Smooth shafts slide better?

[Da Poet]

I've been wondering why fiberglass or graphite cues get so sticky so quickly and wood shafts don't.

Maybe as sweat builds up on the cue and on the hand and on a smooth fiberglass or graphite, the actual surface area in contact between the cue and the skin dramatically increases and the effect of any sticky contaminants is exponential. With a wood cue, all the sweat and everything is still there, but maybe it's the texture, not the materials per say, that keeps the surface area in contact with the skin down and keeps the cue sliding nicely no matter how much we sweat sometimes.

The thought occured to me as I was looking at racing tires on an Indy car. The tires are smooth to allow more surface area to contact the track.

I was playing with a cue that was burnished so much the other day that it looked polished. The thing got sticky on me pretty quick. I've never heard anything about this on the forum before, but I was wondering if anyone feels there is such a thing as over burnishing or too smooth?

 

[SteveFromNY]

I may be completely wrong, but IIRC, when you burnish your shaft too much, perhaps you're inadvertantly "sanding" it down so much so that the bare wood just naturally becomes more susceptible to any moisture in its environment, therefore making it feel "stickier" after play?

 

[Sensation]

I'm looking forward for interesting inputs on this subject.

I personnaly like my shafts to be real smooth (2000 sand paper), seal (sand again) and then burnish. Never had problems... but I'm always open for verified opinions!

 

[billyjack]

IMO there's no such thing as too smooth (not to be confused with the "too slippery" you sometimes get from waxes or other treatments). I use 1800 abrasive cloth on a clean shaft to eliminate any roughness detected, then polish with 4000 and 8000. Since I start using this stuff any waxes, lubes, slick treatments etc. are no longer needed. I only sand or polish a shaft along its length, so that the microscopic scratches left behind don't trap dirt or chalk as much as perpendicular scratches might. Cleaning is an alcohol wipe followed by a soft cloth. Regarding comments about composite shafts, most of the ones I have seen were used by people who preferred a zero maintenance deal. My son had a graphite shaft for his cue, and my polishing process mentioned above worked great. I think the hardness of the finish coat has an influence also. Some shafts are sprayed with a "softer" finish that just won't polish up well. I use shellac- based sanding sealer on my shafts because it penetrates well, dries hard and polishes smooth. Well, ya asked for opinions. There's my 2 cents.
Bill
Bill

 

[Slider]

Cleaning is an alcohol wipe followed by a soft cloth.

This is hardware store alcohol, not the typical drugstore rubbing alcohol, right?

Ken

 

[Kyros]

This is hardware store alcohol, not the typical drugstore rubbing alcohol, right?

Ken

Use the 90% alcohol, it can be found in the drugstore also but is about twice the cost of the 70-75%. It was about $1.50 when I bought some. It is better to use because it has less water in it.

 

[StormHotRod300]

All, I know is since I started using a glove, I have yet to have a problem with my hands getting sticky.

now before i used a glove, I was always using baby powder on my bridge hand and washing my hands often, expecially during the summer, and taking a green scotch brite pad to my cue shaft.

I know alot of guys use Q-silk, and other products that are similar. I've even seen some cue repair guys who have lathe's clean up a shaft and then use some car wax to seal up the shaft so it stays silky smooth.

Now as to why graphite and fiberglass gets sticky so quickly? Well from the get go, its not a slippery surface. If you run your fingers up n down fiberglass or graphite rapidly, you create friction, same thing as what is done when you stroke your cue.

 

[Da Poet]

IMO there's no such thing as too smooth (not to be confused with the "too slippery" you sometimes get from waxes or other treatments). I use 1800 abrasive cloth on a clean shaft to eliminate any roughness detected, then polish with 4000 and 8000. Since I start using this stuff any waxes, lubes, slick treatments etc. are no longer needed. I only sand or polish a shaft along its length, so that the microscopic scratches left behind don't trap dirt or chalk as much as perpendicular scratches might. Cleaning is an alcohol wipe followed by a soft cloth. Regarding comments about composite shafts, most of the ones I have seen were used by people who preferred a zero maintenance deal. My son had a graphite shaft for his cue, and my polishing process mentioned above worked great. I think the hardness of the finish coat has an influence also. Some shafts are sprayed with a "softer" finish that just won't polish up well. I use shellac- based sanding sealer on my shafts because it penetrates well, dries hard and polishes smooth. Well, ya asked for opinions. There's my 2 cents.
Bill
Bill

Does you son have both graphite and wood shaft? What you have described sounds like an ideal testing situation. It would be interesting to see if he experiences any difference in how quickly each shaft might start to get a little tacky.