Re-finish

Pre-Flag Master

Pre-Flag Master

Cue Ball Man
Silver Member
I'm playing with a very inexpensive cue until I can afford something better. It plays well enough, but the finish is cheap and it's getting kind of dinged up (I don't know, but it seems like dings in a cue with a good finish look better than dings in a cue with a cheap finish, if that makes any sense). Anyway, I'm thinking about sanding off the cheap finish entirely and doing some kind of finish myself. As for sanding off the old finish, I would have the local cue repair guy do that for me on his lathe.

Now I don't have any skills or equipment in the way of applying clear coat finishes. But from what I've seen here on AZ there are other options that I might be able to do myself. I don't know much about these either, so I am just going to throw some words out here. Please let me know if any of these makes sense for a guy with little money, but enough work ethic to learn it and do it; natural, tongue oil, hand rubbed, satin.

Note, this is a sneaky pete with no wrap, so no problem there. Also note that I do like the clear coat feel. I have traction in my hand. Before I decide how to proceed, I would like to know if the other options would be on the slippery side. And I'm wondering if the other options provide protection of the wood against dirt and chalk build up.

Thanks
Fatz
 
your best bet is to have the cue maker or repairman strip the finish and apply another one. if you do not like the old feel of the stick (too slippery) have him cut and install a linen wrap. your spending money to sand a finish down and to hand apply a finish evenly without a lathe will be incredibly tough.

The cue needs to be spinning to even out the finish and then after th finish is applied it should be wet sanded and buffed out.

If you do not want to put money into that cue your best bet is to stick with what you got.
 
Fatz -

I have several inexpensive cues I have refinished/retipped. They look and feel good enough but do not begin to compare with a professionally applied clear coat. Good enough for me and my newbie game.

No reason you cannot do the same for a total investment of a half pint of water based clear hardwood floor finish, 400-220 wet-or-dry sandpaper, and a 1" foam disposable brush. No lathe needed.

Hand sand with 220 to remove the old clear coat. Finish sand the bare wood with 400. Apply three coats of clear coat letting each dry for two days. Lightly sand between coats with 400. Buff the final coat with a small amount of boiled linseed oil or furniture wax and coarse paper from a large brown bag.

Should feel and look good enough to generate postive comments from friends and allow you to feel proud of doing a good job yourself.

Rick
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I'm playing with a very inexpensive cue...It plays well enough, but the finish is cheap and it's getting kind of dinged up...this is a sneaky pete with no wrap...
 
The finish is the hardest part about cue building if you ask me, i wouldnt take this job on with no equipment or know-how.

if it has a wrap with a refinish your looking at spending probably what you already spent on the cue or atleast close to it.

keep it the way it is save your money buy a new cue, and turn that one into a break cue.
 
If you absolutely must refinish your cue, Ceramithane should work wonders for you. It will take forever to build up to the thickness you want, but that's a good thing in your case because it will be more difficult to screw up in one coat. Some other finishes go on thicker, but without a lathe will probably give you seriously uneven spots. Doing it by hand will require you to use lots of really thin coats so you don't have ridiculous high spots. You can apply a new coat hourly. Honestly, if you have a cheap import cue, the finish in a can is worth more than the cue.
 
Lexicologist71 said:
If you absolutely must refinish your cue, Ceramithane should work wonders for you. It will take forever to build up to the thickness you want, but that's a good thing in your case because it will be more difficult to screw up in one coat. Some other finishes go on thicker, but without a lathe will probably give you seriously uneven spots. Doing it by hand will require you to use lots of really thin coats so you don't have ridiculous high spots. You can apply a new coat hourly. Honestly, if you have a cheap import cue, the finish in a can is worth more than the cue.
Click to expand...

Good idea but don't put on more that 2 coats per day, 1 hour apart, or it will not cure right.

Kim
 
Thanks, but it's too late. I won't be buffing them any time soon, but I have several cues that I've put on 3 or 4 coats in a day. This is my first use of Ceramithane. How have yours turned out in comparison to CA or epoxies?
 
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