How To Clean A Carbon Fiber Cue Shaft

I recently started playing with a Revo. I have cleaned it a couple of times with a water dampened cloth and the cloth came up with bluing on it, like a wooden shaft. When I used alcohol on a cloth, the cloth came up black. It appears the alcohol is removing some of the coating from the shaft, or else why the change in color? After reading the various threads about CF shafts it appears that some of you are very familiar with the properties of CF. What will happen long term with continued use of the alcohol to clean the shaft? If there is a potential problem with continued alcohol use for cleaning the shafts are we looking at a matter of years or decades for the problem to manifest itself?

Thanks for any input.

MattPoland

My theory is that you're simply cleaning the skin oils, grime, gunk and chalk residue the stick accumulates over time and not actually compromising the material of the shaft. I clean my Revo with the REVO Wipes it came with or Isopropyl Alcohol (90%) with a soft towel per Predator recommendations. I haven't personally second guessed the practice.

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conetip

Any if the alcohol wipes are fine, or lens cloths, or fine microfibre cloth will work. Just don't use anything that is abrasive. Keeping the cue chalk off the shaft is the most important aspect of it staying clean.

Celophanewrap

When the Revo first came out I was talking to the Predator guy at an APA event and I
asked him about cleaning the Revo because the Predator wipes could be a little pricey.
He told me they nothing but alcohol wipes. You can get a whole box of those, about 100
or 200, something like that, at your local CVS or Walgreens for like $1.98, which is much
better than $3 or $4 a wipe, or whatever they're charging now. The Predator wipes look
cool, might be a good way to impress a chick, but the medical alcohol wipes are just as
functional and much more cost effective. I always carry a Predator wipe with me, I take it
out like I'm about to open it and clean, but when she leaves I put it away and open up an alcohol pad.

Bob Jewett

... He told me they nothing but alcohol wipes. You can get a whole box of those, about 100 or 200, something like that, at your local CVS or Walgreens for like $1.98, which is much better than $3 or $4 a wipe, or whatever they're charging now...

You have to be a little careful at some of the drug stores. I've had trouble finding the alcohol wipes and the clerk has directed me to the water/soap wet wipes. Look for alcohol content. There are also medical wipes which are thick and smaller and probably designed for injection prep and not cleaning.

9BallKY

I don't own a revo but I have shot archery for years and I have always used acetone to clean the carbon shafts for fletching. I would assume there's not much difference in the carbon of the arrow shafts and the cue shafts but I'm no expert by a long shot.

Celophanewrap

You have to be a little careful at some of the drug stores. I've had trouble finding the alcohol wipes and the clerk has directed me to the water/soap wet wipes. Look for alcohol content. There are also medical wipes which are thick and smaller and probably designed for injection prep and not cleaning.

At least your shaft will never get infected. There's nothing worse than an infected shaft

conetip

What is the problem with a wet towel if you dry it off right away?

Nothing wrong with that at all.

pinkspider

the wipes that you buy in the stores are usually 70% as opposed to the 90% that predator uses. Does it matter if its only 70%?

Bob Jewett

I asked someone at Predator and the problem is clearer to me now...

Chalk is abrasive. That's a problem because it will tend to polish the shaft to smoothness. As Cuetec discovered with their original fiberglass-clad shafts, the last thing you want for a cue shaft is perfect smoothness -- it sticks to the hands. Players used to take sandpaper to their new Cuetec shafts to make them playable. Cuetec fixed the problem by texturing the surface.

So, you want to keep chalk off your carbon fiber shaft. Part of this is chalking technique, part is keeping your hands clean, and part is cleaning the chalk off the shaft. Predator has found that rubbing alcohol (96% IPA) is the most effective liquid for cleaning the shaft. It's better than water.

You also want to keep talc off the shaft for the same reason.

Dry wiping is the wrong thing to do if there is chalk on the shaft -- it just polishes faster.

Protractor

FWIW

There is a thread from early last year about this issue with the Revo... "Revo black marks on rails"

One poster also noticed it with his Cynergy.

I had just received my Cynergy at the time and could not get any black transfer when I cleaned it with one of their supplied 75% alcohol wipes, so there was no apparent loose residue from the factory on the surface of the shaft. After playing with it for 1-1/2 years I cleaned it for the second time just now and still get no sign of black, blue or any kind of transfer when using a second wipe.

This doesn't surprise me because I always shoot with a black spandex glove, so any dirt or 'rub off'' that would have occurred would likely have been absorbed into the glove during stroking.

When I apply chalk I carefully paint it onto the tip and unlike many players I only chalk up once per shot, and since Blue Diamond is on the sticky side I don't see any on the glove or table.

The care instructions in the Cynergy box also says to never use baby powder, hand chalk, talc or other treatments and that polishing or sanding the shaft voids the warranty.

From my casual reading about CF bicycle frames it is apparent that variations with the fabric/filaments, resins and techniques can be used to alter certain properties of the resulting material.