How to repair or raise dents in poly on a new cue

M

move the rock

Banned
Hello,

I have a question I hope someone can help me with. I just bought a new cue. Its a McDermott G-407 with a I-3 shaft. The first night of league I took my new cue out and well I had it placed in a portable table cue holder between racks and would'nt you know a drunk guy walks by and kicks the butt of my cue knocking it out of the cue holder and down to the tile floor she went. Lucky for me no damage was done to my I-3 shaft and all my inlays and joints seem to still be tight and fine but my cue butt took some minor dents to the poly finish. Does anyone know how to raise or remove these dents and bring it back to the brand new finish it had before the drunk stumble took place. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
One way is to fill them in and do a patch refinish over the spot.
I've done it to many of my personal cues to where it is an acceptable end to your goal.
Actually, if you use the CA glue (gel), it does polish up very nice to the point where you won't have to buy an
extra finish to clear over. This all greatly depends on the shape and size of your dents as well. Some will lend themselves well to this type of repair and others, not so great.

I did this before I got a lathe. Lending out cues usually was the reason I had to learn to do it. Like I said, it can be done with a few materials, if you are careful.

Another way is to buy a little tool called the RX Cue Dr. It is a little borosilicate glass rod.
Now, as another poster (Arnot) pointed out to me previously (and he is correct) all it does is flatten the area around the dent. It is intended to remove dents from a shaft but I found that depending on how large or what shape the dent in the finish is, it can either remove the dent in the finish or get it to the point where you barely notice it. But, keep in mind that all you are doing is flattening out the surrounding area of the dent itself and blending the dent and area in.

I understand that a repairman or maker would consider this kind of a hack method but when you don't have access to a lathe or maybe a repairman in your area, it is an option. Now, I wouldn't attempt this method for a customer and the little glass rod sits in my tool box being a lonely little fella.

There are truly many better ways to remove a dent in a shaft than the RX but this was much before I found this site and the error of my ways. And of course, appox 14 K later, I now have the ability to do it the proper way.

I also know that unfortunately no matter how careful you are with your equipment, it is virtually impossible to make the hiding spot, drunk proof.

I hope that there are others that will post to give you a few different options as well.
 
Last edited:
Short of a refinish, and depending on how the dent looks, you can use thin ca to start and let it fill any cracks. If there isn't any dirt in the cracks it will blend in and after it drys you can use a medium ca till you fill the dent then buff. This is one way in a nutshell.

If you aren't experienced using ca in this manner of let a cue repair man or a maker fix it. :)
 
Lexicologist71 said:
For future reference, try laying your cue across the table as you rack. It won't fall if it is flat.
Click to expand...

Ummm yeah... I was breaking so laying my playing cue on the table would have been a bad idea. Also I never lay my cue on a pool table to pickup all the chalk but thanks for your comment.
 
Russell Cues said:
Short of a refinish, and depending on how the dent looks, you can use thin ca to start and let it fill any cracks. If there isn't any dirt in the cracks it will blend in and after it drys you can use a medium ca till you fill the dent then buff. This is one way in a nutshell.

If you aren't experienced using ca in this manner of let a cue repair man or a maker fix it. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the help. I took my cue to my local cue maker and he is going to do just what you said for a small fee I should have it back this weekend. Stuff like that drives me crazy. I have several old cues that I have been playing with for years that look as good as the day I bought them. Any dent or dings in my shafts I repair myself as soon as I notice them. This is the first time I have had dents in a butt so it kinda POed me when I noticed them. I have never had a cue get knocked over like that after taking the time and care to secure it in a corner out of the way clipped into a table holder. Oh well live and learn. Thanks again for the input.
 
How come it seems like drunks find pool cues like tornados find trailers?
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
Filling the dents is the easy part. Sanding & polishing that finish is near impossible. GOOD LUCK...JER
Click to expand...

Yes indeed the filling in isn't to hard but to blend it in well that's more involved, slightly. I've done it but there isn't enough e-paper in here for me to try and explain it . And theres no guarantee, might blend might look like z sore thumb. :)
 
See the spot

Russell Cues said:
Yes indeed the filling in isn't to hard but to blend it in well that's more involved, slightly. I've done it but there isn't enough e-paper in here for me to try and explain it . And theres no guarantee, might blend might look like z sore thumb. :)
Click to expand...

There is some great info here. I am just getting into the refinishing portion of repair after many years ;-) This has really helped me a lot. The problem I am still seeing is on repairing dents. I tried using the oil to clean out the dent prior to putting CA in to fill it up. It seems you can still see the outline where the dent was. What is the best way to prepare that dent where you can't tell there was a dent. Everything else is turning out pretty good...
Thanks!
 
Russell Cues said:
Yes indeed the filling in isn't to hard but to blend it in well that's more involved, slightly. I've done it but there isn't enough e-paper in here for me to try and explain it . And theres no guarantee, might blend might look like z sore thumb. :)
Click to expand...



I've done It too, and and You are both right on spot. The finish on those cues is a little more involved to work with then urethane. Not only harder to buff and polish, but after figuring that out, The CA can still have a little different gloss to It no matter how well the original finish polishes around It. Also if the spots in question are blistered then that's a whole other mess to deal with before It can even be filled.

CA will suffice though, It will seal the cue, and maybe slow down any peeling where the finish was hit, so It's good preventative maintenance just the same.
 
move the rock said:
Hello,

I have a question I hope someone can help me with. I just bought a new cue. Its a McDermott G-407 with a I-3 shaft. The first night of league I took my new cue out and well I had it placed in a portable table cue holder between racks and would'nt you know a drunk guy walks by and kicks the butt of my cue knocking it out of the cue holder and down to the tile floor she went. Lucky for me no damage was done to my I-3 shaft and all my inlays and joints seem to still be tight and fine but my cue butt took some minor dents to the poly finish. Does anyone know how to raise or remove these dents and bring it back to the brand new finish it had before the drunk stumble took place. Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...



The dents can be filled and the cue can be polished, however, it depends upon the color of the wood or material under the dents how well the repair will blend. For minor problems like small limited numbers of dents that are not chipped through the finish or where no cracks have appeared in the finish Super Glue will work in most cases pretty well. Keep in mind that the darker the material is under the chip whether it is wood or phenolic the easier it will be to blend the finish and hide the repair.

Good Luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top