Simple shaft care

Surly

Surly

This is it.
Silver Member
I'm really in love with my silky smooth creamy maple shaft and I want to keep it that way. I hate the blue powder that gets all over it. No matter how carefully I handle the chalk, it gets really bad after about 4 hours.

I've been reading past threads on this forum, and I'm using ME with water completely squeezed out of it, followed by a harsh rub down with a cotton towel. I was all set to get some cue silk and forget about it until I started reading the threads about the bowling alley/car/furniture wax...

I understand that the BA wax is probably the best thing to do, but I don't want to screw it up and have it be tacky, and I don't have a piece of leather or a lathe, etc... But I feel I need one more step to make it as smooth or smoother than when I got it - it doesn't feel the same after two rub-downs.

Is there a simple solution?
 
Have you considered tan chalk? Some players use it and it keeps the shaft close to its natural color. I use blue chalk but don't clean my shafts at all and they're smooth as glass. Keeping your hands clean is a big part of it. Greasy food and sticky drink glasses are usually a culprit.
 
Chalk with the left hand; blue the shaft.

Chalk with the right hand; dirty the linen.

Choose and use.
 
Well. In answer to my own question, and hopefully to help others who may be searching for ways to remove chalk stains from their shafts and make them silky smooth;

After using the routine in post 1, where I use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser with water squeezed completely out and then a rough rub-down with a cotton towel; I used a square cut from a brown paper bag and burnished until hot, which only took about 30 seconds, and Wow. It's soft and smooth as a baby's butt.

Although I would like to find out exactly how to prepare a ME with denatured alcohol... Even with the water completely squeezed out of the ME, it still leaves the surface raggedy = not good.
 
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Over chalking? Also try using your back hand to chalk. This is good for 2 reasons one it slows you down a bit making you switch hands. and the other is it keeps the chalk off your bridging hand. Also get used to holding cue on an angle so any loose chalk doesn't fall on the shaft.

And yes sealers wax and such will help. But i have never had an issue with chalk build up on my cues. But I am meticulous about the way they feel so I am always cleaning burnishing it.

Hope this helps.
 
That's the thing - after chalking with my bridge hand and cleaning that off, I stayed strictly to my back hand the last time I played, and it was just as blue as before!

My husband says I need to get over it. Yet everything I do to my shaft, he wants me to do to his....
 
Balabushka said:
Chalk with the left hand; blue the shaft.

Chalk with the right hand; dirty the linen.

Choose and use.
Click to expand...

I guess I never thought about this. I grip beyond the wrap, if I am shooting with a wrapped cue that is.
 
Surly said:
Well. In answer to my own question, and hopefully to help others who may be searching for ways to remove chalk stains from their shafts and make them silky smooth;

After using the routine in post 1, where I use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser with water squeezed completely out and then a rough rub-down with a cotton towel; I used a square cut from a brown paper bag and burnished until hot, which only took about 30 seconds, and Wow. It's soft and smooth as a baby's butt.

Although I would like to find out exactly how to prepare a ME with denatured alcohol... Even with the water completely squeezed out of the ME, it still leaves the surface raggedy = not good.
Click to expand...


It should be a while before you use the ME again...it is not an 'everyday' method for cleaning your shaft, and will cause damage if you overuse it. With that said....

...after I use the ME with water squeezed entirely out, I wipe down with a towel or microfiber cloth to catch the water. I then immediately wipe the shaft down with a rag and some 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol...obviously, squeeze the excess out before wiping. The alcohol will help to extract what moisture is still left behind in the grain of the shaft wood from the ME and water. Immediately wipe down again with a towel or microfiber cloth.

Then, use the finest grit sandpaper you can find...and gently sand the shaft until it feels smooth. The roughness you are feeling is likely where the grain has raised in the wood....usually on the 'spine' of the shaft. Once the shaft feels smooth from sanding, I again wipe down with a cloth, to help remove any of the wood particles (dust) from sanding.

It is at this point that you can apply a sealer or conditioner treatment or wax. For me, I generally use a Q-Whiz after sanding. At that time, if I have it, I will apply SlipStic to the shaft, allow it to sit for a few minutes, and then burnish with a leather burnisher until the shaft is like glass.

Another option, and one I tried on an older shaft, is after I used the Q-Whiz, I burnished up the shaft with leather or a brown paper bag. I then, and this may be a no-no but, I super quickly burnish with a sheet of wax paper, giving it a very fine layer of wax, and making the shaft super slick. I have not experienced any negative results on this older shaft as a result. By burnishing first, you are sealing the wood up with the heat and friction, so, in theory, very little of the wax from the paper should be entering the grain, but rather sitting on top of it.

As far as keeping the chalk off...I keep a microfiber towel with me at all times, and wipe down my shaft frequently during play. This usually does the trick....that and clean hands. As to switching to brown chalk....I used to use it, until I found that while it may not be as noticeable on the shaft as the blue, it most certainly does make your shaft just as nasty dirty, if not more so...not to mention, it will stain a ferrule and can be extremely difficult to remove the stain, even with ME.

Lisa
 
shaft clean

Surly said:
Well. In answer to my own question, and hopefully to help others who may be searching for ways to remove chalk stains from their shafts and make them silky smooth;

After using the routine in post 1, where I use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser with water squeezed completely out and then a rough rub-down with a cotton towel; I used a square cut from a brown paper bag and burnished until hot, which only took about 30 seconds, and Wow. It's soft and smooth as a baby's butt.

Although I would like to find out exactly how to prepare a ME with denatured alcohol... Even with the water completely squeezed out of the ME, it still leaves the surface raggedy = not good.
Click to expand...
try bonami liquid,works great
 
The rough feeling you get after the ME scrubbing occurs because you have pulled all the garbage out of the wood and opened up the pores. If you don't use a sealer, you'll only fill the pores back up with chalk and dirt and it will start looking filthy again. I only use ME twice a year at best, and I hate a dirty shaft. After cleaning, I do a reseal with thinned shellac. Two coats, wiped on with a lint-free cotton cloth (old, thin tee shirt) sanded between coats with 1000 grit. Final sanding goes up to 8000 grit. Regular maintenance is only a wipe-down with rubbing alcohol, and burnishing with brown-bag paper. I prefer to use no waxes or additives but my shaft is always smooth and slick. BTW, ME works well with alcohol, but not nearly as good as with water. Pete Lafond from Slipstic explained it in a post about a year ago. Has to do with the chemical makeup of the ME foam. http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=61661
Hope this helps.

Bill
 
get yourself a piece of untanned leather. (use the shiny side of the leather touching the shaft not the rough side)

I use the "Cue Cube" Shaft Slicker... the white side is pretty much useless but the leather side.... thats a whole nother story

do everything you are doing now and finish with a hand burnishing with that piece of leather.. (turn the cue constantly with one hand and vigorously rub the leather back and forthwith the other) until its too hot to hold...

a baby's butt.. will feel like sand paper after that.

and in reference to the cue cube you mentioned in another post.. it is handy but it is also easy to over use... use the shape side when your tip gets shiny and then only as much as is needed to get it to hold chalk again..

Its easy to over do it..

but with the shaft slicker you "can't" over do it it just keeps getting better and better...
 
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If you are holding the shaft upright when you chalk then the chalk dust just falls on the shaft and your hand. Hold the shaft/cue as horizontally as you can, or even upside-down, and the chalk dust falls to the floor.

Wipe your hand before you touch the cue.

Use your back hand to chalk.

Brush the chalk on lightly.

Keep a damp towel handy for your hands and/or shaft. Wipe damp/dry briskly with dry towel. I use a paper towel from the bathroom after I wash my hands or I carry a couple paper towels folded in my case... barely damp, as after drying hands.

Use the ME only when really dirty. Other times just use a T shirt rag dampened with denatured alcohol and it gets clean. I"m compulsive as hell about dirt on the shaft so I take some with me to the ph in a very small bottle. Like an eye dropper bottle.

Bowling Alley wax is sticky. If you want to wax the cue get Karseal Q Wax http://www.poolndarts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Catalog.SearchProcess.cfm It is really slick stuff. I use it on my cue handle (leather or nowrap.. not linen) on my leather case and table rails as well.

Burnish with leather, which you're doing with paper bag and they say the bag works just as well... never tried it but that's what they say. Waxed and burnished shaft doesn't get chalk imbedded... only on the surface and it cleans quickly and easily.
 
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I clean my shafts every time I play and I use tan chalk. My shafts look good and they stay smooth.

I tried Butcher's Bowling Alley wax after reading about it here on AZ and I like it a lot. Wait at least 5 minutes after you apply it so it can dry and then buff it with a paper towel. After I buff it with the paper towel I hit it a couple of strokes with used 2000 grit sand paper very lightly to give the slick feel and i'm good to go until after I play the next time. This treatment will last for a while since the BBA wax holds up well and all you have to do is wipe your shaft down with a cotton cloth until you need to reapply the wax treatment.

James
 
Thank you, Lisa! That's pretty much a perfect plan, and simple, which is what I was looking for.

And thanks to Billyjack for warning me about too much ME...

And thanks Softshot for explaining exactly how to use untanned leather, and for the Shaft Slicker tip!

And thanks JimS for the tips on maintenance in the PH, and for the sympathy - I was beginning to think I was being a baby about shaft cleanliness. I knew I couldn't be the only one who loves that virgin look and feel...

You guys have been so helpful. Thank you so much.

In fact, I'm saving all of these (well, most of these) responses to a folder for future reference.
 
I use the magic eraser with ethyl alchohol. I cut the large ME sponge into little 1" x 1" squares, put a little ethyl alchohol on it, then squeeze out the ME as much as possible. you really just want a tiny moisture on the ME. Then rub down the shaft lightly.

Then I burnish the shaft with a piece of brown paper bag until it gets hot - to dry out the alchohol.

Then I use the q-slick papers successively to get the silky smooth feel back.

I only do this every few months.

NOTE: do not use water with ME, this raises the grain unpredictably! Do not use IPA - it includes additives that stay behind when it evaporates. Ethyl alchohol is pure and evaporates quickly and doesn't raise the grain much at all. You can get it at any drug store.
 
Surly,
I didn't intend to imply that ME was harmful to your cue. I don't believe it has any abrasive qualities. You could probably use it weekly with no harm. It's just that it takes a lot of time and effort after a ME cleaning to get it back to super-smooth. I'd rather keep my shaft sealed, and then do a weekly 30 second alcohol wipe to keep it clean. That's why I use a shellac-based sealer rather than wax. I'm sure a wipe with any alcohol will strip the wax you worked diligently to rub into the wood. so you'll have to rewax. I'm quite finicky about the feel and appearance of my cues, but too lazy and/or busy to spend an hour or two each week. My routine IMO gives me the best results with the least time and effort expended. One more tip-mechanic's hand cleaner with pumice does a dynamite job to clean a dirty ferrule.
Bill
 
Well, it was the part where you said you only use the ME about twice a year that made me realize I might be overdoing it - I was using it after every game.

But today I took JimS's advice and chalked my cue at a horizontal angle, and I was amazed at how much chalk floated away. And somehow there was none on my hands either... so problem solved. I came home, wiped them down with the damp paper towels I dried my hands on, burnished them with the brown paper, and they're so ho ho smoooooth. :yes:
 
You might also check the manufacturer's web site for their recommendations on cleaning the shaft and linen wrap.

Predator, for example, recommends that their shafts be cleaned with denatured rubbing alcohol. Before I go out to play, I dab rubbing alcohol onto a cotton cloth and wipe down the shaft and then apply a leather burnisher. Once every two weeks, I wipe down the linen wrap too.
 
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