cue finishing

[mikeyd100]

Have a read of this... I put some on a cue butt once, 5 or 6 coats... it was gleaming !!!

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/ind...finish.711780/

[tetricky]

Thank you.....if for nothing else this bit, from the second post:

Use a small rag to wipe on liberal amounts of oil and keep the surface wet for 10-15 minutes. Wipe off excess and let dry for as long as you want. but not less than 24 hours. this coat is very important as it seals the wood and the deeper the oil goes the better your protection against moisture later. pay attention to end grains as they soak up more oil.

...gives me an idea what I should be doing in regards to what I'm seeing with this mix (ie, dries too quick - particularly on the first coat).

I'll sand another cue down, and try this! Thanks again.

[Byrom]

Have you tried something like Tru Oil ?
It is easy to use and can give a glossy shine, or if you knock it back between coats you can get a satin type finish.
A lot of people have used it on their guitars.

Yes I agree - this would be a good bet

[mikeyd100]

Cheers, even I made a good job of it and I am no expert at all... complete novice.

[Master Blaster]

I wouldn't recommend wet sanding

If you sand with Auroras oil, you get a smoother finish and the paper glides easier. To be fair, they produce the smoothest and most glossy finish imaginable, like French furniture or summat.

[JLiang91]

I've watched some videos on YouTube using Tru-oil for finishing. Amazing it is!

[mikeyd100]

Yes its good... its popular on Gun Stocks with Americans too.

[tetricky]

I've been using my 1/3rd each of white spirit, linseed (raw), and tung oil. Keeping the cue 'wet' for a good fifteen minutes/half an hour first, and then adding small coats, letting them dry, and more, letting it dry overnight, using 00 wire wool to smooth, and more coats....it seems to be starting to get there. With this mix it seems to absorb and dry quickly, but the more coats, the wetter it stays longer (less absorption into the wood?).

I don't want to over smooth, or have a glossy varnish like finish (my test cue went this way....it's not good). Doing what I'm doing seems to be getting the cue where I want it, and has brought out the grain in the splice lovely (and also, in a slightly understated way, on the shaft). currently look and feel is approaching that of my parris ambassador, and that's what I had hoped for.

I'm toying with continuing the process until it's not taking much more oil, and then finishing with a tung oil finish (after something like a weeks drying).

[fredkite]

cue finishing

Do you use Tru Oil on the entire cue or just the butt?

[mikeyd100]

Hi Fred
If that question is for me I have only used it on butt of cue to give it a glossy look.
A good finish can be obtained on the shaft but I personally havent done this as my experience is very limited.
Maybe tetricky can help with that.. he seems more experienced

[tetricky]

Definitely not! (As in not experienced). This is a new thing to me. I was searching for a new cue (had decided I needed to go for a bigger tip, and less whippy shaft, than my otherwise much adored parris). So I ended up settling on a couple of nice (not perfect, but very nice for the money) unbadged James Butters cues. By common perception they sometimes benefit from a better finish. I was okay with them, actually. They're lovely things (to me), but I did want to see if I could give them a more to my taste sort of parris like oil finish (for historical reasons).

Personally I dislike the feel of a high gloss - varnish like feeling, even just on the butt. Visually I don't like a sort of shoulder where it goes glossy to matt......so I'm trying an oil finish more to the taste over the length of my cue. On my test piece (an old machine spliced thing, provenence lost..) I sanded off the varnish, finished it with oil, and ended with such a high gloss finish it bore a remarkable resemblance to the finish I'd spent hours trying to get rid of!

Anyway....after that failure, I went straight to the first ~Butters....I'm trying to lay down lots of sparing layers, after an initial heavy wetting, and I'm not overdoing the sanding....just keying the surface with a light wire wool every morning (adding numerous layers each day), until it looks about right. I'm on day two. I don't think it will take much more...then I'm going to let it dry for a week, and try a tung oil finish.

I don't want the cue totally smooth and lifeless (I have some of those, nice, but not really my thing)...I want to 'feel' the texture of the wood, and the grain in the shaft. That's my aim.

[mikeyd100]

I hear ya, glossy butts arent for eveyone hahaa.
I just did it on the ebony splices of the cue, not whole cue, my only experience was with the Tru Oil.

[Master Blaster]

I hear ya, glossy butts arent for eveyone hahaa.
I just did it on the ebony splices of the cue, not whole cue, my only experience was with the Tru Oil.

If you're finishing a new cue or refurbing one for a customer, they mostly love the glossy Aurora finish but it doesn't last long for obvious reasons. I think their method is great and what you can do is use their method but miss out on the final stages so you get a silky finish rather than glossy. Silky can be maintained easily so it's a good finish to go for.

[sanman]

I finish all cues myself. Use maguairs car wax on the button and oil on the shaft. Silky smooth shaft and beautiful glossy butt. Will post some pics tomorrow of the cues I finished off.

[Master Blaster]

I finish all cues myself. Use maguairs car wax on the button and oil on the shaft. Silky smooth shaft and beautiful glossy button. Will post some pics tomorrow of the cues I finished off.

Silky shaft is ok for me, matt better for gliding the bridge, glossy awful, just too much contact on the bridge.