Irish Linen Cleaning

[Willieboy]

I have the original Irish linen wrap on my 50 year old Titleist conversion. It's no longer white. How can it be cleaned? Or, should I just replace it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cueman]

Cleaning the wrap without a lathe is not easy. Also a lot of older wraps are starting to rot and fall apart when repressed. You can take it and let your repair man try to clean and repress it and if it does not work replace it.

 

[rhncue]

Cleaning the wrap without a lathe is not easy. Also a lot of older wraps are starting to rot and fall apart when repressed. You can take it and let your repair man try to clean and repress it and if it does not work replace it.

I wholeheartedly agree! Attempting to clean a wrap without the proper equipment is foolhardy at best.

You've got to get the linen wet and then it must be quickly dried. You need a lathe and a linen press. Without these you''ll get the handle to the cue wet with no way of drying it so chances are very good the handle will warp and the linen rot.

If you have a lathe and a way of pressing the linen dry and are only wanting to learn the technique for future endeavors then I would get a couple of old, throw away cues to practice on. It's certainly not hard to do once you have the proper equipment at hand. Once you are ready ask your question again and you will be told. At this moment, a little information would cause you much more harm than good.

Dick

 

[Type79]

I am not a cuemaker but I have had excellent success carefully cleaning original linen wraps from the 1960's.

I use a damp, not wet, cloth or paper towel with mild detergent and immediately dry with a dry towel. I clean roughly 4" at a time and dry it, eventually working my way up the wrap.

I do this by hand without a lathe.

 

[Willieboy]

Thanks guys. I think I'll have it replaced with leather. I always liked the look of the old Brunswick Titleist with leather wrap.

 

[cueman]

I am not a cuemaker but I have had excellent success carefully cleaning original linen wraps from the 1960's.

I use a damp, not wet, cloth or paper towel with mild detergent and immediately dry with a dry towel. I clean roughly 4" at a time and dry it, eventually working my way up the wrap.

I do this by hand without a lathe.

That looks like a nice job on the cleaning. How do you re-press and polish the linen without a lathe?

 

[Tommy-D]

That's awful strong work there,with or without a lathe. Woolite or other fabric cleaners and a Eraser also works well too.

With starch,patience,and a nice clean iron and board he could iron it back out,I've done it but only on my own cues. The effect is amazing,but only if you like a totally slick,almost sticky feel and if your hand sweats a little it never lasts. Tommy D.

 

[Type79]

That looks like a nice job on the cleaning. How do you re-press and polish the linen without a lathe?

I would bring it to a cuemaker to re-press. Since I don't care for heavily pressed wraps, this has not been an issue for me.

 

[Bavafongoul]

To render my linen wraps smooth again, I burnish the wrap using a round smooth glass object........the flax strands woven into the Cortland Linen lay perfectly flat and smooth afterwards.......the wrap actually acquires a sheen.

 

[Type79]

To render my linen wraps smooth again, I burnish the wrap using a round smooth glass object........the flax strands woven into the Cortland Linen lay perfectly flat and smooth afterwards.......the wrap actually acquires a sheen.

This is exactly why I don't like my linen wraps pressed hard.