TheThaiger
Banned
I have several small but annoying dings in my shaft. I realise Predators are not supposed to come into contact with water, so how do you do it?
Removing dings from a Pred
- Thread starter TheThaiger
- Start date
master9baller
Banned
Why no water?
They can be moistened to pull out dings.
This is the easiest and best way I know.
-locate the ding
-place that spot face down on a piece of water soaked paper towel that is folded up to about 1/2 inch squared cube.
-within 10 minutes most smaller dings are poped out as the crushed wood cells pull in the water.
-dry off the spot on the shaft and give it just a minute or two. Then feel if the ding is pulled out if so proceed below, if not rewet it for a longer period.
Lightly sand with 600 grit or finer sandpaper, this is black or grey and very smooth. Then burnish with leather or even the smooth side of a paper lunch bag.
If you have a ding under the clear finish up near the joint then you have to remove the finish to do the same as above. I tape it off with masking tape about 3.5 inches from the joint and sand all this off anyway on all shafts. Much nicer feel on the follow through when it's all perfectly smooth.
Other tips-
- Magic eraser to remove chalk bluing
- Rubbing wax paper on linen wraps to completely refresh them, followed by the paper lunch bag trick to shine them up
They can be moistened to pull out dings.
This is the easiest and best way I know.
-locate the ding
-place that spot face down on a piece of water soaked paper towel that is folded up to about 1/2 inch squared cube.
-within 10 minutes most smaller dings are poped out as the crushed wood cells pull in the water.
-dry off the spot on the shaft and give it just a minute or two. Then feel if the ding is pulled out if so proceed below, if not rewet it for a longer period.
Lightly sand with 600 grit or finer sandpaper, this is black or grey and very smooth. Then burnish with leather or even the smooth side of a paper lunch bag.
If you have a ding under the clear finish up near the joint then you have to remove the finish to do the same as above. I tape it off with masking tape about 3.5 inches from the joint and sand all this off anyway on all shafts. Much nicer feel on the follow through when it's all perfectly smooth.
Other tips-
- Magic eraser to remove chalk bluing
- Rubbing wax paper on linen wraps to completely refresh them, followed by the paper lunch bag trick to shine them up
TheThaiger
Banned
Why no water? Glue used to bind the segments together doesn't like it, or so I'm led to believe!
Do It yourself vs Cue repair man
If your going to do it your self you can microwave a wet towel so that it gets very hot. Then once it's out you can Wrap the towel around the dings for a couple minutes. The hot water/steam will swell the wood and pop out the dings.
You can finish it off with a lite sandpaper if you'd like or just play with it for a while and it will regain it's previous feel.
Second option, and the preferred one, Take it to a cue repair man who can run the shaft on the lathe. Normally they can do the same thing much quicker with a piece of leather around the moist paper towel. The steam created serves the same function when the shaft is spinning on the lathe. Then they can touch it up with some sandpaper and even seal it with a sealer if you'd like.
I always take mine to my cue repair guy Ted harris. When he cleans the shafts the dings come out and the shaft feels brand new.
hope these options help out.
Sincerely,
Raymond Linares
If your going to do it your self you can microwave a wet towel so that it gets very hot. Then once it's out you can Wrap the towel around the dings for a couple minutes. The hot water/steam will swell the wood and pop out the dings.
You can finish it off with a lite sandpaper if you'd like or just play with it for a while and it will regain it's previous feel.
Second option, and the preferred one, Take it to a cue repair man who can run the shaft on the lathe. Normally they can do the same thing much quicker with a piece of leather around the moist paper towel. The steam created serves the same function when the shaft is spinning on the lathe. Then they can touch it up with some sandpaper and even seal it with a sealer if you'd like.
I always take mine to my cue repair guy Ted harris. When he cleans the shafts the dings come out and the shaft feels brand new.
hope these options help out.
Sincerely,
Raymond Linares
u can rub it out with a shot glass if you don't want to wet it, but in all honesty, a little water shouldn't hurt it. If you held the whole shaft over a steaming kettle, that might weaken the glue, but spot cleaning shouldn't be a big deal.
If I were you, I would PM KJ. He is a Predator Specialist, not to mention a very knowledgeable and respectable gentleman.
If I were you, I would PM KJ. He is a Predator Specialist, not to mention a very knowledgeable and respectable gentleman.
master9baller
Banned
Water won't damage the cue
Water won't damage the cue, raised the dent, raises the grain a bit as well.
Shot glass trick doen't bing up the dented wood, can be used after soaking though.
Water won't damage the cue, raised the dent, raises the grain a bit as well.
Shot glass trick doen't bing up the dented wood, can be used after soaking though.
I lay the cue on a safe flat spot with the ding on top.
Wet one end of a cue-tip (the cotton kind) and apply wet cue-tip tip to the cue shaft ding.
Allow 5 minutes for ding to swell
remove cue-tip tip
Allow to dry
Wet one end of a cue-tip (the cotton kind) and apply wet cue-tip tip to the cue shaft ding.
Allow 5 minutes for ding to swell
remove cue-tip tip
Allow to dry
On my shafts, I clean the shaft thoroughly. Then I just daub the dent with a little water (sparingly). I wait about 30 seconds, and then wipe up the extra. Then I rub the dent area, as well as the area around it, with a jar, shot-glass, or glass bottle. I go back-and-forth, over and past the dent, with only moderate pressure until it's dried out. The friction generates heat as well as burnishes the cue surface.
My description is poor, but after a couple dents you really get a feel for how much water to use, and how much pressure to use. It works pretty well and the process takes most minor dents out within one or two attempts. I'll let the water soak in a little longer if it's a bigger dent, and take as my tries as it takes to fix, and I have fixed some pretty big dents. When I’ve taken all the dents out, I will then use the glass to burnish the entire shaft (no water) so it has a consistent finish all over.
As for using steam, or wrapping a steaming wet material around the shaft, I'm not sure that is safe. It may be alright, but I read on another forum that Predator switched at some point from one type of glue to a water based adhesive, and read the latter may be weakened by exposure to hot water or steam. I don't know this for a fact, but it’s on the Internet so it must be true, LOL. But seriously, it makes me paranoid and makes me think of the old adage, better safe than sorry. Maybe somebody with factual knowledge can chime-in on this. Glue aside, I also assume that a lot of steam might have some impact on the inherent stress and tension of the wood grain on the surface of the shaft, where it was exposed to the steam.
Good luck.
My description is poor, but after a couple dents you really get a feel for how much water to use, and how much pressure to use. It works pretty well and the process takes most minor dents out within one or two attempts. I'll let the water soak in a little longer if it's a bigger dent, and take as my tries as it takes to fix, and I have fixed some pretty big dents. When I’ve taken all the dents out, I will then use the glass to burnish the entire shaft (no water) so it has a consistent finish all over.
As for using steam, or wrapping a steaming wet material around the shaft, I'm not sure that is safe. It may be alright, but I read on another forum that Predator switched at some point from one type of glue to a water based adhesive, and read the latter may be weakened by exposure to hot water or steam. I don't know this for a fact, but it’s on the Internet so it must be true, LOL. But seriously, it makes me paranoid and makes me think of the old adage, better safe than sorry. Maybe somebody with factual knowledge can chime-in on this. Glue aside, I also assume that a lot of steam might have some impact on the inherent stress and tension of the wood grain on the surface of the shaft, where it was exposed to the steam.
Good luck.
This is a good idea. A cuesmith took out a few dings on my Predator by putting a small gauze band-aid on it, wetting it, and letting it sit 5 or maybe a few more minutes. It worked fine, but the cue-tip thing sounds like a better way to go.