Within the Custom Shop's restoration process, certain finishes are available, depending on the head material of your putter.
Carbon steel putters(where a magnet will stick to the head), have a choice of either a silver coloured Pro Platinum finish, or a satin black Classic Black finish. Pro Platinum is a plated finish, meaning it is very hard wearing and the possibility of rusting is kept to a minimum. The Classic Black is a black oxide finish and although tough, isn't as tough as a plated finish and without proper care and attention, can rust. To keep this possibility of rust to a minimum, proper and regular use of Scotty's oil cloth will do good work. Oiling before and after every round, potentially even after every putt during the round and never storing the putter in a damp headcover, should keep your putter looking as fresh as the day you received it. It's known that some folk keep an oil cloth within the headcover itself, but this does leave the chance of the oil staining the paintfill.
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Made For The Tour Laguna in Pro Platinum - An early Laguna primarily distributed in Europe for Tour players who looked for a finish that suited the harsher, wetter weather. Pro Platinum was the way forward, over the Gun Blue/Black Oxide finish normally available.
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Pro Platinum(although being a plated finish), still requires some care and should also be wiped down with Scotty's oil cloth. Water CAN penetrate any finish that's applied over a carbon steel putter and rust can occur very quickly, if due care and attention isn't used. This was one of Scotty's many reasons for shying away from carbon steel being used for his Off The Rack putters. He instead decided stainless steel was the way to go, though he does still use carbon steel in some Tour putters he produces.
It should also be added, that in the past, Scotty offered other carbon steel finishes on his Off The Rack putters, besides Gun Blue/Black Oxide and Pro Platinum. Black Pearl was another plated finish, which was discontinued some time ago, along with Charcoal Mist and Oil Can. These finishes, although beautiful in their own right, aren't offered through the Custom Shop anymore, nor is there any similar finishes available. At one point, not too long ago, the Custom Shop offered a Black Oxide Mist and Oil Can Mist, but these finishes proved problematic in their application and were discontinued a few months later.
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Pro Platinum Del Mar 3.5 in Black Oxide Mist or BOM
Justin Leonard Coronado in Oil Can Mist
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Stainless steel is the hardest and easiest way of keeping the rust away, in terms of head material used, but it is only RESISTANT to it and once again, without proper care and attention, can still rust.
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Studio Style Newport 2 - One of Scotty's first OTR stainless steel putters, which uses a German Stainless Steel insert.
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Rust can be treated on stainless steel putters, but any kind of abrasive to remove the rust, will most likely buff up the finish, to leave it shiny. With a carbon putter going rusty, a light rub with 00000 steel wool can be used and then a wipe of Scotty's oil cloth during and after, to give some lubrication.
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Studio Select Newport 2 in Classic Black - Originally in raw stainless steel, the Classic Black plating is the only way to find a Studio Select in black, through official Scotty channels.
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In ALL instances, we recommend use of a Scotty oil cloth to protect your club from day one. There comes no harm from using it and best of all, it makes your club look cleaner and tidier, for longer. Being that we supply ALL putters we sell, with a brand new Scotty oil cloth....you have no excuses! ;-)