cleaning shaft

E

Excellence101

Registered
Hi there,

I have been cleaning my south west cue shafts with a damp cloth for sometime now...now recently i have been told by a few people i should not clean SW shafts with a damp cloth or any handmade cue...as the moisture is not good for the wood??and will affect the playability of the shaft after time.

Is this correct?

I also was told that Yang and Wu chia Ching only clean there cues with a very very lightly damp cloth...


Any advice would be great :)
 
If you use a damp anything make it lightly damp with rubbing alcohol as it will evaporate much faster than water.
 
gunzby said:
If you use a damp anything make it lightly damp with rubbing alcohol as it will evaporate much faster than water.
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I use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean my shafts with a little bit of water. Perhaps I'll switch to alcohol instead.
 
nrhoades said:
I use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean my shafts with a little bit of water. Perhaps I'll switch to alcohol instead.
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I use the Magic Eraser + alcohol to clean em on my lathe. You just need to be careful cleaning around the ferrule of a 314-2 with a Magic Eraser because it will scorch that plastic ferrule in half a second while on a lathe.

I use Magic Eraser + alcohol to clean it, a very very well used 2500 grit paper to smooth it over (it's so well used it's about like a paper bag), a leather strop to seal it and then I wax and buff.

After all that it is actually a little too smooth, but that lasts a long time.
 
I've always found cleaning my cue shaft with alcohol to be the best. But when unavailable, using a lightly damp cloth should be fine and keep your hands clean!
 
I figure that I might as well post this here as well.

I use MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) at work. This stuff evaporates incredibly fast and cleans anything. I figured this would be great to use to clean a shaft. After using it one time I actually think it is far too harsh for wood as it left my shaft white.

So any of you guys that work with MEK don't even think of using it on a shaft. I will say that if it is super dirty and has a lot of wax build up on the shaft you should use it sparingly, but otherwise it is just too harsh.

*edit*
The reason not to use it is because of the oils in the wood already. MEK will strip all oil out of anything. If you have ever gotten that stuff on your hands you would know why as it would leave your hands dry as hell.....sometimes dry cracked and bleeding if you get enough on you for a period of time. Heck it will eat through latex gloves in a fairly short period of time
 
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Excellence101 said:
Hi there,

I have been cleaning my south west cue shafts with a damp cloth for sometime now...now recently i have been told by a few people i should not clean SW shafts with a damp cloth or any handmade cue...as the moisture is not good for the wood??and will affect the playability of the shaft after time.

Is this correct?

I also was told that Yang and Wu chia Ching only clean there cues with a very very lightly damp cloth...


Any advice would be great :)
Click to expand...

There's already moisture in the wood. You can use a damp cloth, obviously don't just let it sit. Use the damp cloth and burnish the shaft immediately after with a soft cloth(a good, soft terry is fine). It dries out with the burnishing. Hell man,,,I've seen cuemakers put shafts on the lathe and water the damn thing down but they also heat up the shaft by buffing it right after.
 
Excellence101 said:
Hi there,

I have been cleaning my south west cue shafts with a damp cloth for sometime now...now recently i have been told by a few people i should not clean SW shafts with a damp cloth or any handmade cue...as the moisture is not good for the wood??and will affect the playability of the shaft after time.

Is this correct?

I also was told that Yang and Wu chia Ching only clean there cues with a very very lightly damp cloth...


Any advice would be great :)
Click to expand...

Pick up some denatured wood alcohol at the hardware store. That has the least water content. It will raise the grain very slightly. Smooth it down with 0000 synthetic steel wool or one of those Q-wiz's.
 
risky biz said:
Pick up some denatured wood alcohol at the hardware store. That has the least water content. It will raise the grain very slightly. Smooth it down with 0000 synthetic steel wool or one of those Q-wiz's.
Click to expand...

If anything alcohol draws moisture OUT of the shaft...not a good idea!!!
 
I use a dry strip of Magic Eraser after each playing session to clean my cue shaft and ferrule. I also use Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax about every 4 to 6 weeks followed by a good buffing. Keeps it super clean.
 
What I use is magic eraser with some orange gojo soap with pumice. I find it does a better job than using denatured alcohol. Then I use some 2000 grit sand paper after that and then use the butcher's alley wax.
 
gunzby said:
I figure that I might as well post this here as well.

I use MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) at work. This stuff evaporates incredibly fast and cleans anything. I figured this would be great to use to clean a shaft. After using it one time I actually think it is far too harsh for wood as it left my shaft white.

So any of you guys that work with MEK don't even think of using it on a shaft. I will say that if it is super dirty and has a lot of wax build up on the shaft you should use it sparingly, but otherwise it is just too harsh.

*edit*
The reason not to use it is because of the oils in the wood already. MEK will strip all oil out of anything. If you have ever gotten that stuff on your hands you would know why as it would leave your hands dry as hell.....sometimes dry cracked and bleeding if you get enough on you for a period of time. Heck it will eat through latex gloves in a fairly short period of time
Click to expand...

gunzby:

Great post -- haven't seen anyone bring up methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) in a while!

But MEK is Super Bad(TM) for laminated shafts. The glue used to hold the laminations together is especially vulnerable to a super solvent like MEK. You see what MEK does to plastics, right? No cured glue or epoxy -- short of the stuff they use at NASA to hold the heat shields in place on the shuttle -- is "MEK-proof".

And this would go for other super solvents like: Trichloroethylene (TCE), Acetone, Hexane, Ethyl Acetate, et al.

Alcohols, on the other hand, are considered medium-grade solvents, and won't harm the glue. (Usually, the glues that bond the laminates are either super-solvent-based; epoxies; or water-based that "cure" -- resulting in a material that only a super solvent will destroy.)

Remember when dealing with wood, the less water you use, the better. Denatured Alcohol (no water -- 100% alcohol) with a Magic Eraser is best. Denatured Alcohol is a fuel (used for alcohol stoves) as well as a solvent (for shellac), so it absolutely CANNOT have any water.

Rubbing Alcohol, on the other hand, varies with its water content:

  • 50% water in the "dollar store" grade
  • 30% water for the better grade in the pharmaceutical section of the grocery store (70% alcohol, 30% water)
  • 9% water for the best "91% isopropyl alcohol" grade available in the pharmacy
The water content in these is what's to be worried about. Have you noticed when using one of these "rubbing alcohols" that the surface of the shaft subsequently has a "mossy" feel to it? That's the wood fibers that've swollen and curled-up due to absorbing the water in those rubbing alcohols. That's why you see the common "mandatory recommendation" to lightly sand the shaft after the rubbing alcohol / magic eraser treatment, to sand-down those curled-up/swollen wood fibers. You're actually removing wood, and leaving microscopic pits and channels that the wood fibers (you've now sanded off) have curled upwards from. These pits and channels are now places that attract and hold even more dirt than a smooth surface does.

It's best to use an anhydrous (no water) alcohol, like Denatured Alcohol, or the 100% IPA (isopropyl alcohol) used in circuit board cleaning.

I like to use these:

http://hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/8591-0033/Tech-Spray-1610-50PK
1610-50PK.jpg

These are 100% IPA; they clean the shaft GREAT, and because the wipes are soaked in anhydrous (no water) isopropyl alcohol, do not leave a "mossy feel" on the shaft. No sanding required. And IPA is not dangerous to the glues used in laminated shafts, either. Plus, you can fit a handful of these in one of your cue case's pockets.

Hope this is helpful!
-Sean

P.S.: be very careful with MEK and other super solvents. Many of them are known carcinogens.
 
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Damp cloth

I've used only a damp cloth and nothing else on the same South West shaft for many years with no problems. I use a half dry and half slightly damp cloth every time I play to keep my hands and cue clean so it never gets really dirty. I wipe the cue frequently with the damp end and immediately after with the dry end. It stays clean and smooth, and the same size, which it won't do over time if you use anything with any abrasive at all.
 
risky biz said:
How long have you been playing with "moist" shafts? If you have a decent cue at all the wood has undergone a long term drying process.
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Everything has moisture...I didn't say "moist". Phoenix has 10% humidity. That's STILL moisture. The air you breathe has humidity,,,that's moisture. And shaft woods go through a long process of STABILIZATION, not drying, because they hang in a cuemaker's shop where there's AIR,,,that's moisture. You can pick up a shaft that's as dry as styrofoam, and it'll still pick moisture from the air.
 
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blue shaft is a good shaft

A damp cloth is fine.... However, how Damp is the question. A little moisture won't hurt but you really don't want to swell the pores of the wood. A quick burnish with a dry cloth directly after a couple wipes with a slightly damp cloth is the best method in my opinion. I would normally do this just to take the top layer of oil and dirt off the cue and burnish the wood smooth.

For those who like to clean all the blue out of their shaft.... I don't get it. Why would you want to clean the best part of a well seasoned cue? When it is blue and dirty and slick and burnished it is in premium playing form.

To each his own... But for me the more blue in the pores mixed with the oils that get in the cue from your hands THE BETTER it is.

Dud

View attachment 185631
 
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Dudley said:
For those who like to clean all the blue out of their shaft.... I don't get it. Why would you want to clean the best part of a well seasoned cue? When it is blue and dirty and slick and burnished it is in premium playing form.


Dud
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Yes! Not "dirty" as in dirty, but you know what a cue is all about.:wink:
 
Excellence101 said:
Hi there,

I have been cleaning my south west cue shafts with a damp cloth for sometime now...now recently i have been told by a few people i should not clean SW shafts with a damp cloth or any handmade cue...as the moisture is not good for the wood??and will affect the playability of the shaft after time.

Is this correct?

I also was told that Yang and Wu chia Ching only clean there cues with a very very lightly damp cloth...


Any advice would be great :)
Click to expand...


I have had a SW since 86 it gets nothing but a terry cloth and the water on it from drying my hands, As do all my cues in 26 years I have never hurt a shaft yet and they are all perfect they dont wear down like the ppl who use pads or sand paper. mirror smooth and no dings. nothing else is needed its all BS to sell you stuff.
 
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