Cue Oiling

[mike13]

Should linseed oil be thinned down with turps? Which is the best to use raw or boiled.
The cue is a 10 year old Gold Medal Baracuda,after I sanded it the grain needs filling,what would be the best way of doing this
Thanks
Mike

[trevs1]

Should linseed oil be thinned down with turps? Which is the best to use raw or boiled.
The cue is a 10 year old Gold Medal Baracuda,after I sanded it the grain needs filling,what would be the best way of doing this
Thanks
Mike

Hi Mike,

Raw oil is the one to use, it won't have the driers in it like the boiled stuff and does not get as tacky.

Yes, you can thin it slightly if you want to, but it's probably better done with genuine turpentine, approx 50-50, or, 70-30 ratio, oil to thinner.

To fill the grain you can use a normal grain filler, though it might be possible to fill it quite well using abrasive and oil, as the dust will become paste like and clog the pores of the timber a little. After this is done though, you'll need to seal it, which can maybe be done with a standard sanding sealer.

Once you've done that, cut it back with very fine abrasive and oil it, leaving it wet on the surface overnight.

Wipe off any excess oil the next day and clean with a dry cloth, this should be better than oiling alone.

Naturally, it's not really possible to go through every stage of finishing a cue correctly, or as I would do myself, but this should provide decent results.

Good luck with it.

[mike13]

Thanks Trev

[goshow]

Do folks recommend sanding a que?

Personally i was told by my grandad that you should NEVER sand a cue other than when you're making it. I only use a very fine wire wool and only use that lightly to remove really well soiled areas, before oiling with raw linseed oil.

I clean my cue every week but only oil it 3 or 4 times a year.

[trevs1]

Do folks recommend sanding a que?

Personally i was told by my grandad that you should NEVER sand a cue other than when you're making it. I only use a very fine wire wool and only use that lightly to remove really well soiled areas, before oiling with raw linseed oil.

I clean my cue every week but only oil it 3 or 4 times a year.

In reply to the above question, no not really, but he's already sanded it, and, is asking how to go about sealing or filling the grain again before re-finishing it.

As for wire wool, on an ash cue at least, it will be more likely to remove any filled grain, thereby leaving a cue perhaps more coarse feeling than it did before you touched it with wire wool, so care is needed for that one.

To clean a cue, all I'd recommend is a cloth dampened in warm soapy water, and then, to give the cue a good wash over, drying immediately afterwards with a clean dry cloth.

It isn't the best idea to do that too often either, as it will can cause excessive wear if it's done too regularly. This leaves the shaft feeling like it has uneven ridges all over the place.......nasty.

[goshow]

Interesting. Thanks for that, i'll take serious amounts of care from now on i think.