After prolonged use of a cue, it inevitably loses its perfect smoothness, shape, cleanliness, and feel. Tips usually start to mushroom if they are soft and they start to hold less chalk. Ferrules become the "blue-ring" infested house cues in pool halls and bars. Shafts develop a distinguished blue tint and aren't as smooth as when they were new. The glossy and shiny parts of the cue become dull, oily, and full of fingerprints. Wraps develop scents of smoke and sweat, and may even start to disentangle and come loose. The butts of cues may start to rattle and the bumpers on the end may not even be there anymore.

Tips

Various tools are used to maintain the domed shape of the tip and its rough texture, enabling enough chalk to be held on the surface. First trim the edges of the mushrooming excess leather that is over the diameter of the ferrule with a knife, razor, or specially designed tool. If a tip is left mushroomed, the shots will be less consistent and may lead to more miscues and scratches. Also, imparting spin on the ball is less accurate as opposed to a well-maintained tip. Then reshape with tip shapers (such as Williards Tip Shaper, ATROX tool, sandpaper, or other tools) which reshape the tip to look like the preferred curvature. Finally, use a rougher sandpaper, a tip scuffer, and/or tip pick to roughen and perforate the tip, respectively. Scuffers and sandpaper are known to reduce tip size over time if used too liberally (periodically). That is the reason tip picks were designed; they poke holes into the tip so that there are perforations for chalk to be embedded into. This serves the same purpose in allowing more chalk to be held on the tip. Though these tools are useful, it is not recommended to use them too often. Usually one wants to "tune-up" the tip after it has started to mushroom, or poor performance is noticed, or before an important game such as a tournament. Using tip tools too much decreases the lifetime of the tip and subsequently requires the purchase new tips more often or to live with a flattened out tip that is almost at the ferrule, which is very dangerous and not good for one's game. Chalk is naturally abrasive to the tip and if chalked periodically (every turn), it should keep the tip rough enough. Tips should be replaced whenever they wear down to 1 mm from touching the ferrule, as replacing a damaged ferrule is more expensive. Replacement tips can cost anywhere from 25 cents to $25 depending on quality.

Ferrules

Next item down is the ferrule. If one looks around at most house cues in pool halls and bars, one will notice distinguished blue rings around the ferrule (if the chalk used is blue). This is because of poor chalking technique. Many beginners tend to chalk their cues too hard and in a circular motion. In general this would be ok, but the problem is they don't know when to use a new chalk. Chalk should be replaced when it has a hole that is relatively deep. When people use chalk that has a large hole in it and rotate the chalk in a circular motion, it makes the ring around the ferrule. This ring is usually hard to get rid of unless taken care of early. Different chalks have different stain factors and powdery breakdown that can determine how hard it is to remove the stain. For light stains, one can quickly wipe it away with the fingers or a tissue; it is best to refrain from using damp products near a cue because if moisture gets into the wood it can ruin it due to the expansion and contraction of the water. Certain cleaning products can also be used to clean the stain, but it is best to prevent the stain in the first place. When chalking, one should do a light circular motion as well as scraping the whole chalk cube across points that are not covered well with chalk. Done correctly over a substantial time, the chalk has a shallow hole and is relatively flat. This is because one is chalking lightly and not grinding the chalk into the tip, as well as scraping, so that even if there were high walls around the deep hole, they would wear down after some time.

Shaft

A heavy chalker will usually also have a blue tint shaft (from blue chalk, other colors for other colored chalk). Exceptionally powdery or stainable chalks trickle down from the tip down to the shaft and as one strokes, one spreads the chalk on the shaft and stain it over time. This can't be helped in some places where it is dirty and players place chalk incorrectly on the table, thus getting it on the hands and table cloth even more. After chalking the cue, one should place the chalk facing up so that the process of putting the chalk down doesn't fling powdered chalk onto the table, thus lessening the amount that gets on the hands and subsequently on the cue. Good chalk etiquette also lessens chalk on the table cloth, which can damage the cloth over time by the balls rolling and carrying chalk with it as it rolls and cuts microfibers in the cloth, eventually giving it a fuzzy feel. Basically it will prolong the life of the pool table as well. To clean the shaft after it has been stained, use a very slightly damp cloth/tissue and wipe it down and then dry it right away. That should remove surface stains, but if the stains have not been taken cared of for a long time, then one may need to use very fine sandpaper and/or steel wool. This will actually remove a tiny layer on the shaft and get rid of the stain, but it will also open up the pores in the wood of the shaft to be more susceptible to future staining or damage, which is why one should burnish the wood to close up the pores. This is a home remedy, and is not as good as a professional cleanup on a cue lathe. These methods are also good for regaining the smoothness lost from dirty hands, chalk, and dirt buildup on the shaft. Another way to keep the shaft clean is to keep the hands clean by washing them frequently, since hands usually get sweaty after playing for a long period of time. Some players like to bring a towel with them to tournaments, allowing for them to wipe their hands as well as wipe down their cue; tissues and napkins work just as well if they are clean.

Joints

Joints are sometimes not perfectly sealed and can get moisture in the wood if it is exposed. In humid areas with large temperature changes, this can ruin the joints and thus the cue itself. To protect the joints, one can purchase a cue case or joint protectors that cover the joints for added protection. Joints are also a frequent place where grease is attracted, especially in brass versions. To remove this grease, fine wool wire can be used (grade 0-0).

Butt

The butt end of the cue requires the least amount of maintenance, since usually it isn't touched too much except for the wrap. A quick wipe down with a slightly damp cloth on the areas with a wood finish (not on the wrap) and a dry wipe down should get rid of any dirt, oil, or fingerprints. For the wrap, if the cue has one, it may smell or become loose. The smell is from wherever one plays as well as sweaty or dirty hands. There is no real way to wash it since it is on the cue, but can be replaced it if it gets too bad. As with the other maintenance issues, prevention is better than replacement of a part of the cue. Certain materials for the wrap fair better than others. For instance since Irish Linen gets stronger as it gets wet, it won't loosen like other wraps will.

Rattling butts are normally due to bad construction and there is nothing can be done about it besides live with it. It shouldn't affect game play except psychologically, and one can always intimidate other players by saying one is going to beat them with "The Shaky Stick".

Preventing the loss of bumper is easy; don't play around with them and they shouldn't come loose; if they do, just tighten them up again, since they are an essential part of the cue.

Cue as a whole

The cue as a whole should be kept in a place that doesn't have much temperature variation, as this can warp the cue. Normally, cues are kept in a cue case, either soft or hard, for easy transport, protection from moisture, as well as protecting them from the elements and rapid temperature changes. Also it is advisable not to lean cues against walls as this also leads to warping. Cues should also not be sanded with abrasive sandpaper as it removes protective finishes.