using wood filler.

[haggishunter]

Hi folks, looking for some advice here. I've got a couple of old cues that I'm gonna have a practise at getting the grain filled and giving the cue an all round re-finish. after looking on here and at some other places and reading about the products I decided to get Rustins mahogany wood filler for getting the grain filled, I looked at one by Ever Build and decided on reading reviews etc that I'd go for the Rustins. It arrived and I'm not sure what I was expecting but the stuff in the can is liquid, I opened the can had a look and while I didn't poke inside to see if there was thicker settled stuff at the bottom of the can I'm just not sure I have the right thing, it says to use white spirit to thin it down but its already super thin as is without spirit, adding spirit may take to an extremely watery consistency, the Ever Build and another brand I was looking at were like putty, add thinners to get it to a certain viscosity and then apply, do I have the right thing here? I'm just a bit worried that this stuff will not only fill the grain holes but will also discolour the whole cue... I expect a bit of colour changing that will be reduced by the sanding but this looks like it will really soak into the wood.

Another thing I was wondering is where to start with the sanding, how heavy/light should I go to start with and what should the lightest/last grade of sandpaper used be?
Thanks in advance.

[bigandyg]

I always saved my ebony dust and use that along with some oil to rub into the grain, I have never used sandpaper on a shaft but prefer wet and dry ( used dry ). Not keen on your wood filler as it is only grain and not gaps or holes you are working on.

[haggishunter]

Hi Andy. hope your well. I got a cue from you a while back, use it as my pool cue. solid hitter. Thanks for the advice, sounds like a good option, will see about getting a bit of dark hardwood, the first cue I was going to try it with is covered in gaps, its not a fantastic cue but its a good one to practice on. if you have stubble on your face it will tear every hair out.... feels smooth by touch but impossible to use with a beard not sure what happened to it but needs a lot of filling, I had kind of decided that the rustins may not have ben the best option. it needs something much thicker I felt.

[Ninja.cues]

Hi Andy. hope your well. I got a cue from you a while back, use it as my pool cue. solid hitter. Thanks for the advice, sounds like a good option, will see about getting a bit of dark hardwood, the first cue I was going to try it with is covered in gaps, its not a fantastic cue but its a good one to practice on. if you have stubble on your face it will tear every hair out.... feels smooth by touch but impossible to use with a beard not sure what happened to it but needs a lot of filling, I had kind of decided that the rustins may not have ben the best option. it needs something much thicker I felt.

Why not, just get a grain filler as they are easy to use and no big problem with it changing the colour.
I'm sure Rustin's do one or you could try a French polish supplier...
I use Jenkins and can give you the link if you want it.
Plus should be able to get other colours than black, if you want it.

[haggishunter]

Hey bud, I just bought rustins wood grain filler on a recommendation and also from what I'd read on here it was ok. I hadn't seen it in the shops, the only one's I had seen were thick and required thinning with spirit, I'm fine with that, the rustins also says to thin it down with thinner, I'm ok with that. What I'm not sure about is that the rustins stuff I have just bought is already a watery consistency, I assumed that it would be more paste like rather than runny... One of the ones I looked at was a really viscous paste and you add thinner as needed to get the desired consistency so you could work it into the desired gaps that needed filling, with what I have its watery, it doesn't feel like the right thing for the job but it is wood grain filler.

[Ninja.cues]

It does sound too thin to me to as all I've seen and used, have been more like a paste..
Not used the Rustin's one and sometimes need to be stirred before using it..

[Shockerz]

Hi Andy. hope your well. I got a cue from you a while back, use it as my pool cue. solid hitter. Thanks for the advice, sounds like a good option, will see about getting a bit of dark hardwood, the first cue I was going to try it with is covered in gaps, its not a fantastic cue but its a good one to practice on. if you have stubble on your face it will tear every hair out.... feels smooth by touch but impossible to use with a beard not sure what happened to it but needs a lot of filling, I had kind of decided that the rustins may not have ben the best option. it needs something much thicker I felt.

The old Aurora grain filler was runny like ink and then would just go hard, I quite liked that and easy to apply.

[haggishunter]

I've read of that stuff on here over the years. I just thought if I put this round the shaft because virtually all of it needs done rather than little bit at a time then some bits will run out when drying.... Maybe not. I'm a mechanic, I'm not used to dealing with woods etc and I'm trying to learn a bit more about cues and how to do smaller jobs to them.

[Shockerz]

I've read of that stuff on here over the years. I just thought if I put this round the shaft because virtually all of it needs done rather than little bit at a time then some bits will run out when drying.... Maybe not. I'm a mechanic, I'm not used to dealing with woods etc and I'm trying to learn a bit more about cues and how to do smaller jobs to them.

I've been in the gas industry for 35 years so know what you mean.

I did the whole shaft and it dried reasonably quickly. I didn't think being that runny it would be any good.

An excerpt from the grain filler.


Rub grain filler a bit at a time into the grains of the shaft.
Work in small areas and use a tiny bit at a time.
There is no need to flood the shaft. Leave to dry afterward.
The lower part of the shaft was still very white, while the upper part was being worked on.
You want to look for white spots on the shaft.
When you see those white spots, please re-apply a bit more sealer to cover them up.

[The Doctor]

Easiest thing to use is quick drying ebony wood stain.
It's a liquid and you just apply it with a cloth then once dry you use fine sandpaper to rub off excess and the grain will be filled.
It's theethid most cue maker use.
I'll probably be outside te magic circle now I've told you. Lol

[Shockerz]

Easiest thing to use is quick drying ebony wood stain.
It's a liquid and you just apply it with a cloth then once dry you use fine sandpaper to rub off excess and the grain will be filled.
It's theethid most cue maker use.
I'll probably be outside te magic circle now I've told you. Lol

That's an interesting one. I will give that a go on the next cue.

Start a new magic circle!

[itsnoteasy]

Easiest thing to use is quick drying ebony wood stain.
It's a liquid and you just apply it with a cloth then once dry you use fine sandpaper to rub off excess and the grain will be filled.
It's theethid most cue maker use.
I'll probably be outside te magic circle now I've told you. Lol

Hi Doc, is there anything you can use to fill grain but not darken it, I don't like the arrows darkened on ash cues, thanks.

[bigandyg]

Hi Doc, is there anything you can use to fill grain but not darken it, I don't like the arrows darkened on ash cues, thanks.

Sand it gently with fine wet and dry with some oil on it and the ash dust will fill the grain, leave to dry then rub it down with dry wet and dry to finish.

[RogiBear]

Use a thixotropic grain filler, come in a few different wood colours

[itsnoteasy]

Before I get my cue out and rub it into oblivion, is it ok to rub down a cue that has already been darkened or would you be taking too much off it removing all the old stain and filler.