Pls help. My maple cue got discoloured!

[Freddie Ng]

True enuff poolqjunkie, those unevenly spread urgy stains are exactly golden honey colour, oh boy your such an expert man! Well.. wait till you see my pix
where it'l be uploaded here soon. Alrite me no woris then i trust you, but waiting 4 it to materialize is tortuous to my eyes lol.

PJ, is a cue maker himself and knows about cues very well..
No worries, you can trust him

[chris lowe]

PJ, is a cue maker himself and knows about cues very well..
No worries, you can trust him

Something is wrong with my sony ericisson PC suit can't initialise it wit my com. Seems like my pix will be delayed guys

Oh poolqjunkie is a cue maker ic ic.. no wonder he can elaborate my cue's exact situation

What brand he makes, i mean poolqjunkie?

[The Doctor]

I does sound like staining from chalk and sweat.
I would give the cue a good clean. You need to be careful though.
A good way to clean it is using one of those sponge like things call a magic eraser, you can get them almost any supermarket. You wet it and rub it over the cue and you will see the dirt on the sponge. after you have got rid of the dirt, clean the cue once more with a damp(not wet) cloth and dry straight away. If then you are happy with it, apply some linseed oil or like. This should be enough to feed the wood. Then i would use some brown paper or a smooth cloth and rub cue to seal the wood.
If at any time you feel the cue a bit sticky, just damp cloth and dry.
Hope this helps.
PS i have seen some of PoolJunkies cue and they are on a par with anything else i have seen, i would highly recommend them to anyone and i have already done so.

[chris lowe]

hi doctor, i really appreciate yr suggestions tks! "Magic eraser" sounds powderful to me btw do u knw wat its made of? Anyway im getting one today.
I've been reading thru previous post on linseed oil treatment n i've decided to go with it. :snooker:

[chris lowe]

Hi doctor, can explain the "seal the wood" process? Tks!

[The Doctor]

Yes you need to seal the wood, the oil will seal the grain, but i find that applying some heat through friction(like using some paper or some cue papers) by rubbing up and down cue seals the wood even better.
Now i am not a cue maker(and there are some top class ones on here that might disagree with me) but i have played at pro level and have had a no. of cues and i always find that this process gives a great feel to your cue and afterwords all you need to do to keep the cue smooth is to use a damp cloth and dry it straight away.
I would be nice to hear from some cue makers to see if they would give any other advice.

[poolqjunkie]

I does sound like staining from chalk and sweat.
I would give the cue a good clean. You need to be careful though.
A good way to clean it is using one of those sponge like things call a magic eraser, you can get them almost any supermarket. You wet it and rub it over the cue and you will see the dirt on the sponge. after you have got rid of the dirt, clean the cue once more with a damp(not wet) cloth and dry straight away. If then you are happy with it, apply some linseed oil or like. This should be enough to feed the wood. Then i would use some brown paper or a smooth cloth and rub cue to seal the wood.
If at any time you feel the cue a bit sticky, just damp cloth and dry.
Hope this helps.
PS i have seen some of PoolJunkies cue and they are on a par with anything else i have seen, i would highly recommend them to anyone and i have already done so.

Thank you so much for the kind words.

Yes, I have been using this magic eraser on maple shafts for a few years now. It is a great product.

I usually use alcohol rather than water just because alcohol vapourise a bit faster and cleans a bit better.

Usually the shaft would feel a bit rough after it has been cleaned by the eraser. I would burnish it to make it smooth again.

Personally I use a piece of leather to burnish my maple shaft, it tends to give it more heat and make it really shinny and smooth real fast.

I know some cue makers in the US would use diluted shellac to seal the shaft first, then they would sand the shaft again with very fine sand paper to remove the stickiness. After that, usually they would wax the shaft and then burnish with a piece of dry towel, or paper, or leather. This method would give a clean and smooth feel to the shaft. Just make sure the shaft is clean and do nto use too much wax.

With oil the shaft would turn a bit darker. I like the darker look personally. It is up to you really. You can also oil the shaft with the magic eraser.

[Mike P]

I agree with Pooljunkie, nothing better than magic eraser, methyl hydrate(wood alcohol) and a good piece of leather to bring a shaft back to like new condition. Pooljunkie, I am curious, which side of the leather do you recommend rubbing the shaft with? Usually leather is tanned on one side and rough on the other. I have heard arguments for both sides, but have yet to notice a difference between the two.

Mike

[Freddie Ng]

Thank you so much for the kind words.

Yes, I have been using this magic eraser on maple shafts for a few years now. It is a great product.

I usually use alcohol rather than water just because alcohol vapourise a bit faster and cleans a bit better.

Usually the shaft would feel a bit rough after it has been cleaned by the eraser. I would burnish it to make it smooth again.

Personally I use a piece of leather to burnish my maple shaft, it tends to give it more heat and make it really shinny and smooth real fast.

I know some cue makers in the US would use diluted shellac to seal the shaft first, then they would sand the shaft again with very fine sand paper to remove the stickiness. After that, usually they would wax the shaft and then burnish with a piece of dry towel, or paper, or leather. This method would give a clean and smooth feel to the shaft. Just make sure the shaft is clean and do nto use too much wax.

With oil the shaft would turn a bit darker. I like the darker look personally. It is up to you really. You can also oil the shaft with the magic eraser.

Does this only apply to maple cues ? can we do the same in ash ?
Thanks