Magic Cue Eraser (Ok, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser)

One question that people always ask me and one that comes up often in other billiards forums I am a member of is “what is the best way to clean your cue?”. There are many products out there for this specific purpose, but this method, which I read about on AZBilliards, is the best I have found and the one that I use. Once again, I find it interesting that one of the best billiards products, isn’t actually a billiards product.

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will absolutely take all the chalk, oils and other gunk magically off your shaft. It also works wonders on your ferrule. Every time I use this product and technique, it looks as if my shaft just came off the showroom floor. However, I caution that you have to use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser the right way to avoid damaging your shaft.

Here is the trick to using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser the right way. Do NOT use it with water, but rather with Denatured Alcohol. The Denatured Alcohol evaporates extremely quickly and will not soak into the shaft, avoiding any potential warping or staining of the shaft. Also, keep in mind, Denatured Alcohol is different than rubbing alcohol, so you want to be sure to get the right stuff.

The following is the Denatured Alcohol I use for this. Clicking the image will bring you to a page where you can purchase it. It can also be found at hardware stores such as Home Depot or Lowes.

Here are the steps on how to use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser:

Pour a bit of the alcohol into the magic eraser. It absorbs into the sponge quickly, so you may not think you poured enough into the sponge. Be careful, it is easy to over saturate. You don’t want to soak the sponge, but rather, dampen it.
Rub the sponge gently up and down the shaft, all the way through the ferrule, turning the shaft as you go. You will see all the chalk & gunk magically coming off into the sponge. Don’t wrap the eraser around the shaft and grind it in. Be gentle.
Once you are satisfied that your shaft looks like it came off the showroom floor, you will notice the Magic Eraser leaves a bit of granular residue. You are going to take care of this with a lint free cloth or towel. Rub the lint free cloth or towel up and down the shaft until it is smooth and you feel that all the granules are gone. The following is the cloth that I use to finish the shaft off with. Clicking the image will bring you to a page where you can purchase it

There are a couple of things that I don’t necessarily like about this method of cleaning the shaft

It is not portable by any means, so it is not necessarily convenient or something you can take with you to the pool hall & use during your matches. There are other, more portable products for that purpose, which I will review in another post.
It can be a bit messy if you are not careful with pouring the alcohol into the eraser
It is not a single product solution, but rather, requires three products
It is hard not to get the denatured alcohol in bulk or large sizes. So that can will be with you forever (I don’t know, perhaps this is a positive).

Overall, this is the best solution I have found for keeping your shaft and ferrule in “like new” condition. Just keep the caveats I mentioned above in mind when determining if this is the right solution for you.

Steve Sherman

I am the founder of Billiard Product Reviews. I have been playing pool for over 30 years. I have a genuine love for this game and all things billiards. I consider myself a student of the game and try to learn as much as I can from instructional books, instructional DVDs, DVDs of professional matches, professional coaching, practice and from the other players that I play with. While I play competitively in league and occasionally tournaments, I consider myself a casual player, relatively speaking. I am a skill level 7 in the APA, skill level 5 in TAP and play as a C+ in amateur open tournaments. I created this site to give back to the billiards community and to assist my fellow players in selecting the right products to help improve their game or just get more enjoyment out of the sport we love.