Custom Grit Texture: What One Change Pulls With It

A grit face is a set of six settings that are wired to each other. A change to one setting moves something else as well, usually weight or lead time.

The Short Answer: Six Knobs, One Weight Budget

The six settings are grit size, color, texture depth, how the grit goes on, and the face material under it. The graphics over the face are the sixth setting.

Three settings are nearly free, and three can cost a brand a sand lot or an approval. All six share one weight budget of 225 g ±5 g.

What a Brand Can Actually Change on a Grit Face

The list starts with what a change touches.

The full family of surface options is worked through in the full list of face texture options. The sections that follow cover the cost side of each knob.

Knob 1 — Grit Size: 80 Mesh vs 100 Mesh

Two grades cover most builds. The 80 mesh grade is the coarse one, about 180 µm across. The 100 mesh grade is finer, about 150 µm.

Coarse sand starts with more bite. It also sits higher against the roughness ceiling, and its taller tips flatten faster. Over 100 hits, the drop is larger.

Fine sand starts with less bite. Its curve is flatter. If a brand sells on control rather than spin, that is usually the better trade.

Grade selection stays inside the existing face material. It sits inside the grit specs we build in-house as a choice made before the first sample.

Knob 2 — Grit Color and Batch Color Drift

Four colors are standard: black, the natural color of the grit, plus blue, green and yellow.

Color comes from pigment in the resin rather than from the sand, and that fact matters twice. Color has no effect on grip, so it stays a design choice. Each color also runs as its own material stream, so every color a brand adds is another lot to match.

A brand with four colors and high volume per color sees almost no drift. A brand with four colors and low volume per color sees it on the shelf. Two green paddles from two runs then read as two products.

If your volume is low, pick one color and put the variation into the graphic.

Knob 3 and 4 — Texture Depth, Coverage and How the Grit Goes On

Texture depth sets how much grit tip stands proud. Deeper texture means a taller tip, a higher reading against the roughness ceiling, and a faster fall once wear starts. Shallower texture lasts longer and starts with less grip.

Coverage is the second half. Most brands run grit across the whole face, because off-center hits land on the edges too. A center-only patch saves material and gives the player no benefit.

The route decides which face materials stay open to you. Sandblasting cuts into a cured skin. Spraying stacks particles on it. Fusing grit into resin needs a face that carries resin at the right stage. Some pairings do not exist at all, and a request for one of them costs two weeks of work.

Knob 5 — The Face Underneath: Fiberglass, Carbon or Raw Carbon

This is the expensive knob.

Moving from fiberglass to raw carbon, or changing the layup under the grit, makes it a new model. A new model needs its own approval, about USD 3,000.00 each. That covers 24 months, with roughly eight weeks in queue and an annual brand fee on top.

No other item on this list costs that much. If a brand asks for a face change three months before launch, the honest answer is that the launch moves.

The way each face handles the same grit is set out in how each face material holds grit.

Knob 6 — Graphics Over a Textured Face

Grit and print compete for the same layer.

A full-face graphic laid over grit fills the valleys between the tips. The face prints cleanly and grips like a smooth surface. Selkirk avoids that trade by molding the texture. Selkirk defines InfiniGrit as a molded face texture rather than a spray-on coating.

The practical order is grit first, graphics second. Where a brand wants both, we keep the printed area to a band or the back of the face. The hitting zone stays bare.

What Each Change Does to Weight, Balance and Feel

Texture depth and coating both add or remove mass. The target is 225 g ±5 g, with a tighter window of ±2 g to ±3 g on precision builds.

Three rules keep this manageable.

• Weigh the face blank before and after texturing. Do not weigh the finished paddle first.

• Watch swing weight. Static weight can sit inside spec while the head feels heavy.

• Move one mass item per sample. Two at once and a heavy sample tells you nothing.

What Each Change Does to MOQ, Lead Time and Price

Our published terms, so a brand can plan around them.

• MOQ 200 pieces.

• Samples 10 to 15 days.

• Production 35 days for runs up to 2,000 pieces.

• Quote bands: entry fiberglass at USD 8.00–15.00, mid 3K carbon at USD 15.00–35.00, high 12K or 18K with a multi-layer core at USD 35.00–65.00, flagship fused grit at USD 50.00–100.00.

Color and sand grade stay inside a band. Texture route and face material can move a build a full band. A new color on a small order adds a material stream rather than a band.

When We Tell a Brand Not to Customize

Four situations where we push back, and mean it.

• The order is under MOQ and the brand wants a custom color and a custom sand blend. You will pay for lots you cannot use.

• Approval is in hand and the brand wants a new face material. The upgrade costs a submission and a season.

• The only reason for the change is that it looks different. A buyer cannot see a weave in a shelf photo, and the price will not carry it.

• The launch date is already tight. A texture change adds a sample round, and rounds take two weeks.

Custom work pays when it changes what a buyer can feel or measure. When it only changes a line on a spec sheet, skip it.

The Order to Validate Changes In

A brand should change in this order, with one step per sample.

1. Grit grade and particle spread.

1. Texture depth and coverage.

1. Grit route and face material.

1. Color.

1. Graphics.

1. Packaging and the spec sheet.

One change per round is slower on paper and faster in practice. When a sample comes back wrong, you know which knob did it. Grit sample sign-off itself is covered in checking a grit sample before you sign off.

FAQ

Can we pick a sand grade without paying for a new sample?

Yes, if the grade sits inside our standard range. It is a selection rather than a new project.

Does grit color affect how the face grips?

No. Color comes from pigment in the resin. It affects batch matching rather than friction.

Can we put grit only on the center of the face?

You can, and we would ask why. Off-center hits land on the edges, so wear follows the whole face.

Is a deeper texture always better?

It starts rougher and falls faster. Depth is a starting point rather than a quality level.

Do graphics on a textured face reduce spin?

In the printed area, yes. Ink fills the valleys between the grit tips.

Does changing the face material really mean a new approval?

Yes. Approval follows the model rather than the brand, so a new face means a new fee.

How many variables should we change at once?

One per sample. Two changes in one round leave a failure unexplained.

Can we add a custom color on a small order?

We can run it, but low volume shows drift between runs. That reads as uneven product rather than custom product.

Final Checklist: Changes to Lock Before the Sample Run

• Grit grade chosen, with the grip curve in mind

• Color chosen from standard options, or a custom run accepted

• Texture depth agreed, with a weigh-back plan

• Coverage decided: full face or a defined zone

• Grit route matched to a face that accepts it

• Face material frozen before artwork starts

• Graphic area set, with the hitting zone left bare

• Sample rounds scheduled one change at a time

• Approval timeline built into the launch date

A brand can send the list to our engineering team and we will answer every line.