I just had 2 days on and off in prep, finish, and buff, all over 1 chip. I've done them in less then an hour before. I've even pulled off blending CA to UV before without wetting out a larger area, although most of the time there is no choice. like KJ mentioned your better off re shooting the whole cue, but then You might as well strip and prep which is basically a full on refinish. That's sort of the point I might could have refinished the entire cue in that amount of time. This fought me from beginning to end, first with the pop out, trimmed all the way around the area several times until It stopped popping even more as I trimmed the edges. I tested to make sure It would wet out with out showing edge before applying a seal fill, and guess what, looked like I never did a thing to prevent It. So I did it again while still soft., then feather the edges with paper, finally get My wet cote on, and start filling, get It filled, sand, buff, then the UV type issue pops It's ugly head, although I don't know If It was UV or not. The thing Is It did not show all the way around the area like It normally does when the fill is clearer then the original finish. So I prep again, and try wetting out a larger area around the spot to blend. That actually works as it sometimes will, and The edge of My wet area blends with the edge of original finish, but then I notice in the area that's prepped over, and did not get wet out is not blending with Itself in places. I tell ya what It looked like, It was like the original finish had been filled with CA several times before, although I have no reason to believe that was the case. Even that or the finish was wiped out in spots but that was not the case, I had plenty of thickness to work with. Anyhow I was just about to give in and had Myself convinced that re-coating the whole cue was the only way It was gonna happen, when I gave It one last try, and I finally got It. I had to play with the speed several times, and had to limit buffing to less them one inch of area at a time, then get off of It, because trying to do a larger area, even in small strokes, It only dulled, including the area that I had buffed out. I can't even list everything It took to pull It off, but in the end I did, at what cost though.
The thing is some people are under the impression that you simply fill the area, sand, and buff to blend, sometimes that the case, but not always. How do You justify the price of anywhere near a total refinish just to fill one chip out. I find It hard charging that much, even though I know I had the same amount of time involved or more Into the job. I don't do total finish jobs on cues other then My own. If I had seen this coming ahead of time, I could have just recommended having the cue totally refinished, but once I was in It, I was knee deep in It. I can't just give the cue back, say that's the best I can do and Your going to have to get someone else refinish It. I would have had to refinish It Myself.
I never quoted a price on the job, but that's not unusual. I have many people that just drop their cue off, for me to pick up, because they trust me to do a good job at a reasonable price. Charging what I had into this one may break that trust if They are under the impression that It would be much cheaper to repair. I guess I'll take the hit, and mark It down as a lesson. The bad part is It's not the first time I have learned this lesson, the exact same lesson in fact, and is why I try to tell people I don't really do refinish work, but truth be told on rare occasion I do It as a favor. It's not that I can't do it, never have issue turning someone away if it's some out of My current capabilities, It's just that I have no idea what I'm going to run into, and If I charge for actual time & material involved It may be cheaper for them to have It done elsewhere.
It was not a production cue, It is a custom bar cue conversion, I won't name the maker, but much of the prep issues were due to the finish wanting to lift. The grain of the wood under the finish was slap full of sanding dust, so that tells me a lot about how the cue was sealed & prepped. The cue looks to be well built though. I have no idea what type of finish was used, but If It was auto finish then It's one the hardest I have buffed out. It's usually a lot easier to buff evenly then that. That's what was strange... parts of It did, but It had spots in it that didn't, and that made it spotty looking.
Well the short of It is, I know I'm gonna take a loss, I plan on that, because I don't feel right about charging that much, without warning of the possibility upfront. but how much of a loss should I live with is the question. I mean what is fair for them under the circumstances, but not cutting My own throat too deeply, and how many times do I have to learn the same lesson. I guess that's why I ask about an average on a set price, Maybe a bottom line as a guideline of the best case senerio, and then a few bucks more then that, meeting halfway. I've done similar jobs for as little $25-$30 but spent very little time in comparison to this. I've had others that took much time, and put up a fight much like this, but had the same dilemma I do now. Even If I tell them up front time and material, by the time I'm done their trousers could fall off when I give them the damage. I haven't had one yet that I didn't pull off to at least a very acceptable result, but i just have no idea how long that will take from one cue to another.
UV production cues are a gimme. I have done some, but I usually choose to stay away from them due to the fight getting them to buff evenly. Many times the cost of the finish work would out weight the cost of the cue.
Anyhow Thanks for the input fellas.
Greg
