Club Champion and Merritt Industrial
Turn Disposable Golf Shaft Adapters into Reusable Inventory
This golf shaft adapter epoxy removal project shows how Merritt Industrial cleaned and restored more than 15,000 aluminum golf club adapters that had been made unusable by cured epoxy.
We were contacted by a nationwide golf club fitting company with over 200 retail locations to see if Merritt could solve a unique and costly problem:
“Can you remove epoxy?!?” the email asked. This soon-to-be was forced to treat their expensive golf club shaft adapters as single-use components due to epoxy buildup used during their club-fitting process.
Our reply: ”We can. Send us some samples for testing!”
Golf Shaft Adapter Epoxy Removal: Project Snapshot
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Client | Club Champion |
| Parts | golf club shaft adapters |
| Problem | epoxy rendered the adapters non-functional |
| Quantity | 15,000+ adapters |
| Process | Heat-free epoxy removal, dry ice cleaning, laser cleaning |
| Result | 15,000+ golf shaft adapters restored for reuse — reducing replacement cost, waste, and downtime. |
Merritt Industrial is frequently sought out for specialized solutions to non-traditional cleaning challenges.
Our expertise is for companies dealing with inefficient manufacturing equipment, material loss, labor shortages, even replacing processes that are no longer scalable or replacing harsh cleaning chemicals that are no longer compliant.
If this sounds like your company/situation, reach out to see if we can help
The Problem: Cured Epoxy Rendered Shaft Adapters Unusable
When a person is being custom fit for a golf club, special adapters are used for the specific club brand(s) to test and fit different club head and shaft combinations. These adapters vary by manufacturer and club type. Shaft adapters are critical to the fitting process and are repeatedly exposed to epoxy resin during installation and removal. Essentially, they are a main ingredient.
Once the epoxy cures, the internal cavity of the shaft adapter becomes solid and is extremely difficult to remove. As a result, many adapters were considered non-reusable forcing the purchase of new adapters in bulk. (expensive) Now, our new client was doing some in-house cleaning, but that required a lot of labor, quality control, and chemicals.
Even with in-house efforts, cleaning could be inconsistent. Harsh chemicals introduced handling and disposal concerns, plus adapter turnaround times were too slow to support the operations of 200+ retail locations.
The Search for a Better Solution
A couple of savvy managers at the company did some Google searching and discovered Merritt Industrial through one of our previous articles on epoxy removal using Dry Ice blasting and laser cleaning.
They approached us with the simple, but critical question:
“Can these adapters be cleaned efficiently and consistently without damaging them?”
“If so, how much and how fast can we get them back?”
Testing the Viability: Laser vs. Dry Ice Cleaning
Before committing to a large-scale project, Merritt Industrial conducted controlled testing on about 300 sample shaft adapters.
We evaluated:
- Effectiveness of laser cleaning for epoxy removal
- Performance of dry ice blasting for epoxy removal in tight spaces
- Ability to remove epoxy without damaging part tolerances
As a result, we found a hybrid cleaning solution
- Laser cleaning provided precise, non-contact softening of the epoxy followed by our dry ice blasting to remove the resin from the shaft adapter surfaces.
Empirical testing ensured an accurate project scope and highly competitive pricing.
The Project Scope: Cleaning 15,000 Golf Club Shaft Adapters
After successful testing, the client shipped 15,000 golf club adapters to Merritt Industrial.
Execution: High-Volume, Zero-Loss Cleaning
Our team developed a repeatable cleaning workflow combining laser cleaning for precision epoxy removal plus dry ice blasting for bulk and precision removal.
Key outcomes:
- 15,000 shaft adapters cleaned
- Zero material loss
- Complete epoxy removal from internal cavities
- No damage to adapter structure or fitment
Speed Matters: Turnaround Matters
The client needed a rapid turnaround to restock their retail locations.
In under 7 days, Merritt Industrial:
- Received the full shipment
- Processed (cleaned) all adapters
- Shipped the completed adapter inventory back
This represented a faster turnaround time compared to their in-house cleaning efforts, AND resulted in significant cost savings by restoring instead of replacing.
It’s Bigger Than Golf Club Adapters: A New Approach to Industrial Cleaning
This project mirrors a global shift: restoring instead of replacing.
Diverting these materials from landfills provides environmental benefits while saving you money. By leveraging the right technology, we can reclaim “single-use” components for extended lifecycles.
Merritt Industrial specializes in:
- Epoxy removal without chemicals
- Precision cleaning of complex materials
- High-volume industrial part restoration
Merritt Industrial is a Solutions Partner
This was not just a cleaning job for our staff. This project, like all of our projects, required understanding our client’s operational bottleneck. Testing and validating our process to ensure our approach actually worked and rendered a quality result. Executing at scale under a tight deadline to meet our client’s needs.
This is the level of partnership companies can expect when working with Merritt Industrial.
Applications Beyond the Golf Industry
While this project focused on golf club shaft adapters, our process applies to many industrial components with contamination buildup.
- Reconditioning of high-value, reusable components
Looking for Epoxy Removal or Part Restoration?
If your operation is dealing with:
- Epoxy buildup
- Circuit Board Cleaning
- Injection Mold Cleaning and restoration
- Adhesive contamination
- High replacement costs for small components
Merritt Industrial can help you evaluate whether those parts can be restored instead of replaced.
Contact Merritt Industrial
Learn more about our laser cleaning and dry ice blasting services and how we help companies reduce waste, cost, and downtime.