PetreeCues said:
Best you can hope for is that the cue maker sealed it up good. After that, just wipe it off after use each time. Chalk is going to contact the wood during play, and the wood has pores that will hold some of the chalk over time. Nothing you can do about that.
Another thing people don't reailze is that much dirt comes from your hands via the oil and sweat off of your skin. I suppose you could put your hands through a pre-surgical prep style scrub before playing and every 30 minutes during play, if you're that concerned about the appearance of the shaft.
I would advise you forget about keeping it so clean and just focus on keeping it nick and dent free. I have played for 12 years and am convinced that a nice smooth shaft with years of play, dirt, sweat, oil from your skin, chalk, and all that other garbage in it beats the hit of a new shaft any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I bet others will agree.
I aggree a shaft should be sealed good in the first place, from there out It's personal preference I suppose. It can be cleaned up well, but for me It does'nt have to have a thick coating on It after that If It's a player shaft, but sealing that grain off is important to being able to clean it well later on. I have had luck in cleaning some really nasty shafts up like new because that grain was sealed off in the first place, and that can impresses the #*#* out of your customers
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On the natural oils from your skin conditioning the cue, as I like to think of It- I do aggree with the point of It having a different feel, but for Me not being able to tighten My bridge hand up as much outweighs that in My game. So therefore I sway more towards the opinion that a playing shaft will have some wear from cleanings over the years, and just like a tool May have to eventually be replaced if not taken care of/stored properly by the user, and/or maintained properly by the repair guy that cleans them. Yes you can loose alittle each time you clean, so the repair guy has to only take away what is nessesary, and no more, and I aggree that the user has to take proper care of the shaft to prevent dents, and such damage from occurring, as that makes the repair guy's job of taking less off alot easier. Even when you steam dents you have to break the sealer in them to get the best expansion from the pores of the wood, and if you spot in or fill them that has to be sanded flush, so your going to loose some amount of wood no matter what you do IMO, and just have to do your best to keep It at a minimum.
I have had some shafts come in that looked Like that had never been maintained, and they had a grease coat so thick, that by the time I cleaned It off, it seemed Like I lost some diameter, and I was afraid to even hit It with 400 or 600 afterwards, because of the drastic difference in diameter just getting that grease off alone. The worst is when You find a bunch of dents filled in with the grease underneath It, and have to try pull them also. I'm always afraid the customer will think I butchered the cue or something like that when I run into a bad one, because of the diameter lost from the grease LOL
, but what can you do, your stuck with what you get to work with, and just have to do the best you can.
Most people I do work for seem to really like the feel of the slip-stic conditioner since I started using it, and it has brought alot of work My way through word of mouth.
Seems like many keep asking, so here' what I use- I do 2 types of finishes for the people that like sealers. One is the same as most use, and has already been discussed here, the other is a ca finish which is definatly not as smooth with the same amount of work put into It, but very clear, and If I put alot of time into It, I can get a nice feel out of It. I rarely do that one because It is very time consuming, and harder to get as smooth without that sticking that likes to take place with ca's. The best trick I could give someone on getting It smooth is that if It has waves in it, you will feel it when you stroke it through your bridge hand, and you need to sand lenth wise on the shaft to take those out, so It strokes smoother through the bridge. Also works best with some kind of cue wax, conditioner or polish on top, but the slip-stic I mentioned earlier does'nt gum up and hold dirt or chalk as bad for Me. I don't recomend anyone doing the CA on that part of the shaft, and it is not the easiest thing to do successfully, It's just something I have tried before to get the clarity someone was looking for.
A epoxy coat is not suitable for the playing surface IMO, too soft and sticky for that application.
Guess this got kind of long, so have to side with Sherm here and just say " Just More Hot Air", hope It's of use to someone, but definatly take It for what it's worth and no more then that, and rule #1 never experiement on a good shaft at first.
Greg
Is there any way I can seal it, like with shellac and thinner, without a lathe? (No one does it around here and I don't have one yet). Or does that only work when it is turning on a lathe?
