If you have learned how to clean a pool table but are a little unsure on how to clean a pool cue, do not worry.
It is important to exercise a great deal of caution when you are cleaning any piece of pool equipment whether it be the felt, wood, pools cue sticks, or balls.
The pool cue is a piece which receives the most attention and accordingly, deserves to receive the best cleaning.
Cleaning a pool cue is something that is very important to do for public pool tables, or simply for people who play a lot of pool and want to keep their sticks in the best condition possible.
If you want to learn how to clean a pool cue, this page will serve as a good resource in helping you leave your pool cue sticks like new after you are finished using them.
Materials Needed:
- Pool Cue Sticks
- Towel
- Dish soap
- Water
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (Optional)
- Wood Polish (Optional)
- Drinking glass (Optional)
Step 1: Wipe Down the Pool Cue Stick
Before you get into doing the major portion of cleaning, it is best to begin by wiping away the small marks and fingerprints so that you can then determine if further cleaning is necessary.
If you are cleaning your pool cue stick simply to take away fingerprint marks, there is probably not much needed afterward.
However, if you are a clean-freak, you will probably want to repeat the accompanying steps anyway.
Start by dampening your towel with water and then going over the entire surface of the pool cue.
When you get the tip do not apply much moisture, only enough to wipe off excess chalk so that it can dry and remain in good shape.
The rest of the cue stick you can be a little more aggressive with.
After you have gone over the pool cue with water and a towel, apply a light amount of dish soap to the towel and a little bit of water.
This will disinfect the area and lift away any germs that were left on it by dirty hands.
Go slowly during this process since it is important that you get away as many of the germs that are on your pool cue as possible.
Step 2: Lift Out the Stains on the Pool Cue Stick
It is possible that there will be stains on your pool cue stick, which can be very difficult to otherwise take off if you do not know how to clean a pool cue.
If the soap and water didn’t work you still have plenty of options to consider.
Perhaps the best option is a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, which can also be purchased to help clean off stains on other hard surfaces.
Once you have a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, all you need to do now is add a little bit of water and you are good to go.
You will be surprised to see how quickly stains that otherwise wouldn’t have come off with soap and water now come off. After all, they do call it a Magic Eraser.
Keep scrubbing at your pool cue stick until all of the stains are taken off. Be a little patient here and make sure to inspect all parts of the cue.
If you rush through this process you will have to wait until next time you clean your cue sticks since you will soon be moving onto the polishing process.
Step 3: Polish the Pool Cue Stick
Once you have your pool cue cleaned off and looking like it did when you bought it, it is now time to polish the cue.
This is something that is easily done within a few minutes and only requires that you purchase some sort of wood polish.
Pool table stores will normally have a special brand of polish that you can use for your cues, but wood polish will work just as well
To polish the pool cue stick, all you will need to do is get a dry towel and apply an even amount of polish across the wood surface of the cue.
Then, simply rub in the polish until it is no longer visible on the stick.
Do this carefully and slowly, being sure to evenly apply polish to all parts that need protection.
Once finished, your pool stick should be shiny and ready for more action.
Optional: Pool Cue Shaft Maintenance
If you have a small dent on your pool cue, do not even think about throwing it out to get a new one.
In fact, dents can be easily removed. Depending on how badly the pool cue is dented, you may need to spend a few minutes or as much as 30 minutes to fix the dent.
To fix the dent, all you will need is a drinking glass. This may sound like a very amateur means of fixing a dent, but there is actually a bit of science behind this technique.
What you will soon be doing here is moving microscopic glass particles from the glass onto the pool cue. Of course, this will do no harm to either the glass or the pool cue.
To do this, all you will need to do is rub the glass very rapidly along your pool cue. Do not take the word “rapidly” lightly here.
You need to imagine you are rubbing sticks together to start a fire. This will serve several different purposes.
First, it will help fill in any sort of knicks to the pool cue. Next, it can be used to help straighten out the cue.
Finally, it is great for helping keep the pool cue smooth to touch.
Optional: Purchase a Pool Cue Cleaning Kit
Remember that learning how to clean a pool cue is not that difficult if you use the right materials.
If you would prefer to use materials that are specially designed for cleaning a pool cue, there are many different pool cue cleaning kits on the market which are specially designed to assist you in this process using equipment created by professionals.
Depending on your preference and budget, you might instead decide to purchase a pool cue cleaning kit with its own separate instructions for this process.