RICK MICHALEC
New member
I have a new cue that i used for three hours and the shaft is turning blue from the chalk and i was wondering how to clean and keep clean
THANKS
THANKS
Cue shaft cleaning
- Thread starter RICK MICHALEC
- Start date
First Rick, brush the chalk on your tip do not drill a hole in the center of it and next keep your hands clean while playing, do not eat food of and grease items while playing. Last, when finished playing wipe the shaft down with a lightly damp cloth and buff dry with dry clean cloth. Not much else you can do, to stop the problem you are having.
Take care
You're going to get all kinds of answers on this one, Rick, but I can tell you that I've tried just about every product out there, and have found nothing as simple and effective as a mechanic's hand cleaner with pumice. Three different brands that I use are: GoJo Orange with Pumice, Permatex Fast Orange with Pumice, and Lava Pro Orange with Pumice. All three have natural solvents in them that work on the hand oils and grime, and all three have the pumice which is a free-flowing abrasive (won't sand down the shaft) that digs down into the pores of the wood and gets much of the chalk dust out, and all three have oils (mostly lanolin) in them that seal the wood back up and leave it smooth.
You just squeeze some out on a paper towel and scrub the shaft until it's clean. Take a second paper towel and wipe off the dried residue. It may require a couple of applications if the shaft is extremely dirty. Clean dirty ferrules the same way.
IMO these are not only the best shaft cleaners available, but ounce-for-ounce they are the least expensive. You can find them at any auto parts store, or in the automotive section in stores like Walmart.
Roger
Welcome to AZB, Rick. This is Rich from IBC.
I think Craig has good advice for everyday. Ray Schuler also recommended a slightly damp rag and then rub briskly with a dry towel. You'll find some on here, though, who would never let water come near their cue.
There is a very good solution for removing the blue, but it shouldn't be done all that often. You can buy Mr. Clean Magic Eraser at the grocery store - it's a special kind of white sponge that gets into the crevices of the wood and takes the chalk out. You wet it and ring the water out as much as you can so that it's just damp, then go at it (but not too hard). The sponge kind of disintegrates into tiny particles as you use it - that's really how it works. It works better than anything else that's been discovered that isn't abrasive.
I don't recommend doing it too often because even though you ring out all the water you can, the cue is still getting much wetter through this cleaning process than with the everyday wipedowns. I use it once every 6 months at most. Once I found that it is possible to remove the blue, then I stopped worrying about it so much.
Most everybody who has tried it is happy with the results. You can do a search for magic eraser and read the opinions - the search function here sucks because it won't take phrases, but just the word eraser will work.
Some use alcohol instead of water. I'm afraid of doing that but I can't give you a scientific reason why.
Beautiful cue!
I'm one of those. I just wipe mine down with a piece of felt I bought at the fabric store. BUT, I use brown chalk on my cue and I wipe it on the tip while my cue is leaning, so any chalk isn't falling directly onto the shaft.
Rich93 said:
If you think it's not abrasive, grab a book with glossy pages and gently wipe part of the page a few times -- damp or not. When it dries, you will notice the gloss has been removed from the page. One of our grandchildren wrote in a book and I was wiping it out. The gloss went with it. If it removes the gloss, it's abrasive. other than that, I love those sponges!
I think it should be okay to wipe your shaft down with one of those sponges once or twice a year, though. I use extra fine sandpaper, if I need to.
Rich93 said:
I can tell you why. Some cuemakers use shellac finish and alcohol acts like a paint thinner on shellac. Alcohol is not good for most finishes I know of. Anything with alcohol in it would be bad for a shellac finish, including that hand sanitizer stuff, or probably even perfumes.
I'd keep oils and greases away from the shaft, including the ones from your hands. If you have sweaty or oily hands, you mgiht try one of those gloves. One of our boys has really sweaty hands and he loves the way a glove helps the shaft slide through his hands and there is less sweat and oil to worry about.
Don't powder your hands when you play. Every time you touch your shaft with that powder on your hands, you fill up the pores of the wood and build up a very nasty layer of powder on the cue. That white powder really helps any blue chalk stick to it and show up. If you must do something to make your hand slicker, use one of the gloves. No powder needed with the gloves. If your shaft is clean and smooth, it will slide across that glove better than you can imagine. If you have chalk/powder buildup on the shaft, it will not glide across the glove very well, so it will keep you reminded to wipe it down, too.
Wash your hands often, when you're playing pool. If they sweat, go wash them, because you have body oil in that sweat. If you get sweat from your drink on them, wipe them down well, before using your cue. If you eat anything while playing pool, wash your hands before grabbing your cue, again.
Remember that a lot of chalk dust gets on the top of the table and every time you put your hands on any part of the rail or table, you are probably getting chalk on your hands. You transfer that chalk to your cue every time you stroke it across or through your hands. We carry a towel to wipe our hands (a lot), if we're in a location that doesn't wipe the tables down, too often. Wipe the shaft a lot, too. (with a different towel)
As it was mentioned before, you'll get a lot of responses to this question. It's really good to hear you are concerned and want your cue to remain as clean as possible.
Welcome to the forum.....
If you use the chalk very carefully you won't have that problem.
Chalk with the cue tip pointing down so the chalk dust falls away from the cue.
Wipe the chalk on gently and carefully using no more than necessary.
Keep you hands clean. Have damp and dry towels close by. Wipe and dry your hands off frequently.
If the shaft begins to turn blue wipe it off with an almost dry Magic Eraser. Then use some 1000 grit sand paper or 4000 micro mesh to smooth the fuzzy surface and then burnish it with a piece of brown paper bag or undyed leather.
After cleaning wipe it frequently with a dry towel and burnish it again after playing.
You have to care for it like you would a gun. It needs to be handled with care. It's a precision instrument.
Chalk with the cue tip pointing down so the chalk dust falls away from the cue.
Wipe the chalk on gently and carefully using no more than necessary.
Keep you hands clean. Have damp and dry towels close by. Wipe and dry your hands off frequently.
If the shaft begins to turn blue wipe it off with an almost dry Magic Eraser. Then use some 1000 grit sand paper or 4000 micro mesh to smooth the fuzzy surface and then burnish it with a piece of brown paper bag or undyed leather.
After cleaning wipe it frequently with a dry towel and burnish it again after playing.
You have to care for it like you would a gun. It needs to be handled with care. It's a precision instrument.
poolfoole
Banned
The first thing you should do is to never ever use blue chalk again. The stuff is a total mess. It gets all over your hands and your shaft. Use green chalk instead and you won't have near as much chalk accumulate on your shaft or your hands.
I bought some Permatex Fast Orange today at WalMart for $2.75. It got about 90% of the chalk dust out and didn't leave the cue feeling dry like with Comet which just bleaches out the color in the shaft.
Best advice I've heard. Great tip
Best advice I've heard. Great tip
petticasey
No Irish need apply.
Glove
I have relatively sweaty hands and I use a glove. It works great, I would recommend it to anyone. It cuts down on cleaning and offers a consistent stroke. The only problem is my girlfriend will only let me use it at home, she won't talk to me if I bring it to a bar....
I have relatively sweaty hands and I use a glove. It works great, I would recommend it to anyone. It cuts down on cleaning and offers a consistent stroke. The only problem is my girlfriend will only let me use it at home, she won't talk to me if I bring it to a bar....
Lol...I would have to agree, I think they look silly when I see them at the bar...but if it helps you shoot more power to you. I would rather cut my arm off then be seen using one
.
Donny
Banned
First bit of Great ADVICE.:thumbup:
Second bit of Great ADVICE.:thumbup:
Terry Towel, or Baby Flannel with keep your and dry, and Clean=Cleaner Shaft.
Shaft cleaning
i have used tan chalk for years because i hate blue hands and a blue shaft ;a good friend of mine suggested it and he was right. i also use CUE SILK SHAFT CLEANER AND CUE SILK SHAFT CONDITIONER EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS AS I PLAY 7 DAYS A WEEK 4 OR 5 HOURS A DAY. I HATE SANDING OR USING ANY THING WITH A GRIT ON THE SHAFT !! ALSO WASH YOUR HANDS WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING !!!!
i have used tan chalk for years because i hate blue hands and a blue shaft ;a good friend of mine suggested it and he was right. i also use CUE SILK SHAFT CLEANER AND CUE SILK SHAFT CONDITIONER EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS AS I PLAY 7 DAYS A WEEK 4 OR 5 HOURS A DAY. I HATE SANDING OR USING ANY THING WITH A GRIT ON THE SHAFT !! ALSO WASH YOUR HANDS WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING !!!!
Clean the shaft with alcohol. Then burnish with leather. Clean your hands. Nothing else is necessary. Anything else you put on it just makes it junky. Don't add anything to the wood. Just burnish the wood and it will be so slick yu won't believe it.
glove
i don't wear one, but ive contemplated it recently. most players i know that wear one say their cues stay cleaner longer. plus my hands have started sweating more ...... never used to have that problem......... just this summer. must be a hormonal thing..... NOT!
i don't wear one, but ive contemplated it recently. most players i know that wear one say their cues stay cleaner longer. plus my hands have started sweating more ...... never used to have that problem......... just this summer. must be a hormonal thing..... NOT!