How to make it black

R

RFisher

FISHER CUES
Silver Member
I want to build a few b/js, or cheap cues, and make them black, and I don't mean grey, or blackish, I want this cue as black as possible. I'm going to use maple. What dye, paint, ect.....should I use?

Thanks,
 
A lot depends on the type of finish you use. I use an acrylic based but have to do thin layers or my PolyU will melt it. Not sure about UV.....
 
RFisher said:
I want to build a few b/js, or cheap cues, and make them black, and I don't mean grey, or blackish, I want this cue as black as possible. I'm going to use maple. What dye, paint, ect.....should I use?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Hi Bryan, I use a water based stain that I got from the Woodcraft store. The name on it is "COUNTRY COLORS". It's made by "General Finishes". It is VERY black. I apply it with a brush. Hope this helps...JER
 
you could do a little experiment!!!!my Brother used to paint cars(showcars)and I remember a guy wanting one so black it would look like it was a mirror,well after several tries the final end all job was
---Black base and the clearcoat had black in it as well!!
 
About a year or so ago I read a post here by an anonymous poster that 'black is black and not to worry about it'. I learned 3 things that day.

1.) There are many shades of black.
2.) Sometimes you need to sift through the glut of info posted to filter-out the inaccurate opinions and mis-information.
3.) There are posters who will say anything to build their post count and/or to see their name on a cue maker's forum whether they're a CM or not.

I had a Predator BK that I was doing some finish touch-up on for a client. Somehow, he had gotten thru the clear, thru the paint & into the wood. Having just read that 'black is black and not to worry about it', I shot some gloss-black (from a rattle can) to cover the bare wood. Later I shot the clear. Trust me on this one folks, there are different shades of black. The gloss black was just too black for the BK and if you looked for the touch-up area it wouldn't take you long to find it. Lesson learned.

The next BK I did I used flat-black to cover the bare wood. The match was damn-near perfect. Shot the clear, buffed it out and everyone was happy. FWIW, even the flat black gets it's gloss from the clear. The shade of black only provides the base-coat color. The clear will provide the gloss. The BK2 has what I would call a 'matte-black' finish. It's basically the same shade of black without the high-gloss surface. This is accomplished by wet sanding the clear-coat up to 2000 grit and quit. Don't use a buff/polish compound. Wax if you like but the surface will stay matte.

Now to address the question (about time huh?).
Experiment with low-cost blacks from different manufacturers until you find the shade that suits you. I can't advise which one you'll like best, that's your call. My finding was that the gloss-blacks provide a deeper, richer shade of black and this may vary by manufacturers. It just wasn't a good match for my touch-up apps. on Pred. BKs.
 
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Bryan, try india ink. You can get it at hobby lobby & craft stores & places like that. Wear a rubber glove & pour some onto a paper towel, then just rub it in to the bare wood after final sand. Finish sticks to it just fine, so don't worry. It's coal black. The wood will be blacker than ebony. I have built a few cues like this when somebody wanted a solid black cue without wanting the weight & cost of ebony.
 
Black carpet dye is best. Next choice that is easily found is black leather dye. Yes it will work on wood.
 
RFisher said:
I want to build a few b/js, or cheap cues, and make them black, and I don't mean grey, or blackish, I want this cue as black as possible. I'm going to use maple. What dye, paint, ect.....should I use?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
a refinish i'm doing,
the cue my buddy left in car to be cooked under the sun thru the back window
flat black krylon spray paint with clear over (of course) :wink:
003-4.jpg

002-6.jpg
 
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Thanks to everyone who replyed, or pm'd me, good info,

Just so everyone knows, we currently use PPG automotive clear, it's a 12 hr cure, on our "cheap" cues or b/js we use a 4 hour clear.

and who ever called me saying why don't I just core ebony, It's for cheap cue's or b/j cues. Don't want to put that much time/effort/money into them.

Thanks
 
I'm not a pro CM, just a hobbyist, so take this for what it's worth. Years ago when I was heavy into golf club repairs I had a customer who wanted his solid black woods refinished (back when "woods" made of wood). After an unsatisfactory first attempt, I did some research, and learned the best way was a basecoat of opaque dead-flat black. Flat-black lacquer base topcoated with high-gloss furniture lacquer got the job done well with a consistency of gloss that I wasn't able to achieve using other basecoats. The ink or stain sounds like it might be the trick for a virgin piece of wood, but since I had stripped off old finish on this job, the wood didn't absorb the stain evenly for me.

Bill
 
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