Refinish Cue

C

chas1022

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have an old cue that I would like to get redone. It was a gift from my grandfather. So the question I have is when someone advertises refinish cues,exactly what do they mean?
 
Strip off the old finish. Clean up the wood with some light sanding. This might take away any signatures or make points a hair shorter. The refinisher will let you know if there are any concerns before hand. Then, they refinish the cue and buff it until it looks great again.

A rewrap would probably not be included.
 
chas1022 said:
I have an old cue that I would like to get redone. It was a gift from my grandfather. So the question I have is when someone advertises refinish cues,exactly what do they mean?
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It could depend on who that "someone" is. Some cuemakers or repair persons have different definitions as to what is included.

If it's an older cue, (and apparently it is), it may not be adviseable to strip it all the way down to bare wood, especially if it was stained originally. It could be difficult, or even impossible to match the original stain. The condition of the cue should dictate how much sanding/stripping should be done.

If it has a wrap, the wrap should be removed before refinishing, and a new one installed afterwards (stating the obvious of course). Attempting to finish up against a wrap is a very poor way of refinishing. It will not look correct.
 
IN GENERAL, pool Qs only get more valuable as they age IF...
1) They were owned by someone FAMOUS
2) They were made by someone FAMOUS
3) They were loaded with Ivory or gem stones
4) They were made in a very limited amount

Now that said, if you have a Q that fits one of these, you may not want to refinish it, because it may go down in value unless the job is done right. If not, you will be looking at $150-$300 for your grandfathers Q. It may be a family treasure , but may not be woth the cost...JER
 
Thanks everyone for the information. The Cue is just an old Adams cue but I like it for several reasons. It brings back good memories and it does hit good.
 
chas1022 said:
Thanks everyone for the information. The Cue is just an old Adams cue but I like it for several reasons. It brings back good memories and it does hit good.
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By all means have it refinished and treasure your memories.
 
$100 with a new wrap might be closer to the price you were looking for, as long as there are no blemishes that would cause problems. I think thereare a lot of lesser known cuemakers that would do it for this amount
and do a very good job for you.
Chris
 
Chris' Cues said:
$100 with a new wrap might be closer to the price you were looking for, as long as there are no blemishes that would cause problems. I think thereare a lot of lesser known cuemakers that would do it for this amount
and do a very good job for you.
Chris
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I think the only person you will find that will re-finish a cue with a rewrap for only $100.00 is an amateur cuemaker (lacking in experience and competence) and does not know the value of his work or worse yet knows the value of his work.
 
refinish

If you want a competent refinish job for a reasonable price and quick turnaround send it to Proficient in PA. I agree that you ought to replace the wrap at the same time as the whole thing will turn out much better.
 
I used Proficient and found the quality and service to be... OUTSTANDING!

Scot does not keep in contact well, but you just have to be patient for a week or two and your cue will come back to your door looking like new.
 
Arnot Wadsworth said:
I think the only person you will find that will re-finish a cue with a rewrap for only $100.00 is an amateur cuemaker (lacking in experience and competence) and does not know the value of his work or worse yet knows the value of his work.
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I don't think that you can judge a persons experience and competence by the price they charge for anything. If you want to compete, you need competitive pricing. Scott at proficient does such a good job at a low price, I'm surprised anyone even offers to do re-finish work.
 
sliprock said:
I don't think that you can judge a persons experience and competence by the price they charge for anything. If you want to compete, you need competitive pricing. Scott at proficient does such a good job at a low price, I'm surprised anyone even offers to do re-finish work.
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OK - The next time you need a brain surgeon go with the cheapest guy you can find. For me - I 'm going to the Surgeon with the best reputation for doing quality work and he will be in such demand that he will not have to work for pennies.

BTW - with experience comes the knowledge of the value of your service.

I was contacted by 3 different cuemakers within the past 10 days that are going out of business. In my opinion all three of them worked for pennies because they loved the cuemaking craft but found that they could not make a living at it or, for that matter, make it worth going to work in the morning.

At some point in time cuemakers come to the conclusion that it is wonderful to build cues but it is also nice to be able to pay the bills at the end of the month.

I paid $150.00 for a refinish on one of my cues over 20 years ago and $30.00 for an Irish linen re-wrap.

I would not expect any cuemaker to do that much work for only $100.00.
 
Arnot Wadsworth said:
OK - The next time you need a brain surgeon go with the cheapest guy you can find. For me - I 'm going to the Surgeon with the best reputation for doing quality work and he will be in such demand that he will not have to work for pennies.

BTW - with experience comes the knowledge of the value of your service.

I was contacted by 3 different cuemakers within the past 10 days that are going out of business. In my opinion all three of them worked for pennies because they loved the cuemaking craft but found that they could not make a living at it or, for that matter, make it worth going to work in the morning.

At some point in time cuemakers come to the conclusion that it is wonderful to build cues but it is also nice to be able to pay the bills at the end of the month.

I paid $150.00 for a refinish on one of my cues over 20 years ago and $30.00 for an Irish linen re-wrap.

I would not expect any cuemaker to do that much work for only $100.00.
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Arnot,
You bring up some valid points.. but we're talking refinishing a cue- NOT brain surgery. So, Your analogy is flawed...
You could reverse that by stating- "The next time you need your oil changed- find the Bently Dealer"...

Secondly...(by your logic)... why should we buy YOUR cues when we can buy them from guys with much more experience- and much more expensive?

Sometimes there just isn't a coorrelation between experience and talent. And some things don't take much experience to "master". If you can't master a simple refinish/rewrap (*he noted that it doesn't include any unforseen problems).. with just a couple years experience, you'll never be a "cuemaker".

Ray
 
Chas,

Do not let Mr. Arnot's sour attitude deminish your plans to refinish the cue.

IMO, Mike Webb or Bryan Mordt are the two best in the business when it comes to attention to detail and quality for your money. No, they are not the cheapest nor the fastest...but given that your cue is sentimental and has more value to you than most other cues, I would trust it to go to the best...and in my opinion, those two ARE the best.
 
Baker(6x6) said:
Sometimes there just isn't a coorrelation between experience and talent. And some things don't take much experience to "master". If you can't master a simple refinish/rewrap (*he noted that it doesn't include any unforseen problems).. with just a couple years experience, you'll never be a "cuemaker".

Ray
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There is nothing simple about a refinish and re-wrap. Finishing a cue is by far the most difficult part of cuemaking. When a cue is stripped of its' old finish all kinds of problems appear from nowhere that require hours to fix.

Even if everything works out perfectly it is still worth a lot more than $100.00.

As to some things not taking much experience to master any part of cuemaking is not one of them. Lots of guys can slap something together but to build a fine cue is anything but simple.

A couple of years of full time cuemaking is NO small amount of experience.
 
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