Smoothing the shaft

[poolqjunkie]

I have never use wire wool. I dont even own a single piece of wire wool so I could be worng but I think the wire might get into the grains as you use it, wouldn't it?
A lot of stickness problem is just from the shaft being dirty and it can be solved by cleaning the shaft up properly before finishing it with oil.

[jaffa.johnson]

As I said initially, I wouldnt use wirewool.

I have used as low as 600 grit wet and dry and this still made the cue ridiculously smooth and one of the best finishes I have ever done.

You can buy liberon raw linseed oil of ebay.

[888]

Can i use the cif cream to clean on the shaft before finishing it with oil? this cleaning products can be easily buy it from any supermarket, anybody try it?

[DeanH]

Can i use the cif cream to clean on the shaft before finishing it with oil? this cleaning products can be easily buy it from any supermarket, anybody try it?

Personally I would say no.
This stuff is too concentrated and caustic for wood, IMO, and would take to much rinsing off, and may stain the wood badly - more than the cue was before.
See what others say, but "if in doubt, don't"

[888]

Personally I would say no.
This stuff is too concentrated and caustic for wood, IMO, and would take to much rinsing off, and may stain the wood badly - more than the cue was before.
See what others say, but "if in doubt, don't"

Thanks for your quick replying DeanH, i'm still thinking of how to clean up the shaft inside the dirt before oil it, coz when i start to apply oil on the whole shaft and leave it over night, seems like the oil can't even seep into the grains maybe is it because block by the dirt or something? anyway i'm using ash cue, oil finish, no lacqueer on it and i'm apply linseed oil products.

[DeanH]

If the cue is very dirty then do not put oil on top, this will not "clean" it but only cover the dirt and stop it from being cleaned out next time you try. Perserverence with a cleaning routine without oiling between may be the best, little and often with the cleaning.
I hope a cue-doctor type person may come on here with their advice on how to clean a very dirty cue.
I recently cleaned up an old maple cue a friend found in a back cupboard, all I did was make a small amount of water and washing-up liquid (not much just enough to get some bubbles ), dip a folded piece of kitchen paper towel "just" so the towel is damp in a small area. Rub a few times up/down the shaft, then wipe off with a dry towel. You will be surprised how much dirty can come off in the short time.
You can do this a few times, just ensure the cue does not get too wet. Let the cue air dry, and try again the following day. No oil until the kitchen towel comes away clean. What I found with my friend's cue was that once it was clean, the usual oil with raw linseed oil and leave over night did not apply because the wood was so dry the oil soaked in within minutes. So applying a small amount of oil with a piece of kitchen towel and apply to the cue, evenly but not too much, then wipe of the excess with a dry piece. I was applying oil within 30 minutes for several times before my friend's cue even started to feel oiled. Once it was finished after a few days it felt very fine and he loves playing with it.
You do realise that with an ash shaft, the cue maker usually adds a grain-filler to enhance the grain and to encourage smoothness, I hope you are not mistaking filler for dirt
If the cue is that bad, maybe you should find a cue maker/doctor near you who can clean and refurbish it for you, for probably not that much money.

[888]

If the cue is very dirty then do not put oil on top, this will not "clean" it but only cover the dirt and stop it from being cleaned out next time you try. Perserverence with a cleaning routine without oiling between may be the best, little and often with the cleaning.
I hope a cue-doctor type person may come on here with their advice on how to clean a very dirty cue.
I recently cleaned up an old maple cue a friend found in a back cupboard, all I did was make a small amount of water and washing-up liquid (not much just enough to get some bubbles ), dip a folded piece of kitchen paper towel "just" so the towel is damp in a small area. Rub a few times up/down the shaft, then wipe off with a dry towel. You will be surprised how much dirty can come off in the short time.
You can do this a few times, just ensure the cue does not get too wet. Let the cue air dry, and try again the following day. No oil until the kitchen towel comes away clean. What I found with my friend's cue was that once it was clean, the usual oil with raw linseed oil and leave over night did not apply because the wood was so dry the oil soaked in within minutes. So applying a small amount of oil with a piece of kitchen towel and apply to the cue, evenly but not too much, then wipe of the excess with a dry piece. I was applying oil within 30 minutes for several times before my friend's cue even started to feel oiled. Once it was finished after a few days it felt very fine and he loves playing with it.
You do realise that with an ash shaft, the cue maker usually adds a grain-filler to enhance the grain and to encourage smoothness, I hope you are not mistaking filler for dirt
If the cue is that bad, maybe you should find a cue maker/doctor near you who can clean and refurbish it for you, for probably not that much money.

Many thanks again for your long comments, i will take note, cheers mate.

[The Stig]

I spoke with a well known cue maker today about possibly buying a cue and we got onto this subject with the weather being warm at the min which obviously leads to sweaty hands in places with no air con, he said that under no circumstances should you use any type of abrasive on a cue shaft including wire wools, those green abrasive kitchen pads and sand paper etc.

He said that the above just creates a quick fix that lets you think that the cue is now smooth when in fact all you have done is created very fine dust on your cue that allows you to cue smoothly for a short while until the dust dissapears, he made the point that how many pros do you see wiping their cues with a form of abrasive like wire wool or sandpaper etc ?

He basically said that if your cue gets sticky its because of the sweat on your hands reacting with the finish on your cue, he pointed out that a lot of players hold their cue shaft with their hands whilst waiting for a shot, this puts moisture onto the cue which is usually in the place on the cue that runs through your bridge. He said the best thing to do in his opinion is to wash your hands and to use a cotton cloth on your cue to wipe the moisture, dirt and grease off and wash the cloth on a regular basis so that you don't put the grease and dirt back onto the cue.

On the cue finish side of things, he said a highly polished bees wax is far better than something like linseed oil as that dries like paint and causes the wood to sweat inside which isn't a good thing for your cue.

[poolqjunkie]

You can use Bees wax without any oil, but just that it has to be re-buffed and re-applied--unless of course there is something I do not know.
You can also mixe wax with oil and finish your cue that way.
Linseed oil should not feel like paint if you are only using a thin layer and you buff it really well before you apply the next layer.

[GQ Man]

Talking of smoothing the shaft i have just got a new cue and been to test it out earlier problem being that its had some kind of varnish or something applied to it and the cue is incredibly sticky and virtually impossible to play (it really is that bad) i need to find the correct way to take of this CRAP from the cue and make it smooth again. EDIT can someone recommend a grade of sandpaper to take off this Varnish/Lacquer carefully? so its just down to bare wood then i can apply Raw Lineseed oil, cheers