wirehair
Life's too short to drink cheap wine.
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I've seen a couple of folks ask about putter refinishing lately so I thought I'd post what I know:
The custom shop is hands down the best place for either a rare/special putter or a basket case. They're expensive, but first class all the way - be prepared for a total round trip including TT&L of about $185 for a solid putter, a TeI3 costs more. add another $50 or so. Scotty includes a new shaft, band, grip & Headcover in his price. Scotty can be expensive. A TeI3, pro-platted with premium grip & HC and a stamp, or signtline/dot can go north of $400. But it'll be exquisite when it's returned to you.
In general Scotty will only re-apply the same finish that was originally on it. Exceptions are Black Pearl, they're putting Charcoal mist on black pearl putters now. They'll put Pro-Plat on any putter, they require a custom shop stamp (add $30) on any putter. Send them a beater & in 45 days you'll a brand new putter. Here's a couple of putters that were real basket cases when I got them.
Hook 'Em
Newport 2 Oilcan
Scotty used to use BOS for Gun Blue and OilCan finishes (those are Scotty's names for them), then he didn't. BOS calls those same finishes Black Oxide and Patina Oil.
A couple of years ago, after switching from BOS, there were a series of quality issues with OilCan finishes where the finish wore badly and very quickly. I speculate that he's gone back to BOS - don't know. You'll hear folks takling about the "old OilCan" finishes, that was BOS. I've had at least 4 different OilCan finishes.
1. Original from 1998
2. Scotty Refinish (OLD Oilcan - from BOS)
3. Scotty Refinish (NEW Oilcan)
4. Very Recent.
1. 2, and 4 are similar. 3 is lighter and more colorful.
GunBlue is black Oxide - BOS is hands down the best I know about, and I speculate that they do the finishes for lots of smaller resto folks, but they won't say for obvious reasons. I can't tell the difference in GB refinishes from BOS or the custom Shop. Original GB is very different. 3X black is also gun-blue, the difference is in the prep, its media blasted before the finish is applied to cut glare.
BOS will remill the face if you ask, but they refinish, they don't restore. There is a difference. The critical part is surface prep. BOS does not do as good a job as Scotty, I do my own surface prep, but learned the hard way. This is a longneck done by BOS, I sent it in without prepping the surface, the finish they applied was great, but notice the pitting under the finish. They don't do pro-plat finishes but will put any of their finishes on. They're about $45 for a putter, if face milling is needed add another $45.
Longneck border
Kevin Colbert (putterplating.com) made his rep with Pro-Plat finishes, calls it Satin Nickel. I don't know who does it for him, but I know he doesn't do it himself. Kevin does good work, but can be slow - be prepared for a 3 month turnaround. Kevin can chemically strip an old ProPlat finish, it's a reverse electro plating process & is difficult. He can put any finish on any putter. Here's my current gamer from Kevin.
B-Back
If you're thinking aftermarket, consider George Palombi (geoputters). He'll do the prep work & get it finished, George is universally considered the best "putter mechanic" you'll find. He's a mod at puttertalk.com and a well respected member there. George has done some stuff for me that Scotty turned down. This one was turned down by Scotty because the insert was badly damaged. George fixed the insert and BOS refinished. He also supplied that Loomis Shaft.
TeI3 Longneck
Tom Slighter will restore putters, but I haven't had any done by him. He's supposed to be very good.
Both BOS and Slighter have had some issues in the past dealing with improperly using Scotty stamps on putters. I think both have mended their ways, but many older collectors still really object to aftermarket work of any kind because of this. In addition, lots of newer guys have picked up on this aversion and aftermarket refinished putters have a lower resale value. There seems to be a perception that aftermarket work is synonymous with low quality, I don't subscribe to this belief, but good prep work is the key to a restoration.
In terms of cost, compare apples to apples. A BOS refinish of your Circa with face milling will run you about $100 including 2 way shipping. If you add Scotty shaft, grip & HC, you'll be pretty close to Scottys base cost. If all you need is refinishing, do your own head prep, no remilling, and can reuse your shaft, grip & HC, you'll save yourself a Benjamin. You also have more flexibility in terms of what finish goes on a putter aftermarket. here's a couple more that BOS did for me.
Antique Torched Newport
Blue Torched Laguna
That's my story & I'm sticking to it. Hope this helps.
Steve
The custom shop is hands down the best place for either a rare/special putter or a basket case. They're expensive, but first class all the way - be prepared for a total round trip including TT&L of about $185 for a solid putter, a TeI3 costs more. add another $50 or so. Scotty includes a new shaft, band, grip & Headcover in his price. Scotty can be expensive. A TeI3, pro-platted with premium grip & HC and a stamp, or signtline/dot can go north of $400. But it'll be exquisite when it's returned to you.
In general Scotty will only re-apply the same finish that was originally on it. Exceptions are Black Pearl, they're putting Charcoal mist on black pearl putters now. They'll put Pro-Plat on any putter, they require a custom shop stamp (add $30) on any putter. Send them a beater & in 45 days you'll a brand new putter. Here's a couple of putters that were real basket cases when I got them.
Hook 'Em
Newport 2 Oilcan
Scotty used to use BOS for Gun Blue and OilCan finishes (those are Scotty's names for them), then he didn't. BOS calls those same finishes Black Oxide and Patina Oil.
A couple of years ago, after switching from BOS, there were a series of quality issues with OilCan finishes where the finish wore badly and very quickly. I speculate that he's gone back to BOS - don't know. You'll hear folks takling about the "old OilCan" finishes, that was BOS. I've had at least 4 different OilCan finishes.
1. Original from 1998
2. Scotty Refinish (OLD Oilcan - from BOS)
3. Scotty Refinish (NEW Oilcan)
4. Very Recent.
1. 2, and 4 are similar. 3 is lighter and more colorful.
GunBlue is black Oxide - BOS is hands down the best I know about, and I speculate that they do the finishes for lots of smaller resto folks, but they won't say for obvious reasons. I can't tell the difference in GB refinishes from BOS or the custom Shop. Original GB is very different. 3X black is also gun-blue, the difference is in the prep, its media blasted before the finish is applied to cut glare.
BOS will remill the face if you ask, but they refinish, they don't restore. There is a difference. The critical part is surface prep. BOS does not do as good a job as Scotty, I do my own surface prep, but learned the hard way. This is a longneck done by BOS, I sent it in without prepping the surface, the finish they applied was great, but notice the pitting under the finish. They don't do pro-plat finishes but will put any of their finishes on. They're about $45 for a putter, if face milling is needed add another $45.
Longneck border
Kevin Colbert (putterplating.com) made his rep with Pro-Plat finishes, calls it Satin Nickel. I don't know who does it for him, but I know he doesn't do it himself. Kevin does good work, but can be slow - be prepared for a 3 month turnaround. Kevin can chemically strip an old ProPlat finish, it's a reverse electro plating process & is difficult. He can put any finish on any putter. Here's my current gamer from Kevin.
B-Back
If you're thinking aftermarket, consider George Palombi (geoputters). He'll do the prep work & get it finished, George is universally considered the best "putter mechanic" you'll find. He's a mod at puttertalk.com and a well respected member there. George has done some stuff for me that Scotty turned down. This one was turned down by Scotty because the insert was badly damaged. George fixed the insert and BOS refinished. He also supplied that Loomis Shaft.
TeI3 Longneck
Tom Slighter will restore putters, but I haven't had any done by him. He's supposed to be very good.
Both BOS and Slighter have had some issues in the past dealing with improperly using Scotty stamps on putters. I think both have mended their ways, but many older collectors still really object to aftermarket work of any kind because of this. In addition, lots of newer guys have picked up on this aversion and aftermarket refinished putters have a lower resale value. There seems to be a perception that aftermarket work is synonymous with low quality, I don't subscribe to this belief, but good prep work is the key to a restoration.
In terms of cost, compare apples to apples. A BOS refinish of your Circa with face milling will run you about $100 including 2 way shipping. If you add Scotty shaft, grip & HC, you'll be pretty close to Scottys base cost. If all you need is refinishing, do your own head prep, no remilling, and can reuse your shaft, grip & HC, you'll save yourself a Benjamin. You also have more flexibility in terms of what finish goes on a putter aftermarket. here's a couple more that BOS did for me.
Antique Torched Newport
Blue Torched Laguna
That's my story & I'm sticking to it. Hope this helps.
Steve