Bamacues said:
We all get our shafts dirty from time to time, some much worse than others. Many cue repair specialists can make them look almost new again. What works for you? How do you take a much traveled shaft and bring it back to life? What cleaner do you use? What other technique (other than sanding)?
I have also heard of "bleaching" a shaft. What is involved/used for this process? Can it damage the shaft wood?
In actuality a shaft that has darkened in color from the oils from your hand is a stronger and better shaft than one that is brand new. This darker shaft is also less likely to warp.
Cleaning a shaft with cleaners (dry or wet) or bleaching it until it looks new again can be very bad for your cues shaft. It does look nicer, but the long term effects can be devastating. Even if the shaft does not warp, you are creating weak spots in the shaft that will cause deflection points where you do not want them.
Consider this. It is almost impossible to entirely remove these chemicals from your shafts cue once you are done cleaning, even if you quickly clean it off. Some of the chemicals will quickly embed into the wood. The result is that it starts to break down the wood, soften it. Imagine now various spots on your cue shaft that have undetectable soft spots. Now when playing and as you make contact with the cue ball the shaft bends. Were is the first place it bends? The weakest spot. The cue shaft manufacturer made sure that the deflection points are precisely were they should be and in the more expensive shafts there is greater uniformity in deflection. We know this because this was lab tested.
The blue in the shaft;
Waxes are one of the worse culprits of grit transfer. Even if you do not use waxes and polishers, others do. Waxes and polishers break down very fast. Think of a wax candle on a warm day. Press your finger against it and rub it. The wax begins to roll up and is very soft and has a tacky feel. When we stroke our cue shaft we are warming the wax on the shaft. Now consider small chalk particles and other grit from our hands and the table. These particles now attached to wax and some fall back onto the table. As players play, their hands pick up these wax-grit particles and it begins forming on their shaft. As the players stroke, they are embedding these gummy chalk particles into their shaft.
Even worse, many seem to think that burnishing is good for your cue shaft and it is, but only after a very good cleaning. Burnishing (rubbing) your shaft with a material, even sand paper, starts to now embed these particles even further into the shafts wood. As the temperature changes, so does the wood and these particles become now a bigger nuisance as some begin to re-appear.
If your shaft needs a good cleaning, the best is to send it in to a highly regarded cuesmith. Otherwise uses a simple cleaning compound such as a clean petroleum or alcohol product that evaporates quickly and does not leave any residue behind. Just be happy with a surface level cleaning as this will ensure good performance from your cue shaft.
