Do you clean your shaft during play? Using what?

greyghost said:
YUP....

besides clean hands that don't have gymnastics chalk on it.......

damp paper towel (NOT WET) and buff on shaft till hot....

dry paper towel and buff till hot....

shaft now feels brand new....

no magic eraser, no scotch brite, no voodoo or any other kind of black magic

works perfect,
-Grey Ghost-
Click to expand...

That is the same that I do.

If you hold your cue at a little angle when chalking and the hand with the chalk above the chalk you can minimize the amount of chalk that gets on your hand and shaft. The bridge hand will need to be cleaned occasionally if playing on a dirty table.
 
While playing I use a very slightly damp cloth to wipe down the shaft and butt every few games. Use it on my hands also. Shaft is completely dry less than 30 sec after wiping.
 
During play is the question.
Usually only a clean paper towl or shirt. Get them wet if needed.
Keep your hands free and wash them after each mact if needed.
If this is an ongoing issue, do all this other prep work with magic butt wipes wax, and leather... and all theses other products the day before :smile:
I really don't mess with my shaft once the touney starts.
 
shanis42 said:
I admit I am a sucker for the gimmicky stuff. I came across a Tiger smoother, burnisher.

It is like a micro-mesh abrasive, so I was a little apprehensive at first. You can rinse it off, and reuse it. I wouldnt call it an everyday shaft cleaner, but it does get the shaft SILKY smooth when I use it. Cant be any worse than a magic eraser.

tiger-shaft-cleaner-burnisher_detail.jpg
Click to expand...

This is what I use between shots if I find a dirt build up from rubbing on the table. Seems to work well for me.

I sat behind Johnny Archer during one of his matches at the US Open one year and noticed that he used some sort of wipe just about every time he sat down. It looked about the size of an alcohol wipe but it had some color to it and was quite thin. Apparently they came in a package with several wipes in the package though he only used the one, maybe two, during the whole match.
 
Difference between medical alcohol wipes, and those of the electronics industry

Patrick Johnson said:
View attachment 153646

Alcohol swabs are neat (each in its own foil packet), convenient to carry in the pocket of your case (about 1.5 inch square), cheap (about 2 cents each), and do a great job without water (no worries about warping or raising the grain, and your shaft is dry in a few seconds).

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

Patrick:

I agree that the "swab" or "wipe" style of packaging is great -- very convenient!

However, I need to caution you that the very product you show in the image -- of alcohol wipes used for medical reasons (prepping the skin for an injection) -- is NOT "without water" as you say above. Medical skin-prepping wipes are soaked with rubbing alcohol, which is a 70%/30% formulation (70% alcohol, 30% distilled water). If you read the detailed liner of the box (or it may also be shown on the wipes foil package), you'll see this.

A better "alcohol wipes" product is one that is used for electronics, which by definition, cannot have water in it. Here's the product I like to use:


This product is 100% IPA (isopropyl alcohol), and is formulated this way so as to act as what we want the alcohol to be -- a solvent. When alcohol is cut with water, it's no longer a solvent, but an anti-septic instead. That is, unless, the dirt/impurities which the alcohol is intended to clean is also water soluble. With this product, there's no issue with water, because it has none.

Granted, this product might be a little on the expensive side, but it's guaranteed pure anhydrous alcohol -- mandatory in the electronics industry, because 1.) water and electronics don't mix; and 2.) in order to cut soldering flux and TV Tuner spray, the alcohol has to be anhydrous for its solvent ability.

When I use this product with the Magic Eraser, I don't get the "hairiness" that other folks mention, because there's no water in the alcohol to swell and lift the tiny fibers of the wood.

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean
 
JoeW said:
This is what I use between shots if I find a dirt build up from rubbing on the table. Seems to work well for me.

I sat behind Johnny Archer during one of his matches at the US Open one year and noticed that he used some sort of wipe just about every time he sat down. It looked about the size of an alcohol wipe but it had some color to it and was quite thin. Apparently they came in a package with several wipes in the package though he only used the one, maybe two, during the whole match.
Click to expand...

Joe:

Those could be one of two things:

McMagic reusable shaft papers:
http://azbmarketplace.com/products/McMagic-22-15.html

...or Nick Varner's "Nick's Edge":
http://nickvarner.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=512

Knowing Johnny Archer's long-time friendship with Nick Varner, it's probably the latter.

-Sean
 
shanis42 said:
I admit I am a sucker for the gimmicky stuff. I came across a Tiger smoother, burnisher.

It is like a micro-mesh abrasive, so I was a little apprehensive at first. You can rinse it off, and reuse it. I wouldnt call it an everyday shaft cleaner, but it does get the shaft SILKY smooth when I use it. Cant be any worse than a magic eraser.

tiger-shaft-cleaner-burnisher_detail.jpg
Click to expand...

JoeW said:
This is what I use between shots if I find a dirt build up from rubbing on the table. Seems to work well for me.

[...]
Click to expand...

I have this product as well, but I need to caution folks that this product IS ABRASIVE! And more so than you think! Many of these abrasive shaft care products will use marketing words like "micro-abrasive" and "won't harm your shaft," but a simple test is after you use this product, examine it (the product, that is, not the shaft). That white powder you see that's starting to cake on the product's surface? That's WOOD!

I definitely would not "use it between shots" as another poster mentioned. You use a product like this that frequently, and you'll notice that you'll start to feel the lip of the ferrule where it meets the wood -- which means the shaft wood is getting smaller than the ferrule, a result of the wood being softer than the ferrule material, and wearing down quicker.

Although that Tiger product is a great product for what it does -- quickly getting a really messy shaft in shape -- it's not intended for such frequent use.

Like others have mentioned, use a much more gentle technique instead. Magic Eraser and an anhydrous alcohol wipe (not the medical "prep-the-skin-before-injection" alcohol wipe, which contains water!) is probably the best method that the normal non-cue-repair person can do. Outside of that, some really, really fine sandpaper (1500 grit or finer) or "0000"-grade steel wool are better choices.

Hope this is helpful,
-Sean
 
mincho said:
I'm just curious if anyone has items to clean their shaft during play. I see pros carry large white towels but that's excessive. After a while the chalk builds up on my hands like crazy and on the cue. Also if I cue over the rubber pockets I tend to get streaks on my cue.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...


A little 409 on a paper towel works pretty good.

Personally, I think the Mr Clean erasers take too much off.

Lou Figueroa
 
Towels

Drink more beer, hence you will visit the bathroom more often and hopefully wash your hands and they won't be so oily and clamy. In bigger events where I might be more nervous I dust my wiping rag with that chalk that come in a bag. Keeps hands smoothe. I know everybody likes a real slick shaft, but it actually bothers me to be that slick, its just not normal for me.
 
I wash my hands, then use the paper towel I used to dry them on the shaft. Follow it with a completely dry paper towel, then the suede side of a piece of leather. Works great for me. Of course, I'm completely anal about keeping my hands clean while I play, so I hardly ever have to clean my shaft. I've been known to wash my hands twice every hour I'm playing. I should probably just get a bottle of Purel to put in my case.
 
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