Raised Cue Grain.

[nullsys]

Hi all!
So I've been playing with my new cue for a few days.
As you would expect, it felt amazing for the first few hours...but now, after it's gone through it's "dirty" feel, and I lightly rubbed it down with a slightly damp cloth, buffed and let sit, the cue now has a lot more pronounced grain.

I can only assume that this means the wood has absorbed some of the water, separated the grain and has resulted in this new "raised grain" feeling.

Will this settle?
Have I knackered it?
Should I just shut up and put some cue oil on?

Thanks all!

[Acrowot]

You must have used a wet cloth. It only needs a few drops of water for cleaning a cue, hardly damp at all, not enough to wet the cue or cloth.

[nullsys]

Thanks!
You don't think it would of caused any issues though?

[billabong]

I used to wipe with barely damp cloth , then dry right away, with my ash cue.

Bought a maple cue from flea-bay, but after cleaning ( damp, then dry, ) had the same problem as 1st poster, i.e. raised grain.

Took it back with extra fine steel wool, then used some cue oil to finish.

Been fine since then.

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[superman32]

use #0000 wire wool

[mrbluejay]

Willl furniture polish do cues any harm ? Only ask as in this clammy wether, even cues with a good oiled finish will feel a bit 'dirty/sticky'. I'm thinking the silicone in the polish will certainly make it glide, like the old CueGlide stuff mentioned recently.

[itx]

Give it a rub with some very fine wire wool, something like 0000 & then finish it off with a decent cue or linseed oil.

[DeanH]

I dont like using wirewool, always feel that a bit could get left in the grain :yuk:, I use very fine sandpaper; 1000 or 2000, etc.
then raw linseed oil sparingly and only if needed.

[The Doctor]

Use very fine wet and dry sandpaper. Even slightly damp cue first then rub down and it should get it smooth as you would want.

[hotpot]

Willl furniture polish do cues any harm ? Only ask as in this clammy wether, even cues with a good oiled finish will feel a bit 'dirty/sticky'. I'm thinking the silicone in the polish will certainly make it glide, like the old CueGlide stuff mentioned recently.

Ive used polish on my cue and silicone spray , never had a problem as long as you dont soak the cue and the cue is sealed i think it should be ok .

[nullsys]

Thanks everyone for the info and tips!
I've spent some time sanding my cue through various grades, I'm waiting on some wet n dry to be delivered before I continue.
I've taken shots of before, and I'll post my results by the end of next week.
Very excited to see how it turns out. I'm used to working on guitars. Wood is wood, but since I'm new to cues I appreciated all the info!

[Chris Bedford]

Raised Cue Grain.

Like a few have said you need 0000 grade wire wool. Being a carpenter and working with wood it goes through stages for instance if you've made it too wet and left it. It will swell but leave it to dry long enough and the moisture will come out and will go back to how it was. Providing the grain is straight it won't warp. Personally I use a damp cloth to wipe it then immediately dry it. Also wash your hands with soap. That's all you should need to do. Even if your cue has loads of varnish 0000 wire wool is all you need and it will polish your ferrule too.

[nullsys]

Hi all!
So I've done some work to cue, sanding it smooth using grits all the way up to 2000.
I've applied linseed oil, worked it in over a few days, and tried playing with it for a few days too.

Now, I've noticed the rosewood turning very pale and patchy white-ish.
What could be causing this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

[culraven]

I'm assuming due to the problems you've encountered so far in this cues short life that it is probably an import, it may be that the rosewood is not actually real and just couloured, try craftsman wax on the butt will bring the colour back.

[The Doctor]

After sanding, all woods will go lighter in colour, when you apply a few coats of oil, it will get darker and a deeper shade will be seen.
On ash shafts, I would never use wire wool, only because it has a tendency to pull out the grain filler that makes the ash dark.
It's fine to use on maple or hardwood butts with close grain but not on ash.