Clear coating over a signature ruin value?

Bowmer

Bowmer

"Shooter"
Silver Member
This may not be the place for this but here goes… would like to hear from everyone anyways. I have a personal cue from Mike
Massey that I am never going to part with but need to get opinions on whether or not I should clear coat over the signature? I picked up this cue a few years ago while shooting a few racks with Mike while he was in town. This is his personal Masse cue made for him by Dennis Dieckman. Will I be making a mistake by shooting some clear over it?
 

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Bowmer said:
This may not be the place for this but here goes… would like to hear from everyone anyways. I have a personal cue from Mike
Massey that I am never going to part with but need to get opinions on whether or not I should clear coat over the signature? I picked up this cue a few years ago while shooting a few racks with Mike while he was in town. This is his personal Masse cue made for him by Dennis Dieckman. Will I be making a mistake by shooting some clear over it?
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The signature being affected will probably depend on the application method used to apply the clear. The affect on value is subjective IMO.
 
A great guy and wonderful human. This happens to be the cue he used for the famous boot shot on espn.
 

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j2pac said:
The signature being affected will probably depend on the application method used to apply the clear. The affect on value is subjective IMO.
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My buddy Jimmie Pierce of Pierce cues would be only one I would trust to clear it. We will for sure do some testing on similar material using same pens etc.
 
Bob Jewett said:
If you intend to shoot with this masse cue, protect the signature. If you don't plan to shoot with it, you shouldn't need to protect it, except to put it in a display case.
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This.

I am far from an expert on this subject, but a lot would depend on what you intend to do with the cue. If it's just a display piece, I wouldn't do it. If you intend to play with it, I would.

FWIW, I restored a Z32 for a guy that required some paint work in the engine bay, and the upper core support was autographed my "Mr. K" (Yutaka Kamayata) with a paint pen. Prep work was done and the signature was carefully cleared over & preserved. It did not harm the value.
 
No intention on playing with it even though that was what Mike intended me to do with it. It’s safely in a display case with many of my cues
 
Bowmer said:
No intention on playing with it even though that was what Mike intended me to do with it. It’s safely in a display case with many of my cues
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Then I would not touch it.
If you were going to play with the cue even clear coating without scuffing it may be a problem down the road. It would be hard to scuff it without possibly taking some of the marker off even using a scotch type pad.
 
depends on how much it is worth and what it is worth to you. if you like it enough play with it as then every time you use it it is something special.

other wise it is just a look at piece like a painting on the wall from someone you know.
 
I guess my thought is that I would hate to see anything happen to it. Maybe better to build a special display case just for this one cue that is sealed a bit better than the case my own cues are in.
 
Pool player signatures don't normally add much to the value of an item, I wish they did , I have everybody that ever ran a rack of nine ball. Until 10 years ago. I'm not detracting from the feeling of owning someone you admires personal stuff, but it just isn't like Mickey Mantles favorite bat or Ali's boxing trunks.
 
Not too many times a BCA hall of famer autographed cue is seen. May not have the value type of many other sports but to the pool world it may even someday have a value. Likely best not do anything as far as clearing it but to keep it in a display for future generations
 
I have a cue with about 50 autographs on it and I've clear coated it about 5 times.

If you don't the autographs rub off.
 
Texas3cushion said:
I have a cue with about 50 autographs on it and I've clear coated it about 5 times.

If you don't the autographs rub off.
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That’s kind of the worry I have. It’s not something that people really handle since it’s in a display case but things do happen. It kind of a pool history item too.
 
Bowmer said:
I guess my thought is that I would hate to see anything happen to it. Maybe better to build a special display case just for this one cue that is sealed a bit better than the case my own cues are in.
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Put it in a gun safe...if you have one. 👍
 
If the clear makes the ink bleed that would suck.

That should be your answer.

Nice cue,

Best
Fatboy 😃
 
Like Dave stated. Finishes need something to bite into so any abrasive to the signature is likely to cause issues.
Separation between coats is often caused by improper prep work.

I’d leave that in the case for display as it is.
 
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