I'm a new "student of the game" of cuemaking and am wondering if anyone can offer any suggestions or ideas concerning finishing a cue with the Cue Cote brand cue finish. This is a product that Chris Hightower sells along with the rest of his line of cue building lathes, tools, and supplies.
I have a few cues close to ready for finish. I have built a small lathe-type "spinner" that turns the cue at approx. 60 RPM. I've tried finishing the end of a few shafts for practice, but have had mixed results thus far. Because of this, I'm hesitant to put a finish on an entire butt in fear of ruining my hard work. I know there are many ways to finish a cue, the Cue Cote product is just my choice to get started. It seems that most of the beautiful finishes you see these days are air-sprayed auto products. I would imagine I'll give that a try sooner or later, but I'm wondering if there's any secrets to using Cue Cote that anyone could recommend.
I've tried putting two thin coats on, sanding in between coats. That seemed to work the best so far, but I still wasn't happy with the final result. It was a bit hazy (even after buffing), and I thought I had to work the finish quite a bit to get it smooth and even. I also tried putting on a thick coat, but it never evened out enough on the spinner and was too much of a mess to even sand out on the lathe after it had dried. Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of "work" a finish will require once it's applied and dried on the cue?
One other thing is that the recommended application of the Cue Cote product calls for a quick pass with a plumber's torch to bring the air bubbles to the surface. On one test shaft, I must have gotten the wood a bit warm as the grain seemed to darken up. On another shaft, I had quite a few imperfections or flaws in the finish, so I'm wondering if I didn't hit it with the torch long enough. Is there any secret to this part of the process? Is it truly just a "quick pass" over the cue once or twice?
I'm really excited about the cues I have built to this point and can't wait to get a finish on them to see how they hit. I've had my lathe for about 10 months after researching equipment, etc. for about a year. This is strictly a hobby at this point, but I'd love to be able to sell a few cues occasionally to support my habit.
I've been a surfer of the AZBilliard forums for a few years, but have just recently discovered the Cuemakers section. Thanks to all the experienced cuemakers out there posting in this forum for us rookies. Any information would be greatly appreciated!
Mark
I have a few cues close to ready for finish. I have built a small lathe-type "spinner" that turns the cue at approx. 60 RPM. I've tried finishing the end of a few shafts for practice, but have had mixed results thus far. Because of this, I'm hesitant to put a finish on an entire butt in fear of ruining my hard work. I know there are many ways to finish a cue, the Cue Cote product is just my choice to get started. It seems that most of the beautiful finishes you see these days are air-sprayed auto products. I would imagine I'll give that a try sooner or later, but I'm wondering if there's any secrets to using Cue Cote that anyone could recommend.
I've tried putting two thin coats on, sanding in between coats. That seemed to work the best so far, but I still wasn't happy with the final result. It was a bit hazy (even after buffing), and I thought I had to work the finish quite a bit to get it smooth and even. I also tried putting on a thick coat, but it never evened out enough on the spinner and was too much of a mess to even sand out on the lathe after it had dried. Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of "work" a finish will require once it's applied and dried on the cue?
One other thing is that the recommended application of the Cue Cote product calls for a quick pass with a plumber's torch to bring the air bubbles to the surface. On one test shaft, I must have gotten the wood a bit warm as the grain seemed to darken up. On another shaft, I had quite a few imperfections or flaws in the finish, so I'm wondering if I didn't hit it with the torch long enough. Is there any secret to this part of the process? Is it truly just a "quick pass" over the cue once or twice?
I'm really excited about the cues I have built to this point and can't wait to get a finish on them to see how they hit. I've had my lathe for about 10 months after researching equipment, etc. for about a year. This is strictly a hobby at this point, but I'd love to be able to sell a few cues occasionally to support my habit.
I've been a surfer of the AZBilliard forums for a few years, but have just recently discovered the Cuemakers section. Thanks to all the experienced cuemakers out there posting in this forum for us rookies. Any information would be greatly appreciated!
Mark
