Cleaning Irish Linen
- Thread starter Ken_4fun
- Start date
I am have a very vintage (early 1960's) cue restored / refinished. The cuemaker said that the original cortland irish linen could be cleaned and reused.
How do you do that? Whirlpool with some Tide?
Seriously, how is the linen cleaned?
Ken
Seriously, did you ask him?
IMHO - any process involving water would be a deal breaker.
Dale
Upon re-reading, did he imply he would remove the line and clean it???
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I have cleaned quite a few linen wraps, and re-pressed/sanded them.
I have only done this to wraps still on the cues, have not removed a wrap and cleaned the linen and re-applied. Being that you have an older cue, I would be afraid of the linen coming apart during the cleaning and/or reinstalling, I have had some wraps do that and had to rewrap for n/c because they fell apart.
Some pics of the last one.
Before:
After
I have only done this to wraps still on the cues, have not removed a wrap and cleaned the linen and re-applied. Being that you have an older cue, I would be afraid of the linen coming apart during the cleaning and/or reinstalling, I have had some wraps do that and had to rewrap for n/c because they fell apart.
Some pics of the last one.
Before:
After
On Cortland it might be a different deal,but normal linen can be cleaned pretty effectively with a light household cleaner,Woolite,or alcohol and a Magic Eraser.
It will also need to be starched and repressed/polished after that but it CAN be done with little risk in skilled hands. Tommy D.
It will also need to be starched and repressed/polished after that but it CAN be done with little risk in skilled hands. Tommy D.
To Late
Very impressive Jay! Would you mind telling us your procedure and what the mild detergent is that you used.
A little late for me. Two weeks ago I took in my 1980 Joss West in to be refinished and a new Cortland wrap. It is my every day playing cue. I've tried to replace it on three different occasions, but always come back to my West. The finish really need it. I would have loved to try your cleaning procedure on the wrap. It was definitely dirtier then the one in your picture. Other then being dirty, the wrap was in very good shape.
Thank You, Jim
Very impressive Jay! Would you mind telling us your procedure and what the mild detergent is that you used.
A little late for me. Two weeks ago I took in my 1980 Joss West in to be refinished and a new Cortland wrap. It is my every day playing cue. I've tried to replace it on three different occasions, but always come back to my West. The finish really need it. I would have loved to try your cleaning procedure on the wrap. It was definitely dirtier then the one in your picture. Other then being dirty, the wrap was in very good shape.
Thank You, Jim
Here is what I do and what you need for the cleaning process:
- sponge, double-sided with an abrasive side,
- dishwashing liquid,
- terry cloth towel,
- common sense
1) Start by applying a small and even amount of dishwashing liquid to the sponge. Wet and wring-out the sponge so that it is merely damp.
2) Grip the sponge and one section of the linen wrap in the palm of your hand and carefully scrub only that section of the wrap by lightly rotating your hand/sponge around that one section of the wrap. Be careful not to allow the wrap to become saturated.
3) Immediately dry the wrap with the terry cloth towel.
4) Rinse the sponge to remove the dirt.
5) Repeat steps 2 and 3 over the same section.
6) Work your way up the wrap 3" - 4" at a time until done.
7) Elevate the cue on the rail of your pool table or something equivalent to allow the wrap to dry,
I've successfully cleaned three or four original linen wraps using this method and have not damaged or loosened any of the thread.
The cleaning shown in the above pictures took me roughly 5 minutes.
- sponge, double-sided with an abrasive side,
- dishwashing liquid,
- terry cloth towel,
- common sense
1) Start by applying a small and even amount of dishwashing liquid to the sponge. Wet and wring-out the sponge so that it is merely damp.
2) Grip the sponge and one section of the linen wrap in the palm of your hand and carefully scrub only that section of the wrap by lightly rotating your hand/sponge around that one section of the wrap. Be careful not to allow the wrap to become saturated.
3) Immediately dry the wrap with the terry cloth towel.
4) Rinse the sponge to remove the dirt.
5) Repeat steps 2 and 3 over the same section.
6) Work your way up the wrap 3" - 4" at a time until done.
7) Elevate the cue on the rail of your pool table or something equivalent to allow the wrap to dry,
I've successfully cleaned three or four original linen wraps using this method and have not damaged or loosened any of the thread.
The cleaning shown in the above pictures took me roughly 5 minutes.
Hats Off
Just want to say a big THANK YOU to you, Jay.
Jim
Just want to say a big THANK YOU to you, Jay.
Jim
looks almost new...great job!!
Good advice, especially the repress afterwards. There is always misinformation on cleaning wraps, especially the second catalog Palmers. In most cases, the green speck white wrap is not linen at all, but a synthetic. It was meant to look like linen, but isn't. You can clean it with mild detergent, or mild bleach/water solution, and it's all fine. It generally doesn't need much of a repress, because it doesn't fuzz up when it dries.
Linen, on the other hand, needs to be repressed after the cleaning. It can be done by hand, with very fine wet sandpaper, 2500 or so, or on a lathe with either the same wet sandpaper or cloth.
Hope this helps, as some will not be getting the results they were looking for without a pressing at the end, with real linen.
All the best,
WW
Are there any pros or cons to redressing linen with wax paper after a cleaning causes it to fuzz up a little?
No problem with finishing a linen wrap with wax paper at all, it's a preferred method of quite a few who clean and finish a linen wrap by hand. Some also prefer to apply a fine wax such as Renaissance wax to the wrap. At one time, quite a few cuemakers finished a linen wrap with butcher's wax to give it the smooth final finish. I would recommend a wet sand with extremely fine sandpaper (2500 or higher), before the wax, but that's just a personal preference. And some prefer no wax at all.
I think wax only makes sense on linen wraps, rather than the synthetic (dacron/nylon, etc), but I suppose it wouldn't hurt. It just doesn't help a lot, as most of those synthetic wraps don't tend to fuzz up after cleaning like the linen wraps do. Hope this helps.
All the best,
WW
" Do you use the ABRASIVE SIDE" OF THE SPONGE AGAINST THE WRAP TO CLEAN IT????
If necessary yes, but I don't apply much of any pressure.
Oxy Clean works great.
A BIG YES!!! do not EVER use wax paper on an Irish Linen Wrap!!!!! You can make it look OK for the moment that way, but wax from wax paper is much too soft! It traps any dirt, chalk, powder, cigarette grime or anything else that comes in contact with it on the wrap and makes it a real ***** to clean properly afterwards! I've re-wrapped cues for free rather than clean one with wax like that on it! There are other products better suited for dressing Irish linen, wax paper is by far the worse!
Sherm