I've FINALLY figured out how to finish stripping the Raw Black SM5 completely RAW. I had an epiphany when I watched a video of Voke grinding the sole of a wedge. Sandpaper!

I'll give you all the steps needed to make your Raw Black SM5 look as sweet as mine:

1. Soak the head in vinegar overnight. I didn't pull the head, but I also did not let the vinegar touch the hosel. If that is an issue for you, try putting tape over the hosel to prevent the vinegar from soaking into the epoxy.

2. Sporadically scrub the clubhead evenly with 000 steel wool.

3. Now, your wedge will look like the photos from my first post. Dry the clubhead and use 600-grit sandpaper to remove the rest of the dull, crystallized appearance. Make sure you stay in one direction when sanding. Don't sand in circles or vertical over horizontal.

4. Buff the club with 1000 grit sandpaper, again, making sure you are going 'along the grain.'

And bam, you're done.

Nice job the club looks great, could you think you could do the same with a SM4 black nickle wedge 

I'm not sure. I don't know whether the black nickel is QPQed. I don't think it will destroy the club to try it out.

Looks great! You can also try Coke or Pepsi instead of vinegar.

I had an interesting result my Raw Blacks. Copper finish. The pictures don't do them justice. 

The copper color looks awesome! Did you use coke or vinegar? Did you then oil can them?

Thanks!

I got lucky. Soaked them in Vinegar for 2 hours and scrubbed with an old toothbrush to get all the black off. Like the other post it was kind of patchy, so I soaked them in coke overnight. Then after I rinsed them I wanted to scrub them with steel wool but I didn't have any. I grabbed a soft copper scrub dish pad which was under the sink. When I started to scrub them the copper transferred to the head. It must have to do with the coating under the black finish. I've only hit balls at the range off of mats, and it seems durable for now. I got my distances like my old TVD's now, so will put them in the bag this weekend. Will keep you posted on how the finish wears. 

Wow, that is one awesome looking wedge. What process did you use? I would like to see a raw copper finish for the next SM model.

Great looking wedges! I think I have my project for the next 2 nights!

What are the benefits of stripping the finish from your wedges?

There aren't any performance benefits, really. I strip the finish because a raw wedge has a softer feel. Raw wedges also rust, but I try to keep it dry, thus keeping the rust off. Just the feeling of hitting a ProV1 crisp and taking a fat divot is like heaven. 

I'm kind of partial to the factory finish of my golf clubs, I like my clubs to retain that 'new' look for as long as possible. Like, if I was to buy a new car... I don't think I'd be looking for a sander anytime soon.