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What is a Golf Club Epoxy? Golf epoxy is an organic compound that is used to repair and glue together broken parts of golf clubs. Epoxy is formed by a covalent bond between carbon and other elements like nitrogen, oxygen, or hydrogen. This is subject to curing in the presence of a catalyst to form an epoxy resin. Curing is the process of hardening a material when it is exposed to chemical additives, heat, or air. The resin and curing conditions depend on the property and mechanical strength of the material the epoxy is applied to. There is a wide range of epoxy adhesives to meet varying needs. These adhesives must be highly durable and capable of withstanding heavy loads, harsh chemicals, water, and heat. Epoxy adhesives are either one-component or two-component based. Golf club epoxy is a type of toughened two-component epoxy. Two-component or two-part epoxies are subject to curing at lower temperatures than their one-component counterparts. Curing is a heat accelerated process and is done in the presence of a catalyst. Such epoxies are highly stable with fast curing times and can withstand high temperatures. Golf club epoxies have excellent adhesion properties and are helpful in the coating, sealing, and bonding golf clubs. They offer excellent adhesion to multiple materials like wood, carbon, steel, graphite, titanium, composite, and more. The Best Type of Epoxy to Use for Golf Clubs You can use two types of two-component epoxies for bonding golf clubs. They are quick cure-epoxy and long-cure epoxy. The time taken for curing depends on the kind of epoxy used and the temperature in which it is used. Whichever epoxy you plan to use, make sure that you do not apply or mix it if the surrounding temperature is below 65°F. A quick-cure epoxy is recommended only if you want to use your golf club in about an hour. In other words, this epoxy is best suited for emergency fixes only. Because of this, the epoxy is also referred to as the five-minute epoxy. On the other hand, a long-cure epoxy or 24-hour epoxy takes about 20 hours for the bonding to be effective. Two-component epoxies are readily available in hardware stores but, you should check out one at a club repair website or store to lay your hands on one that is specifically intended for golf clubs. This special epoxy, when applied and cured properly, will hold well throughout your golfing sessions. How To Replace the Clubhead First remove the old epoxy from the hosel of the broken club. Use sandpaper and abrade the shaft tip that has to go into the club. Clean both the sealing surfaces using a solvent to remove any debris that may cause interference with the epoxy bond. Mix the epoxy components in a disposable container. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and use a disposable tool to apply the adhesive on to the surfaces. Keep the golf club in an upright position in your golf rack for the curing to be complete. You can add some glass shafting beads to the epoxy before the application to strengthen it and increase its adhesion. Golf Epoxy vs Regular epoxy A golf epoxy has certain characteristics that make it better than one of those general-purpose two-component epoxies. One noteworthy feature is that this type of epoxy has a relatively low breakdown temperature than standard epoxies. It also has high elastic properties and peel-shear strength to enhance the life of the golf club. Moreover, a golf epoxy is not as brittle as regular epoxies. This prevents cracking of the epoxy bond that often results in a cracked joint on the head. The epoxy also has high torque to withstand the impact of the clubhead hitting the golf ball. What Epoxy PSI Number Should You Use Ideally, your golf epoxy should have a PSI number of over 2500 PSI. The GolfWorks shafting epoxy is a great option because of its high torque resistance and shear strength. The epoxy renders 90% curing to 2765 PSI in a day and 100% curing to 3280 PSI in a week. This EPX epoxy has an added advantage of working equally well with both graphite and steel shafts. How Much Epoxy Do You Need For your Golf Club Before you use a golf epoxy for your golf club, you should know how much epoxy you will need to use. All you need to do is to coat the shaft tip and the complete surface inside the hosel separately with a thin and even layer of the epoxy. This will usually be less than 0.5g. A drop is more than enough for the shaft tip. Using too much epoxy does not do any justice and may even result in more harm than good. For example, such an application can result in swing weight problems, shaft rattles, and even shaft breakage over time. Epoxy Application Instructions You will need to use epoxy on your golf club to fix a detached shaft or replace the existing shaft with a new one. In the latter case, the process varies based on whether you’re going to remove a steel shaft or a graphite shaft. However, keep in mind that both processes require heat application. Hence, you should use leather gloves to protect yourself. Steps to Remove a Steel Shaft: Keep the shaft in a super lock tight shaft holder and tighten it in a vise. If your shaft has a plastic ferrule, cover the ferrule with a wet paper towel so that it does not get burnt. Aim a torch flame towards the hosel for half a minute. Establish a firm hold on the clubhead with your gloved hand and twist it. If the head does not get detached, repeat the last two steps with 15 seconds of heat application until the head comes off. Steps to Remove a Graphite Shaft: Keep the shaft in a graphite shaft extractor following the instructions given for the extractor. Apply heat on the hosel with a heat gun. Use a box wrench to turn the threaded bolt of the extractor without twisting the clubhead. If the head does not come off, repeat the above process until the head loosens. Steps to Apply Epoxy The steps to apply epoxy are the same irrespective of whether you’re going to fix a steel shaft or a graphite shaft. Measure the tip of your old shaft. Trim the tip end of the new shaft following the trimming instructions so that it is the exact size of the old shaft. Roughen or abrade the shaft tip. If you’re using a ferrule, slide it on to the top of the shaft. Mix the epoxy according to instructions. Dip the shaft tip into the mixed epoxy, leaving a drop on the tip. Slide the shaft in and out of the hosel using a rotatory motion. This motion helps to coat the hosel and the shaft uniformly with the epoxy, as well as to align the shaft graphics based on your preferences. Rest the butt end of the shaft on the floor using a tapping motion so that the tip that is against the hosel bore bottom gets sealed. Use a clean paper towel to wipe off any excess epoxy. Rest the club in an upright position until the curing is complete. Place the club under a 48-inch ruler in the normal playing position. Make a marking on the shaft at 1/8th of an inch below the preferred playing length to extend the length of the golf club. How Long to Let Golf Epoxy Cure/Dry Ideally, there is no fixed time for your golf epoxy to get cured. In most cases, the curing time will be specified on the epoxy package. While some epoxies take five minutes, a few others take close to a day. The surrounding temperature also affects the curing process. Curing takes place faster in warmer temperatures. On average, the curing of golf epoxy may take about 12 to 18 hours to get dry on a warm day. Trying to test the golf head after the prescribed curing period is a good way to check if the curing is complete. If it is done, you’ll not be able to do the twisting. However, the best method is to set aside the remaining mixed epoxy after you have fixed your golf club and check it. If you feel it soft and mushy and can leave a mark on the epoxy with your nail, then it probably hasn’t cured. This means that the epoxy on your golf club needs more time as well for complete curing. However, if the leftover epoxy has hardened and is solid, then you’re good to go with your golf club. Why Your Epoxy Won’t Cure There is more than one reason why your epoxy is not getting cured. The temperature in which you use the epoxy can delay or hasten the epoxy curing process. The curing can also get delayed if the temperature is not between 70°F and 90°F. The epoxy must not be exposed to a temperature of over 135°F. The mixing must be done exactly in the specified mix-ratio according to the instructions given in the epoxy cover. Using waxed or paper cups to mix the epoxy can affect the curing process. Another reason why the epoxy is not curing could be that the old epoxy has not been removed completely from the hosel. Best Epoxy To Use for Golf Shafts Various epoxies are available that do a good job of fastening the shaft in place. I will give you a few suggestions here for you to check out: GolfWorks Tour Set Plus - This epoxy features a fast setting time and is specifically intended for graphite and steel shafts. Permatex products - They are very easy to use and separate options are available for metal-to-metal and graphite-to-metal. JB Weld - This epoxy is affordable and has fast adhesion properties. Brampton 5/10 - This epoxy uses a fast cure agent that lessens the time required for curing to be complete. Mitchell Golf Quick Cure 510 - This one assures you of firm adhesion and does not cause a head to pop after it has been fitted. Best Epoxy for Golf Club Heads You can check out one of the following epoxies to fit your golf club head in place. GolfWorks Quick Set Epoxy - This one sets in just five minutes and can be used to secure both wooden heads or iron heads firmly. Brampton 20/20 Long Cure Epoxy Cartridge - This one works well with all materials and can be used to fix both golf club heads and shafts with its impact resistance and durability. What is 24-hour Epoxy and is it Better? True to its name, a 24-hour epoxy is an adhesive that takes a whole day for curing. Thus, it is a long-cure epoxy. While this epoxy does take a long time to get set, they have better shear strength than many quick-cure ones. Golf specific epoxies have the shear strength intended for golf equipment. This is often matched by 24 hours or long-cure epoxies. However, some golf-specific epoxies are also available as 5-minute epoxies. In most cases, 24-hour epoxies have proven to be more effective because their shear strength enhances the life of golf accessories. The golf head does not come loose or come off completely like in the case of 5-minute epoxies. Moreover, some 24-hour epoxies are found to be easier to work with compared to the quick-cure ones. To get the best out of your 24-hour epoxy, you must wait for at least the time specified for it to set. It may take a slightly longer time depending on the humidity and temperature of your area. In such a situation, it is worth waiting for those few extra hours. Although you may use a heat lamp to reduce the curing time, it may weaken the bond. So, it is best to go by the 24 hours wait. How to Remove Epoxy from a Golf Club While it may not seem necessary to remove the dried up epoxy from your golf club, it is highly recommended that you do so. This is because the old epoxy can have an adverse impact on the curing of the new epoxy when you’re trying to fit your golf club shaft or head. Remember that getting the old epoxy out of the way is not as challenging as it sounds. You can try out the following tips to remove epoxy from your steel or graphite golf club shaft and head. How to Remove Epoxy from the Shaft: Use an electric drill and a drill bit that has a smaller diameter than the tip opening to make a small hole in the dried-up hard epoxy. This will loosen the epoxy and it will fall off. You may want to start with a narrow drill bit and move on to a wider one if required. Warm the epoxy using a heat gun and screw it in a little with a drywall screw. After this, use the screw to pull out the plug of epoxy. Remove the grip of the golf club. Take a small piece of a flattened out coat hanger and push it right into the center of the shaft towards the tip when the epoxy is still warm. Turn the shaft upside down and the epoxy will fall off. The advantage of heating the shaft tip is that you can also remove old lead tip weight bits. If you’re heating the shaft, the epoxy is likely to start swelling and will bulge out of the shaft. Use a pair of small needle-nosed pliers to pull it out gently. For a graphite shaft, you can use the edge of a razor knife and scrape off the epoxy. At the tip area, you can drill through it using a small drill bit. If you’re retaining the same grip, you can drill through the hole in the grip butt. Abrade the dried epoxy from the tip of the graphite shaft downwards as much as possible. Remove the grip and get the epoxy out. How To Remove Epoxy from the Clubhead: If you have an iron clubhead, then scraping the epoxy off using a blade is an easy way out. Try freezing the clubhead. Often, most epoxies will tend to break off when they get frozen. This will make it easy to remove the epoxy without affecting the paint. Rubbing the epoxy with a paint thinner can help you get it off but, this may cause the finish on the club head to wear off as well and you will have to end up painting the club Is there a Golf club Epoxy alternative? If you’re looking for an alternative to a golf club epoxy, then you must consider buying one that is closest to it. Most golf club epoxies are two-component long-cure epoxies. So, you may want to think of buying an epoxy considering this aspect in mind. While hardware stores generally have stock of such epoxies, they are designed for a perpendicular force. In other words, these have the same characteristics as that of golf club epoxies but, using them may cause the club head to come off the shaft while playing. Having said that, it does not mean that all general-purpose long-cure two-compound epoxies are not effective on golf clubs. Reputed brands like Araldite are known to serve the purpose as well. However, it is always a good idea to stay away from 5-minute quick cure epoxies even if they have a two-component formulation. How Much does Golf Epoxy Cost? Golf epoxy costs between $6 and $12. The cost is usually based on two major factors. One factor is the components used in the epoxy formulation. The other factor is the brand of the adhesive. In general, golf epoxies are not an expensive deal. You can get well-known ones from a golf clubs repair store in your neighborhood or online stores like Amazon for a nominal price ranging between $6 to $12. Glass shafting beads also come with an affordable price tag. Learn How To Remove Scratches on your Golf Clubs