Shooter,
Refinishing a shaft a cleaning a shaft are two very distinct operations.
Which one are you interested in?
When REFINISHING a shaft, it is pretty much imperative to sand off the top clearcoat. Unless the CM personally made the cue or can find out EXACTLY what finish coat was used, it is risky to apply a new finish coat over the old - some finishes just don't like each other and the result can range from just fine, to hazy, to cloudy, to a soft gel-type coating.
OK I'm semi confused........TYPICALLY we don't apply any FINISH to the shaft past 6-8" or so from the joint......WE DO APPLY A SEALER OFTEN. If i got a cue from a maker and it was clear coated on the entire length of the shaft, thats the last cue I'll be getting from that maker or company but thats just my own personal feelings.
Now grant you some of the cheaper cues out there and some Quack cuemakers as I like to call them will use a Clearcoat auto finish on the entire shaft. This is fine if you always play with a glove but without one the shaft will not glide correctly in your bridge b/c Clear and laquer, shellac etc are all somewhat "tacky" (possible bad word choice) to the skin. Your production cheap production companies clear coat the shaft b/c they use inferior quality wood and it must be encapsulated completely b/c it was never really stress relieved correctly to begin with, which is why when joe blow buys a players or whatever and goes into the shaft with sandpaper or scotchbrite to get the factory tacky finish off, many many times they warp.
Sealer is basically doing exactly what its name says........it SEALS the pores of the wood, providing a barrier against dirt, debris, oil and moisture. But its not really an actual "layer" like you would get with Paint or CA. After the application of the sealer you hit it with a light steel wool and it knocks the excess off just leaving the pores closed.......then you burnish.
When CLEANING a shaft, sanding is certainly optional. Over time, repeated sanding can change the shaft's shooting characterisitics, get it out of round (oval), and any number of other irregularities.
This i do agree with "sanding optional" for cleaning as it just depends on how they want it to look not necessarily feel. I myself unless if i were to get a big scratch (i take care of my equipment so no scratches 
never use sandpaper on my shafts. I use damp paper towel to "CLEAN" them as the only thing on it is grime on the surface.......it may have patina but thats not hurting how it plays.
I pretty much would use the term Refinish or RECONDITION (better word) for the process that I take when a customer has knicks, dings and scratches in the shaft.........i'll swell them or do what ever technique is going to get the surface back cherry and there is usually a light bit of lighter grit sanding involved, then a sealer and a burnish...........
If the shaft is perfect and just needs the sticky paste chalk residue and skin oils off it to make it glass again then the damp papertowel and buffing with it breaks this down and STRIPS it off the wood all that is needed now is a burnish with leather/brown cardboard(can also seal or reseal if its needed, steel wool and then burnish)
Tho of course if a customer wants his 3 year old shaft WHITE again lol thats a whole other process/ways to do it.
I'm never worried about color on my shaft only degradation to its perfectly smooth and concentric surface.
-Grey Ghost-
