Best Way to Clean your shaft?

F

fluna760

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi fellow AZers,
I wanted some opinions and methods of the best way to clean your shaft and remove the blue chalk marks. Any reviews on using Q cleaner? I was told I should buy it and use that to clean them, but when I looked online I saw there was the cleaner, the conditioner, and others and was thinking do I need all of them or can the Q cleaner get the job done?
 
It really depends on how clean you want your shafts to look. The Q cleaner works well if you're just concerned with removing the surface chalk. Q cleaner will not get down into the pores of the wood and make your shaft look new again. Many people say that you should only clean your shaft to this extent so as not to strip the wood of the essential oils and/or expose the bare wood.

If you're really OCD about the blue, then I'd recommend using denatured alcohol and the Mr Clean erasers. Dip the eraser into the alcohol, squeeze it almost completely dry and then get to scrubbing your shaft. While this method will get your cue almost completely white again, be warned that the eraser is slightly abrasive (probably equivalent to 1500 grit sandpaper) and continual use will likely cause some material to be lost. Also, the bare wood of the shaft will definitely be exposed after the treatment so you'll HAVE to burnish the shaft and maybe even seal it with some wax.
 
After replacing a tip, my pool hall proprietor wiped my shaft down with rubbing alcohol and a soft rag and suggested I do this every time I play. The wood definitely felt exposed. I used the label side of a Q Wiz and was amazed at the results. Still not sure if I should use the alcohol that often.
 
yelvis111 said:
If you're really OCD about the blue, then I'd recommend using denatured alcohol and the Mr Clean erasers. Dip the eraser into the alcohol, squeeze it almost completely dry and then get to scrubbing your shaft. While this method will get your cue almost completely white again, be warned that the eraser is slightly abrasive (probably equivalent to 1500 grit sandpaper) and continual use will likely cause some material to be lost. Also, the bare wood of the shaft will definitely be exposed after the treatment so you'll HAVE to burnish the shaft and maybe even seal it with some wax.
Click to expand...

This is what I do too. I put a bit of the alcohol (I use 99%) on the magic eraser and scrub a bit. It doesn't take much, so I don't worry about sanding down the shaft. Then I vigorously rub a brown paper bag or something similar on it to burnish the shaft. Finally I put on some cue wax with a paper towel, let it sit for a bit, and then burnish again, mainly to get the excess wax off.

Be careful not to get the alcohol on the tip.
 
I use Griots Machine Polish #4. It's made for fine car finishes & the #4 has very very fine pumace combined with Carnuba Wax. It cleans great & seals it at the same time. I have shafts 24 years old with No blue. I also use Griots "Best in Show" Carnuba Wax every once in a while to really seal them. They look new.
 
I use the cue doctor. Good stuff. In between cleanings, I use a microfiber towel to wipe cue down. Something about the fiber that pull contaminates off the cue. Get one at your local auto parts store. They are pretty amazing.
 
I use smart wipes (http://www.pooldawg.com/product/smart-wipes-billiards-shaft-and-ferrule-cleaner) first on both the shaft and butt. This will remove all chalk stains from the shaft. Then I use a paper towel and use some Q wax (http://www.pooldawg.com/product/chem-pak-q-wax-pool-cue-wax) on both the shaft and butt. After you put the Q Wax on I use a leather burnishing pad to burnish both the shaft and butt. DO NOT USE SANDPAPER!!!! After you do this the cue will look brand new and will feel like glass in your hands. Here is a video of a guy doing these exact steps pretty much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWgQsfEFx0k
 
Clean Shaft

Now for those who want a clean shaft as I once was a fanatic about trial and error, but I say the shaft is a tool and tools will get dirty, shaft now is smoooooooooooth and blue
 
Budweiser and a bar napkin. Rub vigorously. I have a buddy that swears by that.
Personally I think the best way to clean is to drop it off with a repair guy.
 
rtbbf said:
Now for those who want a clean shaft as I once was a fanatic about trial and error, but I say the shaft is a tool and tools will get dirty, shaft now is smoooooooooooth and blue
Click to expand...

Yup...leave it. Alone and it will develop a glass-like surface, albeit blue.

I wipe it down with the paper towel I use to dry hands after washing- often a couple times in a day- and my shafts are smooooth.
 
I just use damp towel to clean the shaft.

Occasionally I use Qclean, but the result seems to be no difference than a damp towel.
 
Industrial hand cleaner with pumace. Wipe down with a damp towel, soke up excess moisture with kitchen paper and polish with the yellow q-wiz.
 
Ok, I have a repair shop and the quick answer is take it to your local repair guy so he can use chemicals that have been designed for shaft cleaning and sealing. I understand this isn't always feasible but paying around 10 bucks for a real clean job on a lathe with high quality chemicals is money well spent.

Then there is the obvious, try to keep your hands clean so the chalk doesn't get on them as bad so cleaning isn't required too frequently. Again, that is not always easy to accomplish but really, keeping clean hands is an overlooked portion of taking care of our equipment.

Then there is the home ingredient options. This includes denatured alcohol (much better for the wood than isopropyl) and some soap based cleaners. The best of these that I have used is soft scrub. It is very important to get all the soap out of the grains with a paper towel. Always use a wax to seal it. Personally, I use Q wax as it is a very light and easy to apply wax. For about 5 bucks you will have enough wax to last a LONG time. Burnishing with leather is great and why a cue off a lathe feels awesome.
 
I used to clean my shaft about every two weeks. Now I can go 2-3 months before I need to clean it. Simple trick:

At the end of your session, clean all chalk off the tip before sliding the shaft back in the case. For me, 99% of the chalk on my shaft was coming from the tube in the case.

When I clean a shaft I use a Magic Eraser and distilled water. Burnish with leather afterwards.
 
I never use sandpaper or "q-wiz" type papers.
I use Cue Silk every once in a while and a Tiger Leather Burnisher.
 
Once you have tried just about every do it yourself method and have the grain raised really nice on your shaft, then do what should have been done in the first place and take it to your local repairman and have him do it right on a lathe. Or at least get yourself a lathe pin and a drill to spin your shaft if you want to do it yourself. Then buy some shaft cleaner, sealer and wax.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top