Removing lacquer and refinishing a 1 piece snooker cue

[davidstrawhorn]

Hi folks,
New to the forum so go easy on me haha.

I've recently purchased a Woods 3 star cue, I haven't taken delivery of it yet but I am aware Woods cues are finished in lacquer which I absolutely hate. I plan to remove the lacquer from the shaft which I don't have a problem with, done that to a few jointed cues before.

However that brings me to my dilemma. I like a lacquered finish on the butt - more grip and I think it looks better - which hasn't been a problem on jointed cues, you just sand the shaft end and the joint breaks up any difference in appearance. But where would I stop sanding the shaft on a 1 piece cue? I'm afraid it'll look uneven and obvious?

Any help on this is greatly appreciated,
Thanks folks,
Kind regards,
David

[jonny66]

I'm no cue maker but I would guess around the splices would hide any change quite well, higher grits wont take the lacquer off though, so I suppose if you go a little further down every time you move up a grit it should blend it in well.

[jrc750]

Well you should leave the lacquer on till just past the ebony splice fingers, it will always be noticeable tho but do your best to make it a gradual transition ?

[davidstrawhorn]

Thanks guys, really like the idea of going up a few grades of paper the further up the shaft I go. I'll give that a go and try get a nice transition. Thanks again