute mark.
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Yep, Sounds about right. My wife hads a 52 & 58 that I used the Perma Blue last Fall and the finish hangs in there quite well. Important to start with a raw wedge that's been preped very well.
 
Looks great JB! :thumb: A couple of questions:

1) Did you sharpen the grooves before torching? If you were to sharpen them now, I would think you'll remove some of the carbon/oxidation. Maybe not.
2) Are you going to paintfill the back since the torching discolored the stock paintfill? If so, what are your plans for color?
 
bonknhead said:
Looks great JB! :thumb: A couple of questions:

1) Did you sharpen the grooves before torching? If you were to sharpen them now, I would think you'll remove some of the carbon/oxidation. Maybe not.
2) Are you going to paintfill the back since the torching discolored the stock paintfill? If so, what are your plans for color?
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1. I did not. If I was planning on putting these into play, I would have done so though.

2. Absolutely. Normally I would have removed the paintfill with some acetone or paint thinner, but being as though we are moving THP HQ, I was fresh out.

I think I am going to go with light blue or light green and white.
 
It came out a beautiful wedge, really like the colour JB.
 
Color me impressed, I didn't know you had it in you JB! Not that I think all of your shoes and shirts and belts and pants and scarfs and things make you UNABLE to use a torch and be handy...I just didn't expect it. Well played boss, well played!
 
My brother does that torching stuff to his metal art that he cuts out and then coats it with a clear verathane or something like that.
Will you coat it with something after you are finished with the torching?

I never thought about torching a wedge...that is too cool !
 
Puttin4Bird said:
Color me impressed, I didn't know you had it in you JB! Not that I think all of your shoes and shirts and belts and pants and scarfs and things make you UNABLE to use a torch and be handy...I just didn't expect it. Well played boss, well played!
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Look where I live? Scarf? Not needed...hehe

Drumdog said:
My brother does that torching stuff to his metal art that he cuts out and then coats it with a clear verathane or something like that.
Will you coat it with something after you are finished with the torching?

I never thought about torching a wedge...that is too cool !
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I wont. I know some people do, but I love the feel of a Raw wedge. Plus it means I can repeat the process again if I want to.
 
This thread's been a fun read. I've torched metal plenty and have tons of welding equipment and never even thought of doing something like this before.

It looks great JB. Wait til the new place with the new shop! You'll be a customizing freak.
 
This looks like fun. I have a few questions for you though.

If you were to top-coat the wedge to preserve the finish, what would you use?
What would your expectation be of that finish holding up?

Have you tried other torch gases? Map, oxy-acetylene?
Any concern about damaging the head with hotter gasses?

I may have to find an old wedge to try this on. I've got an old Cleveland Reg. 588 60*, but I still like that wedge, and wouldn't want to ruin it on accident.
 
mdbuschsr said:
This looks like fun. I have a few questions for you though.

If you were to top-coat the wedge to preserve the finish, what would you use?
What would your expectation be of that finish holding up?

Have you tried other torch gases? Map, oxy-acetylene?
Any concern about damaging the head with hotter gasses?

I may have to find an old wedge to try this on. I've got an old Cleveland Reg. 588 60*, but I still like that wedge, and wouldn't want to ruin it on accident.
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I'm not sure what I would put on as a top coat.

I have only used propane and bane torches. They seem to do the trick quite well.
 
bane = butane?

I asked about other gasses, because they would definitely do the job faster. Would they potentially make the color deeper?
 
You might like this site , I came across it a few years ago when I was doing stuff on my 1937 ford I was building .
http://ronyoungpatina.com/
 
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