Minor dent repairs question

[lord_shar]

I have several cues which have minor dents at the forarm and butt sleeves. What's the easiest way to repair them? Should I attempt using a spray-varnish and apply several coats over the dents with masking tape, or just send the cues off to be professionally refinished? These dents are very minor (visible only when light is reflected off the cue's surface), so I wonder if the expense is worth while.

I know dents are a regular consequence of using cues, so they really shouldn't bother me, but I aways feel guilty about my carelessness when I see the marks I've made...

BTW, I live in the San Francisco/Foster City bay area in CA, so if anyone can recommend any nearby solutions, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[TellsItLikeItIs]

I have several cues which have minor dents at the forarm and butt sleeves. What's the easiest way to repair them? Should I attempt using a spray-varnish and apply several coats over the dents with masking tape, or just send the cues off to be professionally refinished? These dents are very minor (visible only when light is reflected off the cue's surface), so I wonder if the expense is worth while.
I know dents are a regular consequence of using cues, so they really shouldn't bother me, but I aways feel guilty about my carelessness when I see the marks I've made...
BTW, I live in the San Francisco/Foster City bay area in CA, so if anyone can recommend any nearby solutions, I'd really appreciate it.

I recommend you have them refinished by a professional. The majority of cuemakers are using finishes that are much more refined than "spray-varnish". There is a lot more to refinishing a cue than one might think. Much of what makes a cue look nice is in the final sanding, buffing, & polishing, and naturally the materials used, (clear coat). Spray varnish will not polish out like most clear coats will. It will more than likely "yellow" after a while also. You might expect to pay $125 to $200 to get one done.

As to whether "the expense is worth while", only you can make that decision.

 

[lord_shar]

I recommend you have them refinished by a professional. The majority of cuemakers are using finishes that are much more refined than "spray-varnish". There is a lot more to refinishing a cue than one might think. Much of what makes a cue look nice is in the final sanding, buffing, & polishing, and naturally the materials used, (clear coat). Spray varnish will not polish out like most clear coats will. It will more than likely "yellow" after a while also. You might expect to pay $125 to $200 to get one done.

As to whether "the expense is worth while", only you can make that decision.

Sounds good. Thanks for the advice

My Gilbert cue (url in my sig) just arrived two weeks ago and only has a single minor mark. I'd better wait until it gets a few more war-wounds before sending it off for any refinishing.

 

[lord_shar]

Just a follow up to this post... I spoke with Andy Gilbert, and he advised that I first try buffing out the indent with car polish. It was partially successful, but the mark still irked me enough to send it back to him last week. I just received the cue back this morning, and the mark was completely removed. Best of all, Andy refused to charge me anything other than shipping since he didn't have to do any refinishing. Now that's quality service I won't forget.

 

[TellsItLikeItIs]

Just a follow up to this post... I spoke with Andy Gilbert, and he advised that I first try buffing out the indent with car polish. It was partially successful, but the mark still irked me enough to send it back to him last week. I just received the cue back this morning, and the mark was completely removed. Best of all, Andy refused to charge me anything other than shipping since he didn't have to do any refinishing. Now that's quality service I won't forget.

That worked out well. Kudos to Andy.

 

[TheBook]

Andy is a great guy and makes quality cues at a reasonable price. I have 2 of them and am very satisfied.

 

[rhncue]

I have several cues which have minor dents at the forarm and butt sleeves. What's the easiest way to repair them? Should I attempt using a spray-varnish and apply several coats over the dents with masking tape, or just send the cues off to be professionally refinished? These dents are very minor (visible only when light is reflected off the cue's surface), so I wonder if the expense is worth while.

I know dents are a regular consequence of using cues, so they really shouldn't bother me, but I aways feel guilty about my carelessness when I see the marks I've made...

BTW, I live in the San Francisco/Foster City bay area in CA, so if anyone can recommend any nearby solutions, I'd really appreciate it.

A cue is a tool with a purpose just like a hammer or wrench or car. As it is used it is going to pick up some wear and just like a car, the better you take care of it the longer it will last.
Minor dents, that do not break the surface of the finish, do not hurt the integrity of the cue, they don't affect the playability of the cue nor how long the cue will last. The only thing it hurts is your pride.
It's never good to just spray some kind of finish on a cue and believe it is going to look or perform better. What comes in cans probably won't react well with the finish already on the cue plus the stuff never gets quite hard enough.
You really only have two options: Pay 100 to 200.00 to have it proffessionally refinished or to just leave it alone. If you are going to continue to use the cue then chances are you are going to pick up more dents. Do you want to have it refinished every six months?
Now scrapes, chips or any wear to the finish that breaks the film is another matter and needs to be cared for as quickly as possible. The finish looks nice but it's major duty is to protect the cue from harsh changes in humidity and to keep contaiments out of the woods pores. Although no finish completely keeps out moisture it greatly slows the transfer of that moisture keeping down swelling, shrinking, dirt and mold. Any time the film is broken it should have a little finger nail polish or super glue put on that spot to reseal it. I, myself, prefer people to use clear finger nail polish as it doesn't soak into the wood as super glue does making it harder to stain that area when the cue is refinished.
Dick

 

[kokopuffs]

Lord: was that CAR POLISH (polishing compound) or CAR WAX (wax itself) that you used? Beware there is another finishing substance that's slightly grittier that's used on automobile finishes and is called RUBBING COMPOUND.

All three of these substances differ in their degree of grittiness - wax being the smoothest.

 

[lord_shar]

A cue is a tool with a purpose just like a hammer or wrench or car. As it is used it is going to pick up some wear and just like a car, the better you take care of it the longer it will last.
Minor dents, that do not break the surface of the finish, do not hurt the integrity of the cue, they don't affect the playability of the cue nor how long the cue will last. The only thing it hurts is your pride.
It's never good to just spray some kind of finish on a cue and believe it is going to look or perform better. What comes in cans probably won't react well with the finish already on the cue plus the stuff never gets quite hard enough.
You really only have two options: Pay 100 to 200.00 to have it proffessionally refinished or to just leave it alone. If you are going to continue to use the cue then chances are you are going to pick up more dents. Do you want to have it refinished every six months?
Now scrapes, chips or any wear to the finish that breaks the film is another matter and needs to be cared for as quickly as possible. The finish looks nice but it's major duty is to protect the cue from harsh changes in humidity and to keep contaiments out of the woods pores. Although no finish completely keeps out moisture it greatly slows the transfer of that moisture keeping down swelling, shrinking, dirt and mold. Any time the film is broken it should have a little finger nail polish or super glue put on that spot to reseal it. I, myself, prefer people to use clear finger nail polish as it doesn't soak into the wood as super glue does making it harder to stain that area when the cue is refinished.
Dick

I agree with all of this... I've owned 2 other cues for 20+ years. The first, a Meucci, has a .25" ding in the forearm, but the surface polish wan't broken. The 2nd is a Schon (linked below), ordered Jan 2005, is in mint condition.

I'll probably use the car polish trick again on small stuff (Andy was right about it being able to work minor miracles) but won't be refinishing my play cue every 6 months... perhaps every other year

Lord: was that CAR POLISH (polishing compound) or CAR WAX (wax itself) that you used? Beware there is another finishing substance that's slightly grittier that's used on automobile finishes and is called RUBBING COMPOUND.

All three of these substances differ in their degree of grittiness - wax being the smoothest.

I used turtle wax 2000 silicon based car polish, not rubbing compound. It actually worked well at minimizing the dent spot without scratching. I did accidentally get some of the polish on the leather wrap, and this ended up removing some of the lizard skin's gloss. However, Andy fixed that too! Lesson learned: Cover the wrap with painter's tape before performing any cue operations requiring other compounds.

 

[chokenstroke]

I have several cues which have minor dents at the forarm and butt sleeves. What's the easiest way to repair them?

I know you have resolved this problem but should the need arise again try this.
Turn on a iron and set it to cotton (hot). Wet a small piece of doubled paper towel and place it over the dent. Apply the hot iron to the paper towel for a few seconds covering the dented area. It will sizzle and make steam.
Do not take this to excess or keep the heat on it until the paper towel is dry.
The idea here is to drive the heat down into the wood to make it swell back out to its original shape. It may take several applications.

If that works then smile !
If it fails then smile anyway , you are no worse off than you were.

 

[pooldogue]

Man i dont know if ide be putting any kind of hot object on my cues.................... I just call my buddy M.Webb and have the issue resolved profesionally and like always in a timely manner............

 

[kokopuffs]

Using the iron close by is a proven, time-tested procedure that I've read about elsewhere for several years. Another trick is to rub a cylindrical piece of glass over the mar furiously. Even such a device is offered for sale at Mueller's.

I like your Bently logo and as a matter of fact I took an identical photo of one at a car show recently.

 

[TellsItLikeItIs]

Using the iron close by is a proven, time-tested procedure that I've read about elsewhere for several years. Another trick is to rub a cylindrical piece of glass over the mar furiously. Even such a device is offered for sale at Mueller's.

Lord Shar was asking about removing minor dents in the forearm & butt of his cue, not the shaft.

Might want to be very careful using the glass rods to correct dents in a shaft though. They actually will not remove the ding/dent. Instead, when you rub the glass over the dent, it compresses the wood grain around the dent making it appear to have disappeared. What you actually have is a larger dent that may feel smooth to the touch (or may not). It's really not the preferred method.

The steam (or drop of water) method works well, but like anything else, if not done properly the results can be worse than the original problem.

 

[TheBook]

I seen a guy use the shot glass on another players cue to "remove" dents. When he got done he showed his proud piece of workmanship to the owner. I looked at it and held it up to get the glare of the light on it. You could see long flat spots running the length of the cue. I showed this to the ower. He got pissed that his shaft got more damaged than it was. I took it home and steam it. Most of the flat spots and dents popped. I did a light sanding on a lathe. It turned out better than it was and told the owner that he could probably get it repaired better by taking it to a cue repair shop. He was happy with the results that I did.

Don't use the glass rod on a dent. Try it on a cheap cue and you will see what I am talking about.

 

[kokopuffs]

Concerning using the glass rod, I've read many arguments counter to the information you posted. And also I know just what you meant concerning dents in the forearm and butt versus the shaft.

 

[TheBook]

kokopuffs

Take a cheap shaft. Put a dent in it. Take a glass, or glass rod and rub out the dent. You will not feel the dent but if hold it like a rifle looking done the length at a light to get the glare you will see that all you did was compress the surrounding wood to blend into the dent. You will see a long flat spot running the length of the cue. You did not pop out the dent as you would by using a drop on water. Some will say to use water with the glass and the heat will pop out the dent. The heat does not pop it out, it is the water. If you have a small dent all you need to do is put a drop of water on it. It will raise the grain in a few minutes and then all you have to do is burnish it with a piece of paper or leather.

If you are satisfied by using the glass method then it works for you. But it will not pop out the dent as water will.

 

[Michael Webb]

Well said.

 

[RSB-Refugee]

Lord Shar was asking about removing minor dents in the forearm & butt of his cue, not the shaft.

Good point, I don't think the steam, drop of water, or glass rod, would end well if applied to a finished butt. Someone is going to read through this and get some bad information. Someone could easily damage their cue, after reading this thread. Now if you really want to fix a dent in a butt, get yourself some coarse sandpaper and... Just kidding, the thing to do, is seek professional help.

Tracy

 

[chokenstroke]

Good point, I don't think the steam, drop of water, or glass rod, would end well if applied to a finished butt. Tracy

I cant understand you not believing someone with such an honest face as I, Tracy. Do I really look like someone that would offer bad advice?
Ok, dont answer that

Really, it works and that is how a lot of "professional" cuemakers repair small dents in butts and shafts. Some also use steam wands but as long as the paper towel dont dry out completly the finish will not be damaged.

 

[rhncue]

I cant understand you not believing someone with such an honest face as I, Tracy. Do I really look like someone that would offer bad advice?
Ok, dont answer that

Really, it works and that is how a lot of "professional" cuemakers repair small dents in butts and shafts. Some also use steam wands but as long as the paper towel dont dry out completly the finish will not be damaged.

Wood has a memory.The reason moisture is used to raise a dent is that it soaks into the wood swelling it. By adding heat you turn that water that has soaked into the wood to turn to steam swelling the wood much faster. If the cue has a finish worth having then the water is not going to get below that finish. As long as your towell or rag is wet then it won't get over 212 deg. at sea level as this is where water turns to steam however finishes are nothing more than priority glues and most glue will break down before 212 deg.
Dick