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Racquet Reconditioning

I try my best to recondition every racquet I re-string, and I’ve come up with a procedure that really works for me.

First, I clean the racquet with Goof-Off to get rid of grime and stray spots of stencil ink. While the Goof-Off is drying, I re-string the racquet.

Next, I recolor the bumperguard using stencil ink, which also dries fairly quickly. If I get any ink on the frame, I immediately clean it up using a Q-tip dipped in Goof-Off.

Finally, I use “Sharpie” pens to recolor any small dings and scratches. Sharpies come in an assortment of colors, and can make small damaged areas “disappear.”

If the racquet is really filthy from playing on clay, and I know I’ll have the racquet for at least a day, I actually wash the racquet using soap and water, but this requires more time because I like to allow the racquet to dry thoroughly before returning it to the customer.

I know my procedure works because I’ve had customers swear that I had returned the wrong racquet to them.

5 sets of Gamma Zo Power 16L and a Gamma Hat & T-shirt to:

Glenn Brewer, Marietta, GA

Editor’s note: We’ve been touching up frames with a black Sharpie for years, but we had no idea they were available in so many colors. Currently, Sharpies come in black, slate gray, navy, blue, ocean blue, sky blue, turquoise, aqua, spruce green, olive, green, lime, mint, yellow, dandelion, marigold, peach, tangerine, orange, pink, red, magenta, berry, brick red, burgundy, lilac, purple, plum, brown, and metallic silver.

From the July 2006 issue
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