Wax on Defy shaft

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brigeton

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I bought a Defy cf shaft for my McDermott about 3 weeks ago. It gets sticky. The shaft came with a little bottle of lube similar to cue slik to use on the shaft. I have to reapply that every 2 or 3 days. I was wondering if waxing the shaft would last longer. I does't seem like wax would damage the carbon fiber but I'd want to make sure before I used it. I thought about calling McDermott but they'd probably just tell me to use the cue slik.
Your opinions please.
 
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brigeton said:
I bought a Defy cf shaft for my McDermott about 3 weeks ago. It gets sticky. The shaft came with a little bottle of lube similar to cue slik to use on the shaft. I have to reapply that every 2 or 3 days. I was wondering if waxing the shaft would last longer. I does't seem like wax would damage the carbon fiber but I'd want to make sure before I used it. I thought about calling McDermott but they'd probably just tell me to use the cue slik.
Your opinions please.
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Waxes - carnauba etc are more grippy than plain silicone. I use car care sealers and polishes without shaking so the solids (the waxes) stay on the bottom of the bottle. I haven't tried plain silicone like they use in billiards but that probably works too. A single application lasts a few hours until chalk residue ruins the glide. Then the chalk has to be cleaned off.
Wood guys say silicone will ambush any refinishing you might want done but BFD AFAIC.
 
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What is this shaft? Is it wood or Carbon Fiber? It looks like McDermott has special cleaning compounds for that shaft. I would not use anything that they don't recommend
 
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I use Isopropyl alcohol and a micro fiber cloth and then that glide that is provided. I do remember a sales guy using pledge on the demo shafts if I remember right.
 
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I know a player who sanded off that gel coat finish or whatever the fawk it is.
It's dumb as hell.
I wanted to hit a few shots with the Defy, but you basically need a glove to use it.
No thanks.
 
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brigeton said:
I bought a Defy cf shaft for my McDermott about 3 weeks ago. It gets sticky. The shaft came with a little bottle of lube similar to cue slik to use on the shaft. I have to reapply that every 2 or 3 days. I was wondering if waxing the shaft would last longer. I does't seem like wax would damage the carbon fiber but I'd want to make sure before I used it. I thought about calling McDermott but they'd probably just tell me to use the cue slik.
Your opinions please.
Click to expand...

Seems you did not read all the reviews of that shaft that talked about the bad finish on it LOL

If you don't mind a tiny risk to the finish, sand the thing with 1000 then 2000 grit sandpaper to remove the finish and polish it up, and then use the cue silk on top of that. A few players with the Defy have done that and they liked the result, but as they say, your mileage may vary if you like the results.

A safer option may be to do a trade or sell the shaft and get something else. I have played with a lot of CF shafts and the Defy is in the lower 1/4 for me, had a very odd feel and the finish without a glove was blah, felt like you were using it in a dirty humid area with how it gripped your skin.
 
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I have a Mcdermott with a Defy shaft, the coating on the shaft is called SMAC Wrap, it helps dampen the vibrations when hitting the cue ball, I love the hit of this shaft, I have played the shaft with and without a glove, I don't find you NEED a glove, I have only used Ultra Glide conditioner on the shaft 2 times in 3 months , I use a microfiber towel to remove chalk dust and it seems to work well, hopes this helps
 
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Wow, I didn’t think any of the CF shafts had a coating. I haven’t wiped my Revo with even a napkin, and it’s smooth as silk a year after I bought it.
 
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iusedtoberich said:
Wow, I didn’t think any of the CF shafts had a coating. I haven’t wiped my Revo with even a napkin, and it’s smooth as silk a year after I bought it.
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A few do have one, the OB Carbon I have now has a shiner coat than the Revo. Revo seems more of a polished bare CF, the OB has a bit of a shine extra coating, and the McDermott is really coated with some finish that makes is stick to skin a bit too much.
 
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SSP said:
I have a Mcdermott with a Defy shaft, the coating on the shaft is called SMAC Wrap, it helps dampen the vibrations when hitting the cue ball, I love the hit of this shaft, I have played the shaft with and without a glove, I don't find you NEED a glove, I have only used Ultra Glide conditioner on the shaft 2 times in 3 months , I use a microfiber towel to remove chalk dust and it seems to work well, hopes this helps
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actually the SMAC wrap is a material that is inside the shaft. You are correct that it is there to dampen the vibration.
 
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I like the shaft, just don't like putting on the lube every couple days. I had heard about the stickiness before and waited. I thought the new defy was out now. I tried calling McDermott this morning but it seems like their phone lines were down. I only have one playing cue with the McDermott qr joint and didn't want to buy a hole new cue.
 
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brigeton said:
I like the shaft, just don't like putting on the lube every couple days. I had heard about the stickiness before and waited. I thought the new defy was out now. I tried calling McDermott this morning but it seems like their phone lines were down. I only have one playing cue with the McDermott qr joint and didn't want to buy a hole new cue.
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I ordered one, ended up sending it back. I liked the hit etc. but there's something about having to put silicone on it and transferring that to my grip where I don't want it that bothered me.

I thought I understood that the smacwrap was a coating on the shaft, guess I could be wrong, but I figured that was the need for the treatment. CF isn't sticky.
 
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By far the worst cf shaft i've demo'd. This aspect was the biggest reason followed by the ultra-soft/quiet hit. No feedback(to me anyway) compared to other brands. Why they went with this finish is beyond me.
 
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