baby powder and talc ?

I heard baby powder and talc aren't very good for the shaft of your cue....is there any truth to this?

I think most people are going to tell you yes, but then most people on this forum are worry-worts about their cues. I can't imagine them doing any harm at all. To the extent the powder gets into the pores of the wood, an occasional cleaning with Magic Eraser will get it out, along with the embedded chalk.

I don't use baby powder though - I think it's a little oily. I use this stuff:

talcx.jpg
 
there are two schools of thought

#1. wash your hands... keep the grime off of the shaft in the first place.

#2 add more grime and scum to your shaft in order to make it feel like a clean shaft....


I subscribe to #1 with the following exception..

in particularly humid conditions... powder is unavoidable...


but if you let it build up.. the situation goes to hell very quickly...

keep it clean until you HAVE to use powder

and if you NEED it for a game or two... make sure to clean everything up afterwords....

good luck:thumbup:
 
To be honest I use powder like it's going out of style :D But I do clean my cue after everytime I play .
 
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I heard baby powder and talc aren't very good for the shaft of your cue....is there any truth to this?

I think it does no harm to your cue, but it does make it more sticky so you need more powder which means more mess for everybody else to contend with.
Just wash your hates and keep your shaft clean, no need for powder.
Steve.<== Hates seeing somebody using powder where I'm playing.
 
I can't stand playing on a table after someone that uses talc or baby powder. For the first 15 - 20 mins you are trying to get that crap off the table.

My thought is if you want to use baby powder or talk, take a shower with your shaft then apply it, that will help dry up the moisture.

Of course this is only an opinion.
 
I hate powder.....

Go with a glove if you have to use something. I currently use the UNGLOVE if I have to use something because of humidity or other conditions that cause stickiness.
 
I use a lot of powder. I wish my hands didn't perspire the way they do, but they do. I grew up using powder and that's the way I feel comfortable playing. I try to keep as much off the table as I can but sometimes it gets on the table. I can't help it. If it wasn't part of the game. Why did every room I grew up playing in have a despenser.

As far as hurting your shaft. I've used it forever and it hasn't affected my shafts. I do clean them now and then but that's all I do.

I played in a room for several years and the owner hated to see me come in because his tables got powder on them when I played. I asked him one day, "Would you prefer dirty tables or no income." I think he got the message after that.
 
I've never seen a pool hall that doesn't offer some kind of powder/talc for the players. Cleaning the tables is pretty common in most pool halls.

With that said, I haven't used either for the last 20+ years. Just outgrew the use of the stuff. My hands are dry to begin with and stay that way. Just lucky I guess, my hands don't get moist anymore.

When I finish playing, my cue gets a good wiping down with a clean napkin or paper towel. At least once, maybe twice a year I start off with come 600 grit sand paper to get the blue out of the shaft and then use 1000 then 1500 and finally 2000 to make the shaft shine like a mirror. This closes the pores of the wood for awhile, almost like burnishing your leather tip.
 
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I ust to use Power but stopped, But when i got to Iraq i had to start using it again. But what i do is sprinkle the powder on the the piece of leather then rub it into the shaft. Then i take the residue left over on the leather and wipe it on my fingers. My area of play is 95% cleaner becuse of that method.
 
I have been having good luck with a cue shaft that is waxed {Mothers pure Carnuba} and hands that are washed every 3-ish racks. Just a couple of (3) strokes of the shaft on the talc cube is enough for a couple of hours of play. At this level of talc-ization, nothing gets on the table or balls. At a constant 3 hours of play a day the table needs a brush less than once a week (for the chalk dust).

{I clean the shaft when it starts to look blue--aboout every 3-4 days}
 
When I bought my Gina I asked Ernie what he recommended for the shafts?

His recommendation... Talc with lanolin
 
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