Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
Durable black finish for stainless golf putters & clubs
adv.
Q. I am evaluating the use of black nickel over a nickel base (both electrolytic) on a golf putter head made of 304 stainless steel.
Any suggestions or concerns with the environment a putter will see. Some fertilizers, salts, humidity, etc are typical in use. Many putters use head covers, which may contain moisture.
Also any thoughts on how well does plating work over media blast areas. We are looking at doing a glass bead in the plating area.
Last question suggestions for a process. Pre-cleans, thicknesses of platings, post cleans, etc..
Thanks,
Mike Peters- Vista, California, USA
2001
A. You will need a Woods Nickel strike to start.
The black nickel of old, formulated with sodium sulfocyanide, ammonia ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , and zinc, has only moderate resistance to corrosion and wear, and that was in an office environment. We applied black nickel to mechanical gyroscope components, but these went into a protected environment.
Today, the old formulation provides some real challenges in waste water treatment and disposal.
Nickel plating has been successfully applied over blasted areas in order to give the proper finish (such as satin, or brushed).
Tom Pullizzi
Falls Township, Pennsylvania
A. I think black chrome would be a better finish for this application.
Geoffrey Whitelaw
- Port Melbourne, Australia
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)
Q. Just wondering if anyone has tried to blacken stainless steel golf club heads.
Thanks,
- Charlottetown, PE, Canada
2002
A. Stainless steel can be blackened, William, but usually it's an industrial process rather than something you do at home. Try contacting plating shops and asking if they do black oxide on stainless. Alternately, the clubs can be plated with a black metal like black chromium, black nickel, or black zinc. Good luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors :-)
Q. We manufacture CNC Milled Putters. We are looking to start doing them in 303 Stainless. A BLACK DURABLE finish is needed for finishing of these pieces. Suggestions ?
Thank You!
George PalombiDesigner- Glorified welder - Van Wert, Ohio
2004
A. I suggest Kolene's Nu-Tride® Process, which impregnates the surface of the metal. Less durable alternatives are black chrome (MIL-DTL-14538C) and black oxide (MIL-DTL-13924 [on DLA]) coatings.
Ken Vlach [deceased]- Goleta, California
Finishing.com honored Ken for his countless carefully researched responses. He passed away May 14, 2015.Rest in peace, Ken. Thank you for your hard work which the finishing world, and we at finishing.com, continue to benefit from.
A. Depending on the SST 303 surface finish we coat most all types of SST, CS, and alum. with a dull flat to semi-gloss black coating which is very scratch resistance and will not chip or peel.
Bob KennardFinishing - Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Q. As a hobby, I refurbish golf putters and need a durable black finish for the heads. The majority of the putter heads are mild carbon steel or 303 stainless, occasionally manganese bronze or brass. After buffing/polishing/cleaning, I will either apply a proprietary gun-blue and finish with silicone oil, apply an 'oil-can' finish ( boiled linseed oil
⇦this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
& heat) or electro-plate them. Plating is used for the less than perfect putter heads. For plating, I use a Woods nickel strike followed by a build-up of acid copper layers. The multi-layers allow the filling of fine scratches and minor blemishes - larger blemishes are soldered over a copper layer, smoothed and plated over. Further polishing takes place between successive layers. The final plating which is either bright nickel or copper is polished to a high shine and soft wire brushed in places. I age/darken the copper with vinegar
⇦in bulk on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] soaked cloth in a sealed container.
I have recently attempted to apply a black nickel finish over both the bright nickel and copper final layers but cannot achieve the required shiny black. I am using a nickel sulphate/ammonium nickel sulphate/zinc silphate
⇦this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
/sodium thiocyanate [affil links] bath but the finish is an even steel-grey. Polishing can remove the finish to reveal the copper or nickel beneath.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received.
Hobbyist - Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, UK
2006
A. Black nickel is very thin and needs lacquer protection for many applications. A nickel underplating is normally used.
For a shiny dark black, lower the plating current and voltage. The
Electroplating Engineering Handbook [on
AbeBooks or
eBay or
Amazon affil links]
, 4th edn., gives current densities 0.08-0.2 Amp/dm2 (0.75-2.25 Amp/sq. ft) at 1-2 Volts, a temperature of 21-24 °C, with 1:1 anode (graphite or Ni):cathode ratio. Mild agitation seems to help, too.
- Goleta, California
Finishing.com honored Ken for his countless carefully researched responses. He passed away May 14, 2015.Rest in peace, Ken. Thank you for your hard work which the finishing world, and we at finishing.com, continue to benefit from.
Q. Thanks for the advise Ken. I have tried a low voltage of 1.5 in the past but not at such a low current. I will give it a whirl this weekend but the difficulty I have to overcome is the size of the putter head (17.25 sq. inches) and the low current density area in the cut-out pocket at the back of the putter head. I have concocted an elaborate anode distribution to overcome the latter, but in order to maintain the low current that you recommend, I guess I shall have to 'thieve' with additional dummy cathodes.
If you could see my set-up as it is, I think you would probably flash me one of those 'get a life' looks...
Should I further complicate the 'engineering' I will probably lose my mind and reach for the aerosol of gloss black to paint the darn things!
This, as I mentioned, is just a hobby...a few buckets of chemicals and a variable power-supply ... I take the procedures seriously but feel that I may be reaching too far to achieve what the layman would see as simply a shiny black finish.
I will update the thread after I have experimented further.
Thanks again
- Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, UK
A. Black nickel is way too soft for a golf club and will scratch easily leaving a white line of the base metal.
Black chrome would be a better choice.
Enthone used to sell a black wax that could be spray painted that had a high gloss and was quite durable and would be a piece of cake to rewax.
- Navarre, Florida
Q. Gentlemen, I am still persevering with the black nickel, but may consider black chrome, as suggested. The formulation that I have for the latter is of chromic acid (55 g/l), acetic acid ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (175 g/l) and barium acetate (6 g/l). Has anyone used this or is there a more suitable or alternative make-up?
Linden Hopwood [returning]- Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, UK
Q. Hi everyone, I bought a golf putter that was cold gun blued, it looked great! Unfortunately it has become rusted, and is a real hassle to keep blueing it. I would like to get the putter to look like the color of when a drop of oil is put into water, sort of that rainbow look.
I would like to do this with a steel putter and also a stainless steel putter I have laying around, any suggestions? I live in the Middle East so very hard to get anyone to do it here, so remember I'm a total amateur :) but I can buy from the good old USA and get it shipped here
Would a torch finish work with a some type of clear coat to protect?
Thanks everyone!
Hobbyist - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
July 17, 2012
Readers: We have a dozen long threads about blackening stainless steel. Please search the site with "Black stainless" plus your specific search word if you didn't find your answer on this page.
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread