Best way to seal/finish cue?

pongohops

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Decided to put a new tip on an old sneaky pete and use it as a break stick from now on. Finish was peeling off and the plastic butt ring had previously been glued on with the glue visible and butt actually wider than the wood.

So, I said screw it and sanded the whole thing down removing the finish to bare wood. Worked on the butt ring then and flush and smooth as could be.

Now... what is the best way to go about sealing and finishing this? I've never refinished a cue or anything before so asking advice. I did find some information about using thin 'cyanoacrylate' which appears to be super glue... putting a few coats on then sanding it down to a gloss finish. Seems really odd to me that glue would be used as the sealer/finish.

What would you recommend? The sneaky isn't great and I don't even know the name, but I will say that from what I've done so far it looks pretty darn good and the grain turned out beautiful... the reason I would like to finish it off with a nice gloss as well.

Thanks for any info.
 

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
It's hard if you don't have a lathe and simple if you do.

If you are at bare wood on the entire cue, go to Lowes and get Deft sanding sealer in a spray can. Evenly, spray on a few coats and let it dry. It drys fast.

Sand it with 400 and then with 600 until it is smooth. It might need more than one go round with sealer and sanding. When it is smooth, spray it with most any acrylic spray. Krylon clear UV works well. Nice even coats. keep them thin and even. Let it dry for 24 hours. Another one that works well is Minwax gloss polyurethane in a spray can from Lowes. I use this for J/P's. It give a nice bright shine. Only do about 4 inches of the bottom of the shaft with the clear coat. Do the whole cue with the sealer.

When the clear is dry and hard, sand it lightly with 600 and then with 1000 until it is dull all over and smooth. Polish it with white polishing compound in the green can made by turtle wax and then with Meguires PlasteX. It takes lots of elbow grease. Then wax it with Meguires gold show car wax.

It will cost you almost as much as having it done by a cue repairman.

Kim
 

pongohops

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks for all the responses and pm's.

One question that came to mind last night was the effects these methods would have down the road. Using CA or danish oil... should the cue be refinished down the road would there be any problems? I guess I am wondering if any of these finish techniques would act like a stain since it would go into the pores - hard to get out later or simple as sanding down like I just did?

At the moment I do not have a lathe although I have been wanting to get one for some time... this would be hand done, but it sounds like I can still do any of the methods just with some more time involved.
 

pongohops

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It's hard if you don't have a lathe and simple if you do.

If you are at bare wood on the entire cue, go to Lowes and get Deft sanding sealer in a spray can. Evenly, spray on a few coats and let it dry. It drys fast.

Sand it with 400 and then with 600 until it is smooth. It might need more than one go round with sealer and sanding. When it is smooth, spray it with most any acrylic spray. Krylon clear UV works well. Nice even coats. keep them thin and even. Let it dry for 24 hours. Another one that works well is Minwax gloss polyurethane in a spray can from Lowes. I use this for J/P's. It give a nice bright shine. Only do about 4 inches of the bottom of the shaft with the clear coat. Do the whole cue with the sealer.

When the clear is dry and hard, sand it lightly with 600 and then with 1000 until it is dull all over and smooth. Polish it with white polishing compound in the green can made by turtle wax and then with Meguires PlasteX. It takes lots of elbow grease. Then wax it with Meguires gold show car wax.

It will cost you almost as much as having it done by a cue repairman.

Kim

Will the sealer or acrylic yellow down the road?
 

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
Will the sealer or acrylic yellow down the road?

I have never seen sanding sealer yellow but most clears will yellow some depending on how much it is exposed to UV light. How often do you play pool in direct sunlight..... it should take a very long time to notice the yellow.

Kim
 

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
Thanks for all the responses and pm's.

One question that came to mind last night was the effects these methods would have down the road. Using CA or danish oil... should the cue be refinished down the road would there be any problems? I guess I am wondering if any of these finish techniques would act like a stain since it would go into the pores - hard to get out later or simple as sanding down like I just did?

At the moment I do not have a lathe although I have been wanting to get one for some time... this would be hand done, but it sounds like I can still do any of the methods just with some more time involved.

With CA you would just sand it off to refinish it. If just CA was used, yes it will soak into the wood.

Danish oil is another story. It soaks into the wood but some times with age it will get a little sticky. I have see and oil finish on a snooker cue do this. You can re apply the oil finish and it should be good to go.

Kim
 

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
Hey.... just a thought.....

Go to lowes and buy some 1 inch hardwood dowels.

Practice finishing on these to see how it comes out.

Kim
 

snipershot

Go ahead.....run for it.
Silver Member
The drawback to super glue finishes is the fumes are brutal. I roasted my lungs bad when I tried to do it. And also, its very brittle, it will crack and chip like glass.

Joe
 

pongohops

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Really appreciate the responses. I ended up getting spray sealer and acrylic tonight and will go that route.

Sanded more tonight as I bought some 800, 1k, 2k, and 3k. Running into a problem where the sawdust is sticking - cant seem to rub it off, but just going over with my finger nail it can sort of be scraped off. Any tips for that? At the moment looks really discolored because of that.
 

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
Really appreciate the responses. I ended up getting spray sealer and acrylic tonight and will go that route.

Sanded more tonight as I bought some 800, 1k, 2k, and 3k. Running into a problem where the sawdust is sticking - cant seem to rub it off, but just going over with my finger nail it can sort of be scraped off. Any tips for that? At the moment looks really discolored because of that.

800 is too fine to start with. Start with 320 or 400.

Sometimes the dust sticks and clogs up the paper if the finish is not really hard. Be sure to wait at least 24 hours before sanding.

Kim
 

Lexicologist71

Rabid Schuler fanatic
Silver Member
I use acetone and a lint free cloth to wipe all the dust and oils off the wood. Well, good luck wiping all the oil from Cocobolo, Bocote, or Padauk.

Wait a couple of days to sand the CA finish.
 

pongohops

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So far so good. I used mineral spirits to wipe it down and that pretty much got rid of the dust in the pores/grain then used a horse hair brush on top of that. Put sealer on, sanded lightly, second coat of sealer on, and tomorrow will sand that and put first coat of gloss on.

Would it be wise/safe to rub down with mineral spirits after each sanding? From what I found it is, but there was no issues at all with dust after the first coat of sealer anyways.

Will post a picture once finished, but forgot to take a before one.
 

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
Wiping down a cue with acetone, alcohol, or mineral spirits is not always a good idea.

On bare wood, you can wipe the oils from dark wood into the light wood and permanently stain it. I did that on my second cue and never wiped another one.

On finish a residue can prevent the next coat of finish from sticking properly. It depends on the finish and what you wipe it with. Everything must be compatible. Check first and do it on scrap wood to see if there are problems..

Kim
 

pongohops

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Clear coat is NOT going well. Plenty of light coats to prevent running with plenty of time in-between. Full 2 days dry since last coat when can says only 24 is needed for full dry.

Upon sanding with 800 (wasn't very rough since light coats... finish felt coarse almost like sand paper as they were 'specked' from light coats) it doesn't smooth out. While it does sand it comes off in strands if that makes sense. Yes, it is dry. Just doesn't seem like this is going to work or maybe it was the brand/type I used.
 

SK Custom Cues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Put away the grits above 400 till you are ready for final sanding. Try 320 then apply. If it's 420 put that aside and come back down ;) Room temp plays a factor a well. Go both directions, up/down in between grits to avoid circular lines. . . .dont rush, And, Don't worry, this is nt the easiest thing to et right.
 

USOpenPlayer

Registered
cue finish

I would stay away from CA glue.....its a mess to apply , sand , and a lot of coats , Plus its bad to breath. But its rock hard...may stiffen your cue wood and deaden feel. Valspar clears work well and takes bumps well later. Otherwise if your set up to use a real spray gun,,Dupont Chrom-clear.
 
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whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
I would stay away from CA glue.....its a mess to apply , sand , and a lot of coats , Plus its bad to breath. But its rock hard...may stiffen your cue wood and deaden feel. Valspar clears work well and takes bumps well later. Otherwise if your set up to use a real spray gun,,Dupont Chrom-clear.

do you realize that you are commenting on a post that is 6 years old????


Kim
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As a pro woodwhacker I like Whammo's approach for a first time finisher, except i am not a fan of sanding sealers in general unless the _finish_ mfg'r recommends and specifies a product. I am sure that Whammo has experience with his method, and that is part of what makes the difference in success. You will too, after a few cues! :thumbup:

The reason i don't like sanding sealers is they are made primarily for filling and easy sanding, so they have products in them that are not ideal for adhesion of following coats unless the following coats are formulated in a way that causes them to burn in. (partially dissolve and rebond with the SS).

The other source of contamination is as others have mentioned, using a less volatile and less "aggressive" wiping fluid between coats. Many house brand (big box) solvents are not that clean compared to finish mfg'rs for their own brands. I really would not use mineral spirits between coats of anything except maybe oil paint. It often leaves oil traces on the work.

Acetone if you are fast, be careful it is not cutting whatever you are using to coat. As has been mentioned, test your processes on a sample or scrap test board and be rigorous - do everything the same way you intend to do it on the work.

I like naptha, but it is even more of a fire hazard than others - basically white gas.

You might not be spraying your top coats wet enough. It has to be wet enough to burn into the coat below, and level out. If it is hitting the surface almost dry and looking dusty, there is no bond occurring.

What others said about the abrasives, stick with 320 until top coats, then 400 until you are done spraying and begin to polish the dry finish. Start that with 500 (if you did everything correctly before, & work up as has been described by others.

I've only made a few full splice sneakies, and only french polish, which is not popular here. :wink: So have nothing to say for cues regarding "better" products.

smt

do you realize that you are commenting on a post that is 6 years old????

Sheesh, that would have saved a lot of typing. :eek:
So how did his cue ever turn out?
 
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