Cleaning your shaft
- Thread starter LSU1018
- Start date
If it's still bare wood , I would put a couple coats of sanding sealer on it.
Then lightly sand it using progressively finer sand paper till you get it where you want it. Start with something around 500 and finish at something around 1500.
Then burnish, brown paper bag/leather swatch/etc.
Then lightly sand it using progressively finer sand paper till you get it where you want it. Start with something around 500 and finish at something around 1500.
Then burnish, brown paper bag/leather swatch/etc.
If you like wax, finish with a thin coat of cue wax, or a top quality automotive wax. 
Some finer sanding, sealer and wax. Have someone with a lathe do it. Don't do it yourself, you may mess it up. I take it to steps that most cue makers and repair guys don't. They turn out like lightning!
Sand it down a little with nothing less than 1000 grit sandpaper. Go to your local auto parts store, they generally carry fine grit "automotive grade" sandpaper in the same isle as their body repair and paint stuff. After you do that, make sure you burnish the shaft to close the wood pores. I went to a local leather works shop and asked them for a scrap piece. They gave me a big bin to pick from, make sure you get a raw leather (undyed) piece. Using the suede side, stroke it up and down the shaft until you can feel heat. The heat from the friction will close the pores in the wood. I never put any kind of sealer or wax on my shafts, I prefer the natural wood feel. If you can't get a piece of leather, a brown paper bag (like a grocery bag), or a crisp dollar bill will suffice.
Maintaining a clean shaft is really easy as well. When I'm all done playing, I wash my hands. I take the paper towel I used to dry my hands off, and I stroke the shaft with it to remove any oils my hands left on the shaft. I then take the same paper towel and wipe the chalk off the tip of my cue, to keep the chalk from getting inside my case and bluing my shaft.
Hope this helps.
Maintaining a clean shaft is really easy as well. When I'm all done playing, I wash my hands. I take the paper towel I used to dry my hands off, and I stroke the shaft with it to remove any oils my hands left on the shaft. I then take the same paper towel and wipe the chalk off the tip of my cue, to keep the chalk from getting inside my case and bluing my shaft.
Hope this helps.
For burnishing the shaft, if you don't have leather laying around...
Just grab a piece of cardboard and go to town. Not the corrugated stuff but a piece of a cereal box or something. NOT the ink side though.
Great advice . . .
I do this as well every time I play . . . moist brown paper towels are a great way to burnish and slick up a shaft. I still go to my cue repair guy and have it sanded and re-sealed, but using the paper towels makes that happen a whole lot less often.
I do this as well every time I play . . . moist brown paper towels are a great way to burnish and slick up a shaft. I still go to my cue repair guy and have it sanded and re-sealed, but using the paper towels makes that happen a whole lot less often.