How to Protect an Autograph on a Cue

[Kingscratcher]

I recently brought my son to meet John Higgins at a personal appearance and he was lucky enough to get his cue signed by John. Does anyone know what the best method would be to protect the signature, as obviously it will wear away pretty quickly if he just plays as normal. A couple of people have suggested varnish, but I think this might just smudge the signature and ruin it. The signature is on the bottom half of the 2 piece cue, about half way down from the join. I would appreciate any help

[Sam147]

personally, i would stop playing with that cue & preserve it as much as i can... i'd be devestated if something happened to John's signature!!!

if this cue is not particularly special to your son, it might be best to buy him a new one & keep this one hung on the wall or something

[MrRottweiler]

As its somewhere that won't affect the bridging you could try wrapping some thin plastic around it. Probably not the best method but would protect it.

If it was me I would buy a new cue and put the signed one in a glass display cabinet. On a plinth

[Robert602]

Do you have the pen? You could do a trial run with varnish first on another bit of similarly finished wood to be sure it won't smudge the ink. How is the butt finished at the moment?

Varnish/lacquer is the only way I can think of to protect it neatly, although a careful covering of plastic as MrR suggests probably wouldn't look too bad and is obviously very safe.

[Kingscratcher]

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried varnish on an old cue with the same pen and it did smudge it a bit, so I might go with the plastic idea, like laminating it. He's only 10 and wants to use the cue all the time though, so I don't think hanging it up as a display is an option (If Alex Higgins had signed it, I might force him to do that though )

[Wity]

A £3 aerosol tin of lacquer from a motorist diy should do the job and be enough to redo it for years to come but to ensure the ink in the signature wont run or whatever i'd first cover the signature with a plastic film. the sort they make water slide decals with which is effectively what the likes of bce's Jimmy White signature cues use. Not exactly expensive either...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/White-Decal-or...QQcmdZViewItem

edit...

Actually its the clear stuff you want if the sig is on the wood.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Clear-Decal-or...QQcmdZViewItem

btw thanks for the reminder i've just bought a sheet. Been meaning to for ages

[Kingscratcher]

Thanks a lot for this, Wity - sounds like exactly what I'm after And thanks to everyone else for their help too.

[thinsy]

When i was younger i had my cue signed by Graham Cripsey and Silvino Fransisco. My dad used my mums clear nail varnish... it seemed to work, but be sure to use CLEAR...

Again though, try it on a different signature first...

Got me wondering where my cue is now.... mum and dads attic i think...

[Wity]

If you do use that decal paper why not print a little pic of Higgins at the end of a strip big enough to cover his signature. Bet your son would say:"Thats dad."

Dont lacquer the top 1/2 of the cue though he wont thank you for that. better to have it just oiled with linseed oil as it'll glide through his fingers better.