How to make a carbon fiber shaft more slick?

bbb said:
Denatured alcohol (also called methylated spirits, in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; wood spirit; and denatured rectified spirit)[1] is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, foul-smelling, or nauseating to discourage its recreational consumption
i can understand the increased water causing a longer drying time with 70-90% alcohol
but is it the additives in the denatured alcohol that makes it clean better??
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I would think Wood Spirit would be Methanol / Wood Alcohol.
I searched on What's used to denature Ethanol.
Answer was they add Methanol and Pyridine.
Pyridine is supposedly similar in structure to Benzine. I would think this stuff has possibilities of making a better cleaner than straight Ethanol.
But I wonder what the bonding agents are for the carbon fibers. Don't believe I'd choose Benzine for cleaning your shaft. Just saying.

Go with Everclear which is as close as you can get to pure Ethanol.
And if it works, you can grin and take a shot afterwards.
 
cueman said:
Cue Wax for shafts applied using a lathe pin in your drill to spin the shaft. Make sure shaft is clean first.
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bbb said:
Thanks chris
i dont buy from joe much anymore
i have renaisance wax for my wood shafts
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cueman said:
What you have will work on carbon fiber also.
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CHRIS
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE
I CLEANED MY SHAFT WITH A REVO WIPE
DRIED IT WITH THE PREDATOR MICROFIBER CLOTH
I TOOK A SMALL AMOUNT OF RENAISANCE WAX ON A PAPER TOWEL AND APPLIED IT
MULTIPLE TIMES WITH THE PAPER TOWEL UP AND DOWN
FINISHED WITH THE MICRO FIBER TOWEL
THE FEELS GREAT NOW
(y) (y) :):)
i wanted to give you credit because you deserve it
larry
 
The information missing is the carbon shaft itself. What brand or type is it? Was it OK for you when you first got the cue shaft? After how much playing time did these problems start to occur ?Some people have sweaty hands, or are in humid places. If that is the case, then a cue glove is what I would recommend. Denatured or IPA, Isopropyl alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) or alcohol wipes, will work fine for cleaning most carbon fibre shafts. Some do have coating on them. Check with the shaft maker what the best product is to clean with first. As for the carbon shafts I was making, they were draw polished, so from tip to joint, with used 600 grit wet dry paper, and done with a water solution with a few drops of dish washing liquid as a surface tension breaking additive. After they were cleaned with IPA and a lens cloth. I was using a very difficult to obtain product for some shafts to make them super slick. But since most people are now using a glove with the carbon shafts, I have stopped using it. It was also a rather expensive product too.
 
conetip said:
The information missing is the carbon shaft itself. What brand or type is it? Was it OK for you when you first got the cue shaft? After how much playing time did these problems start to occur ?Some people have sweaty hands, or are in humid places. If that is the case, then a cue glove is what I would recommend. Denatured or IPA, Isopropyl alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) or alcohol wipes, will work fine for cleaning most carbon fibre shafts. Some do have coating on them. Check with the shaft maker what the best product is to clean with first. As for the carbon shafts I was making, they were draw polished, so from tip to joint, with used 600 grit wet dry paper, and done with a water solution with a few drops of dish washing liquid as a surface tension breaking additive. After they were cleaned with IPA and a lens cloth. I was using a very difficult to obtain product for some shafts to make them super slick. But since most people are now using a glove with the carbon shafts, I have stopped using it. It was also a rather expensive product too.
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i just want to say for the benefit of the readers who may not know who to listen to, since we often get opposing opinions. As far as carbon fiber shafts go Neil has probably been making carbon fiber shafts longer than anyone else on the forum. He was doing them years before they became popular. So I consider Neil to be the AZ grandfather of carbon fiber shafts.
 
I would avoid the paper towel altogether, personally. A good waxing will fill in any scratches, but best not to make them in the first place. If there's grime where a solvent like denatured alcohol can't bust, you might need to use something like a clay bar, but it's still a tiny bit abrasive, so only if you can tell there's some grit bonded on there where solvents aren't working so you have to do something mechanical. Apply the wax only when it's as clean as you can get, and use a good quality microfiber towel to buff.
 
I'm a woodworker and woodturner and use a lot of waxes. Two of the common ones I use are Johnsons Paste, and Renaissance. Because of this and statements on this forum, I started using Renaissance on a couple of my cue shafts, and also on my Diamond Professional, cherry finish pool table. In wood turning I have almost completely stopped the practice of waxing turnings after finishing as I have found it to be a major attractor of dust. On my pool table, waxed with Renaissance, I was getting an imminence amount of greasy finger prints, so much so that I blamed my wife for using too much hand cream before shooting. I decided it had to be the wax. I now use Meguiar's carnauba deep crystal car wax, a much harder wax that leaves virtually no finger prints on the table. The table has a much smoother, and slippery non greasy feeling. I have quit using Renaissance wax on my pool shafts also, as they were getting dirty more frequently, and it just became a viscous cycle of cleaning and waxing. I now use cue silk for my shafts, and am pleased with that. I wonder if the carnauba car wax might actually be a better solution for those that like to wax their shafts, as Renaissance wax is appears to be a mix of softer waxes that will actually attract dust and dirt. I realize that a lot of people use and recommend Renaissance for use on shafts, and that's fine, but I just wanted to put this thought out there as a possible alternative for pool shafts, and also for wood finish pool tables, as it is a life saver for fingerprints on pool tables. My only experience with wax on shafts, is with wood shafts. I do have one carbon shaft, a Jacoby black, and do not do anything with that other than wipe it down, as it is super slick the way it is. Also as to use on tables, I have a cherry finish on maple wood, and it is very smooth. For a finished oak wood table that is a somewhat porous finish, not sure a car wax would work.
 
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To anyone with a cf shaft, you can Wipe it with Pledge furniture polish and a microfiber cloth, per instruction from pechauer on how to clean their rogue shaft. Spray it on the cloth first, and dont get it on the tip. It cleans and slickens it right up.
 
bbb said:
Denatured alcohol (also called methylated spirits, in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; wood spirit; and denatured rectified spirit)[1] is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, foul-smelling, or nauseating to discourage its recreational consumption
i can understand the increased water causing a longer drying time with 70-90% alcohol
but is it the additives in the denatured alcohol that makes it clean better??
Click to expand...
bbb,
Just a little clarification: Ethanol is derived from grain. Its the stuff in beer, wine and liquor. Safe to drink ... unless
Methanol is generally made from wood and is the stuff that makes you very ill if you drink it.

Rubbing Alcohol is either isopropyl or ethanol and supposedly better for degreasing than methanol

Without further research but just memory from chemistry class. It's very hard/expensive to make 100% alcohol. (not to be confused with 100 Proof). Once you open 100% it will quickly take on water from whatever humidity is in the room eventually diluting to around 90-95%. Splitting hair, I know.

Methanol is a common ingredient used to Denature Ethanol. Then they add things that make it extremely distasteful (usually bitter) to drink.
 
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