In Question of Wood Finish

L I F D 1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Asking about that beautiful polished finish. Any idea's or guess?
Don't think that's Oil?
I've had 3 or 4 cues with an oil finish and always satin , never gloss.
What do figure this is?, and... could oil polish up like that?
 

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HQueen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Oil can be worked to a decent high gloss. I had a good friend who was a gunsmith for many years. I made him a cue and he said he would do the oil finish himself. I was blown away by his oil finish. Made me feel like a beginner.
It’s an art.
 

Snooker Theory

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Oil can be worked to a decent high gloss. I had a good friend who was a gunsmith for many years. I made him a cue and he said he would do the oil finish himself. I was blown away by his oil finish. Made me feel like a beginner.
It’s an art.

Do you have any pics of oil finished cues? I still have that lovely birdseye cue you made on my mind, such a lovely piece of art
 

HQueen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Here is one I just finished, not a great picture. Made from an ebony Dufferin. Birthday present for my brother.
 

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keninar

Registered
Oil finish

Many gunstocks use a product known as Tru-oil - which is a blend of linseed and natural oils. Dries pretty fast and remains clear. Waterproof as well. Have used it on pens for years when I wanted a hard, gloss finish. Fairly easy to locate - just google it. Hope this helps.
 

HQueen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That’s what I use ^^^

I experimented with many different ones, found my best results with it.
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Many gunstocks use a product known as Tru-oil - which is a blend of linseed and natural oils. Dries pretty fast and remains clear. Waterproof as well. Have used it on pens for years when I wanted a hard, gloss finish. Fairly easy to locate - just google it. Hope this helps.

I believe the SW satin cues use that as well.
You really have to build it up though .
A lot of coats to get it to shine like that.

I have a feeling that gun stock has polyester finish though.
 

Snooker Theory

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Joey, Hqueen, how do these oil finishes feel? I uses a slip stroke, do you think this would work better for that or is it tacky at all?
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Joey, Hqueen, how do these oil finishes feel? I uses a slip stroke, do you think this would work better for that or is it tacky at all?

They're alright. My late mentor used boiled linseed oil for his own personal sneaky/ conversions.
You can still use wax on them if you want them to be a little more slippery.
Great thing about them is you can maintain them yourself.
Add whatever you want.

I hate the smell of boiled linseed oil btw. Thing stinks .
Snooker cues are mostly BLO finished afaik.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Many gunstocks use a product known as Tru-oil - which is a blend of linseed and natural oils. Dries pretty fast and remains clear. Waterproof as well. Have used it on pens for years when I wanted a hard, gloss finish. Fairly easy to locate - just google it. Hope this helps.

Tru-Oil is excellent to work with. Can be satin or polished to a high shine. I used it on a gun stock, pens & canes.
 

L I F D 1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I always knew the oil finished cue develops a beautiful satin sheen, that's what I really liked.
I didn't know it could develop a gloss.
Speaking of Tru Oil, I found it at Walmart website in kit form.
So it's a little bit of work, a labor of love and cost $28.00, it sure does look good on that gun stock.
 

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L I F D 1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Speaking of Cue's

Just Thinking
An oil finish must significantly change the weight and weight distribution.?
 

thoffen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In what way?

I'm not sure how much, but oil finishes do penetrate instead of (mostly) sitting on the surface after the pores are filled. If you build it up enough, you can get some surface coats of an oil finish, polish it, and have it be reasonably comparable to other finishes used in cues. But it's a good question, as at that point a lot of oil will have penetrated. Probably you wouldn't build up the oil finish as much as another clear coat. Maybe that makes the difference negligible. I think though probably the total weight of the finish will be relatively small anyway.
 

HQueen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Any finish, once cured, has hardly any weight to it at all. While I have never attempted to weigh it, I’d be surprised if was even 1/10th of an ounce. I am open to any correction if someone has hard data.
Besides the obvious difference between oil and a usual auto clear, I wonder if there is a difference in how the cue vibrates when you hit a ball, the wave that travels down the cue that we describe as the “hit” of a cue. I have read that Balabushka used an oil finish. Is that a factor in how his cues hit?
Southwest has their satin/pacifier cues that have an oil finish. Do they play different from their regular cues?
 

Mcues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Any finish, once cured, has hardly any weight to it at all. While I have never attempted to weigh it, I’d be surprised if was even 1/10th of an ounce. I am open to any correction if someone has hard data.
Besides the obvious difference between oil and a usual auto clear, I wonder if there is a difference in how the cue vibrates when you hit a ball, the wave that travels down the cue that we describe as the “hit” of a cue. I have read that Balabushka used an oil finish. Is that a factor in how his cues hit?
Southwest has their satin/pacifier cues that have an oil finish. Do they play different from their regular cues?

If there was a remarkable difference we all be playing with unfinished cues. Makers tend to use what's available at their particular era and ease of application.

Mario
 

HQueen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ease of application doesn’t factor in finishing cues. If it did most would probably use catalyzed lacquer which dries in minutes.
 

HQueen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Do you ever have a valid response or just BS? I responded to your post. You say everyone is laughing. You stated ease of application. Lacquer dries in minutes. Totally dry. Sand. Spray again. What is easier than that?
 
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