Stripping cue help please

Dave-Kat

Dave-Kat

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello AZ Members,

I have a old sneaky that I would like to refinish with the 'hand rubbed' oil finish and do not want to expose the cue to any potential wood stability damage.

I have thought about just getting out the sand paper as well as some brush on finish removal gel. I do not know what the finish is on the cue but it is about 30 years old.

I also have a new import Sneaky with a much thicker high gloss finish I would like to do the same with. I enjoy working on cues and have a lightweight lathe that I use to do re-tip and shaft work. I have it modified my lathe so I can do Linen but have not experimented yet so I could sand on lathe but looking for the quickest, but proper method to get this done.

Any help from member who is a cue builder would be very much appreciated :thumbup:

-Davekat
 
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Dave-Kat said:
Hello AZ Members,

I have a old sneaky that I would like to refinish with the 'hand rubbed' oil finish and do not want to expose the cue to any potential wood stability damage.

I have thought about just getting out the sand paper as well as some brush on finish removal gel. I do not know what the finish is on the cue but it is about 30 years old.

I also have a new import Sneaky with a much thicker high gloss finish I would like to do the same with. I enjoy working on cues and have a lightweight lathe that I use to do re-tip and shaft work. I have it modified my lathe so I can do Linen but have not experimented yet so I could sand on lathe but looking for the quickest, but proper method to get this done.

Any help from member who is a cue builder would be very much appreciated :thumbup:

-Davekat
Click to expand...


I would not use any kind of chemical finish remover............ elbow grease and sand paper...............

Kim
 
Yes, I have to agree with Kim. And many finishes like epoxy or auto clear have no solvent that you can use to remove them.
Good luck!:thumbup:
Gary
 
GBCues said:
Yes, I have to agree with Kim. And many finishes like epoxy or auto clear have no solvent that you can use to remove them.
Good luck!:thumbup:
Gary
Click to expand...

Actually that is incorrect. There are a number of commercial products specifically formulated to strip catalyzed polyurethane and/or epoxy. While automotive paint shops primarily rely on mechanical methods (i.e., sanding, scraping, sand blasting, etc), hi-tech finishes on airplanes and racing boats are almost always removed by chemical means.

Find a commercial supplier of airplane paint and ask them what they use.

Now, if the cue you want to strip is finished with UV-cured polyester (or similar) that may be a different matter.

TW
 
Thomas Wayne said:


Actually that is incorrect. There are a number of commercial products specifically formulated to strip catalyzed polyurethane and/or epoxy. While automotive paint shops primarily rely on mechanical methods (i.e., sanding, scraping, sand blasting, etc), hi-tech finishes on airplanes and racing boats are almost always removed by chemical means.

Find a commercial supplier of airplane paint and ask them what they use.

Now, if the cue you want to strip is finished with UV-cured polyester (or similar) that may be a different matter.

TW
Click to expand...


The OP does not have an airplane or a racing boat.

Kim
 
Thomas,
I'll be darned - I didn't know you could "dissolve" epoxy after it was set.
Thanks!
Gary
 
I would not use any stripper as my thought is if it can dissolve finish what will it do to the glue it touches in the cue. Home Depot sells a carbide paint scraper. I use it to scrape the majority of the finish off then sand the last bit off. If you have a cue with decals on it then you will most likely lose the decals.
 
cueman said:
I would not use any stripper as my thought is if it can dissolve finish what will it do to the glue it touches in the cue. Home Depot sells a carbide paint scraper. I use it to scrape the majority of the finish off then sand the last bit off. If you have a cue with decals on it then you will most likely lose the decals.
Click to expand...

I have used the hand scraper, but I mainly use the side edge of a utility blade to scrape the finish off. I found it easier to control the pressure with it. One side will slide over the surface, if you flip it, the other side will dig in and scrape the surface. That's the edge I use. Then just sand off the rest. Most cheap finishes will end up 'flaking' off with this method, so don't push hard or you'll gouge the wood.
Dave
 
I use strippers on a regular basis, especially for epoxy, lacquer, and polyurethane finishes. As TW stated, it will not work well with some UV cured.
 
ratcues said:
I use strippers on a regular basis, especially for epoxy, lacquer, and polyurethane finishes. As TW stated, it will not work well with some UV cured.
Click to expand...

Do they give lap dances too?:p
For dipped UV, razor skills!
Freaking Dufferin.
 
whammo57 said:
The OP does not have an airplane or a racing boat.

Kim
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Perhaps not... but hopefully he has enough common sense to realize that those are two arenas where the toughest, most durable catalyzed finishes are used, and maintaining the integrity of the underlying surface is of the utmost importance.

See, I give most posters the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a question of basic intelligence. Not ALL posters, of course. Once a poster has indicated a lower level of intelligence I no longer assume they can understand even the simplest point - without what should be an unnecessary explanation.

So, to continue with this particular unnecessary explanation, since professional marine and aeronautic applications use such durable finishes, and since they seek to avoid damaging the surface under the paint, if a chemical stripper works for those uses it ought to be suitable for a pool cue.

TW
(PS: If you're still confused, Kim, PM one of the other posters in this thread. I'm betting they all understood the point.)

 
I have stripped a few cues and usually the best results were from a box opener razor blade scraping the finish off by hand while the cue was mounted in a lathe.
Scrape ... rotate ... scrape ... rotate ... get the picture?
It is a real pain in the rear but the results is worth the effort.

It dont take much practice before you learn what to do.
Then a good sanding ... sealing ... and whatever finish you plan to use.
It takes time ... there is no chemical shortcut ... the skill will be learned in a very short time.

Willee
 
Thomas Wayne said:


Perhaps not... but hopefully he has enough common sense to realize that those are two arenas where the toughest, most durable catalyzed finishes are used, and maintaining the integrity of the underlying surface is of the utmost importance.

See, I give most posters the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a question of basic intelligence. Not ALL posters, of course. Once a poster has indicated a lower level of intelligence I no longer assume they can understand even the simplest point - without what should be an unnecessary explanation.

So, to continue with this particular unnecessary explanation, since professional marine and aeronautic applications use such durable finishes, and since they seek to avoid damaging the surface under the paint, if a chemical stripper works for those uses it ought to be suitable for a pool cue.

TW
(PS: If you're still confused, Kim, PM one of the other posters in this thread. I'm betting they all understood the point.)
Click to expand...

Ok ... so you're telling me that if a customer brought in a nice cue that was made .... say 30 years a go and you have no idea what adhesives were used for assembly or inlays...... that you would use a chemical stripper on that cue...???

PS: notice that I don't question your intelligence or your motives or you large font and that I am just asking a question..............

Kim
 
whammo57 said:
Ok ... so you're telling me that if a customer brought in a nice cue that was made .... say 30 years a go and you have no idea what adhesives were used for assembly or inlays...... that you would use a chemical stripper on that cue...???

PS: notice that I don't question your intelligence or your motives or you large font and that I am just asking a question..............

Kim
Click to expand...


No, Kim, I am NOT telling you " that if a customer brought in a nice cue that was made .... say 30 years a go and I have no idea what adhesives were used for assembly or inlays...... that I would use a chemical stripper on that cue.. I didn't say that, or ANY words to that effect.

What I wrote was, contrary to a previous poster's comment, there ARE chemical strippers that will remove cured epoxy and/or catalyzed urethane finishes, and they're used in industries where the substrate under the finish is important enough that the users do not want to compromise it. It seems a reasonable point to make, and as I said, most readers of even marginal intelligence probably got that point.

However, apparently you didn't [get the point], so I guess maybe you don't read well. There's no shame in that, mind you - fully 21% of the U.S. population reads below the 5th-grade level, and 14% can't read at all. So please, any time you're confused by some extremely simple statement I make, feel free to ask what it means. That's the only way you'll learn.

Or - and I'm just spit-balling here - maybe your comment about the OP not owning an airplane or racing boat was actually your attempt to take some kind of shot at me, maybe try to make me feel silly for bringing it up in the first place. If that was your intent I would recommend against it. See, that sort of unnecessary provocation can lead to a "battle of the wits"... and you're simply not up to the task.

TW

 
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whammo57 said:
Ok ... so you're telling me that if a customer brought in a nice cue that was made .... say 30 years a go and you have no idea what adhesives were used for assembly or inlays...... that you would use a chemical stripper on that cue...???

PS: notice that I don't question your intelligence or your motives or you large font and that I am just asking a question..............

Kim
Click to expand...

Yes, because it is pretty easy to figure out what adhesives were available at the time and be able to determine IF a chemical stripper could be used. I do it every day.
 
I use a razor blade or utility blade on edge with cue spinning moderately fast, and cut/peel the finish off. Once you get the majority off, it's easy to sand clean. No doubt there are other ways, probably even better ways, but this is what I do.
 
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