Possible Shaft Cleaner

[shakes]

I was in the paint section of Walmart last night (the only place you can go to buy Q-tips and end up spending $300) and I found a cleaner made by Homax called "Oops". I was looking at what it was made of, and I was curious as to whether it could be used as a shaft cleaner.

I've gone through all of the usual items, and I am operating on a lathe, but I would like to find a non-abrasive manner of cleaning some shafts that come in looking like someone tied to the back of their 4-wheel drive and drove down the tank trails with it.

Both the damp rag steaming and the alcohol fail to get the last bits of chalk and grime out. (especially on the ferrule) Right now I end up using the Soft Scrub method on the ferrule (and it is actually a great tip burnisher) but I would like to stop using it as it is a little to abrasive.

Anyway, before I keep rambling. The Oops cleaner is made up of:
<7% Monochlorotoluene
<12% Ethyl Alcohol
>21% Xylene
>58% VM&P Naptha

I was wondering how this would affect the finish, various glues, and possibly the ferrule material itself before I actually tried this on a shaft. I didn't pay that much attention in Chemistry, soooo, if any of you good people might have an educated opinion it would be very helpful.

The website I got this info from is:

http://www.homaxproducts.com/MSDS/homax_pdf/OOPS!%20ALL%20PURPOSE%20REMOVER.pdf

Thanks, and sorry so long,

~Shakes

 

[RSB-Refugee]

The Oops cleaner is made up of:
<7% Monochlorotoluene
<12% Ethyl Alcohol
>21% Xylene
>58% VM&P Naptha

Shakes,
Is the stuff very expensive? The monochlorotoluene & xylene are very solvent chemicals. It would be very bad to breath and highly flamable. So first off, be extremely careful. The two I named earlier, could cause melting of thermoplastic ferrules and glue break-down, but I don't know for sure. If you can get it real cheap you could experiment with it on broken cues. I'm assuming everyone else has old junk cues laying around like myself I never try anything, until I have first tried it on junk cues.

Tracy

 

[Sheldon]

Try using Mr. Clean magic eraser. Amazing stuff.

 

[scottycoyote]

Try using Mr. Clean magic eraser. Amazing stuff.

yeah a big thumbs up on the mr clean.........i used it for the first time the other night......simply amazing.........followed it up with some 2000 grit sandpaper and my cue felt almost too slick

 

[shakes]

Mr. Clean

I have not tried the Magic eraser for what I thought were two reasons. One, it required a little too much water to activate, and two, it was too abrasive. If these are not the case, then feel free to correct me, and I guess I should probably try it for myself, but I was wondering if the chemicals in the "Oops" Cleaner would be bad for the glues, finish, or ferrule material on the cues.

 

[Cue Crazy]

I have not tried the Magic eraser for what I thought were two reasons. One, it required a little too much water to activate, and two, it was too abrasive. If these are not the case, then feel free to correct me, and I guess I should probably try it for myself, but I was wondering if the chemicals in the "Oops" Cleaner would be bad for the glues, finish, or ferrule material on the cues.

The Mr clean pads are slightly abraisive, atough not as abraisive as those green srubby pads. They still do have their uses in a cue shop though, and are nice to have around. You have to watch them around a lathe, It is possible for them to stick to a shaft and wrap your finger around it. I do not use them for shafts too often Myself.
The goof off, I am sure has it's uses also, though not sure cleaning shafts with It would be a good thing. I believe it is actually used for removing glue and such, so You probably have a good reason for not trusting It. There are cuemakers that sell shaft cleaner if all else fails.
There is a product used in carpet cleaning that's called dry-sheen I believe. Can be used on fabric of furniture. How it works is you mix it in a bucket of warm water slosh the mixture up creating a foam layer on top, you then use the foam only, not the water, with a brush on the fabric. How it works is the foam actually lifts the dirt up out of the fabric and pushes It upwards on top where you can vacuum it up. I've used It in car and truck interiors and works very well. I would be curious as to whether anyone has utilized this stuff for cleaning shafts? The way It lifts dirt up, seems like It might work for lifting dirt & chalk up out of shafts, but have not tried It for Myself. If I was looking for a shaft cleaner, I would look for something that lifts dirt in this way, as to pull it up from the grain of the wood.
I have had pretty decent luck on the shafts We take in for cleaning. They are usually not to hard to deal with, but I have had few, and seems to me that the grain must be opened up in order to get deep embedded dirt and chalk out regardless of what cleaner you use. Once you open the grain up you need a really good sealer, to seal It back. There are several choices of off the shelf sealers, but I prefer one that dries quickly, and buffs out well. again there are cuemakers that offer these products for sale also. If wanting to come up with your own, well the best advice I could give is- test on some old junk shafts you are not worried about until you find something that works for you. Sealers are kind of like finishes as they all seem to buff out alittle different then the others, and some take longer to dry then others. They each seem to have their own little gremlins, and tint can be an issue as well, as alot of sealers tend to amber. I am always looking for new stuff to try, so please let me know if you run accross anything good.

Hope this helps
Greg

 

[Sheldon]

I have not tried the Magic eraser for what I thought were two reasons. One, it required a little too much water to activate, and two, it was too abrasive. If these are not the case, then feel free to correct me, and I guess I should probably try it for myself, but I was wondering if the chemicals in the "Oops" Cleaner would be bad for the glues, finish, or ferrule material on the cues.

I use denatured alcohol instead of water. The eraser is slightly abrasive, but it removes nothing. It will raise the grain and make the cue feel rough, but proper burnishing and re-sealing will correct this.