Do you remember the first time you
picked up your cue in the store? How smooth it felt in your hand.
How you made a bridge with your hand and stroked the cue back and forth
marveling at the feel of it.
With some cue care you can make
your pool cue feel like
that again. With a little attention, the right products, and a little know
how your cue can look and feel new again.
Cleaning The Shaft
The first step of cue care is to clean the grundge off your cue's shaft. There are many
different cleaners on the market and most of them work quite well.
You should avoid any cleaners that
have aggressive sandpaper in them or that clean the wood by taking off material.
Over time the shaft will become undersized and will play differently then when
it was new. Research has shown that even as little as 10 thousands of
an inch in diameter drastically affects the way the pool cue plays.
The easiest way to start is to take a
damp paper towel rub your cue's shaft vigorously.
Immediately after, take a
dry towel and dry the shaft. You do not want any moisture to stay on the
cue for any length of time. This could cause the cue to warp.
The nest step I do is to use one of
the cleaners such as Q Cloth. Diamondback's shaft cleaner is also quite
good. This type of cue care product not only cleans the shaft but
bleaches the color as well.
Again, as soon as the cleaning is done dry the
shaft off with a dry towel.
Fiberglass and Graphite Cues
Fiberglass and Graphite cues are
completely different and require different care. If you use an aggressive
cleaner on the shaft of one of these cues will damage the outer shell.
For
one of these cues a damp, soapy paper towel will do an excellent job.
Remember to dry the cue off after cleaning.
Cuetec Cues makes a great
cleaner/conditioner for fiberglass and graphite cues.
Smoothing the Shaft
By now the shaft should be starting
to look new again. The next step is to start putting that "like new" feel on the shaft.
Take the smooth side of a Q Wiz or a very fine Scotchbrite pad and go up and down the
shaft a couple of times. This will take out any fine imperfections in the
shaft.
I know, I said not to use any sandpaper but the Q Wiz's 2000 grit
will not take off any significant material. All it does is help the grain
of the shaft to "lay down" after being wetted a couple of times.
Sealing the Shaft
The final cue care steps are to seal and
burnish the shaft so it keeps that new cue feel. You seal the shaft by waxing
it.
Paste furniture polish does a great job. The polish must be
removed before it dries. Buff the polish off and your cue will be looking
like new and feeling smooth.
The Finishing Touch
The finishing touch is to burnish the
shaft to seal and smooth the shaft for that "brand new" feel.
I use a
Creative Inventions shaft polisher pad. It is a 2 sided piece of suede
leather with a foam pad in the middle. This seals the
wood pores and does a great job.
Cue Butt Care
The butt of the cue does not need as much cue care as the
shaft. Usually the butt has a number of coats of clear covering the wood.
For the ultimate look you can use some automotive polishing
compound and a good coat of car wax to make the cue really shine. Just make sure you do not get any on the Linen wrap.
Irish Linen Wrap
The wrap needs some special attention
to get it back to a "like new" condition. Diamondback makes a great linen
wrap cleaner.
When you clean your wrap make sure you go in the direction
of the wrap (around the cue not up and down the cue).
Conclusion
In conclusion, you can see a few simple little steps and some patience and your
cue and look and feel just like new again.
Of course if you do not have the time or patience
for cue care we can do
it for you here at Billiards Plus. Our pros, using our cue lathe, can
bring back your cue's "like new" look and feel.
Do you have a
question? Contact Us.
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