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[npillay]

Hi Everyone,

I have a G1 bat that's about 8 years old. The problem is when I first purchased it I didn't understand how much oil should be applied to a bat. I ended up using about half a bottle of oil on it so it is extremely over oiled. Suprisingly the performance is not too bad, but I know it could be much better.

I have purchased a new but would like to see if I can restore this and use it as a training bat. I have the following questions, any help would be much appreciated:

- What spec sand paper should I use when sanding it?
- Do I need to remove the stickers since it's so overoiled (i.e. would the oil under the sticker have a negative affect)?
- Do I need to sand just the front? Or the back and edges as well?
- Any other tips?

Thanks very much for your help guys!

[qasim_aziz99]

For the sandpaper I think you should start  at 100 grit then 120, 180, 240 an then 600 to get that smooth finish. You can get this all from ScrewFix. I think you should take all stickers off

[npillay]

For the sandpaper I think you should start  at 100 grit then 120, 180, 240 an then 600 to get that smooth finish. You can get this all from ScrewFix. I think you should take all stickers off

Thanks very much qasim_aziz99.

I'll remove the stickers and use the sand papers you mentioned. Any thoughts on whether I should sand the entire bat or just the front?

[Gurujames]

In my view over oiling is a bit of a myth as the oil barely penetrates the surface. keep the stickers on as the oil would not have penetrated beneath. Linseed oil dissolves the adhesive used on the stickers so if there was oil underneath the stickers would be peeling badly.
Depending on how rough the surface is start with 80 grit paper and work through the grades. some people go through to very fine paper though to be honest if it is done properly, you don't need to go finer than 240 grit.
There is no need to rub the back and edges though there will be a stark colour difference If you don't.

[WalkingWicket37]

Leaving the stickers on if you can (assuming they're mot lifting of a total mess) makes sanding more fidly but you do keep the "look" of the bat. Down to personal preference but I'd be inclined to try and save them personally.

As above over oiling is often spoken about, but I've never seen a bat rot so you'd have a job to actually over oil it!

If you're set on sanding it I'd personally do the whole bat so it's all one colour, would look strange if you only refurbed the front in my opinion.

[npillay]

Thanks for the advice Gurujames and WalkingWicket37.

The stickers are not peeling at all. However I can see some discoloration beneath the sticker which makes me think the oil somehow got underneath them in time, probably because I put such a ridiculous amount of oil on at the start!  It's at the top of the bat though so not that critical I guess.

I'm not too worried about the appearance of the bat, I might start by keeping the stickers on and just sanding the front and then putting an adhesive cover over it. If it doesn't perform I'll remove the stickers and sand the whole bat.

[WalkingWicket37]

If the amount of oil has effect performance sanding may not be the best way to go about it.

The oiling will have softened the wood fibres, reducing the ping slightly. If you sand the oiled wood away you'll be removing the softened fibres, but the top surface won't have been compressed as much by the pressing and knocking that's already done.

If I were you I'd be inclined to try knocking it in a bit to see if the responsiveness improves before sanding. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

[tushar sehgal]

If the amount of oil has effect performance sanding may not be the best way to go about it.

The oiling will have softened the wood fibres, reducing the ping slightly. If you sand the oiled wood away you'll be removing the softened fibres, but the top surface won't have been compressed as much by the pressing and knocking that's already done.

If I were you I'd be inclined to try knocking it in a bit to see if the responsiveness improves before sanding. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

I am more on this side of the fence rather than Sanding, I have found that I need to slightly knock my bats before the start of each season after they spend the winter resting (usually give them a little coat of oil before storage)

I think i have ever only over oiled one bat, that too because heart wood absorbed less oil than sapwood side of that bat. I found only issue with that bat was it always felt a bit oily on the HW side and scuff sheets never stuck to it but other than that knocking it made it play well.

[WalkingWicket37]

@tushar sehgal Julian Millichamp said in his last maintenance video that if you scuff a new bat it needs less knocking in than if you oil it, as the fibres are softened by the piling process, and he knows a thing or two about bats!
With this in mind a bit of mallet love after an off season coat of oil can never be a bad thing. I think of it as part of the oiling process now.

When you say you over oiled a bat what was the effect of this (other than what you've already said)? Unless the willow actually rotted I don't beleive a bat has been over oiled. In fact I beleive I read somewhere WG Grace used to soak his bats in Linseed oil, if his bats survived that I highly doubt anyone would manage to over oil a bat with just a bottle of oil.

[smilley792]

Anyone got a broken old bat? Oil it twice a day for a few weeks then chop.itnin half and post the results.

[WalkingWicket37]

Anyone got a broken old bat? Oil it twice a day for a few weeks then chop.itnin half and post the results.

I'll see if I can find one that I'm happy to chop up lol

[InternalTraining]

Anyone got a broken old bat? Oil it twice a day for a few weeks then chop.itnin half and post the results.

Julian Millichamp has a video where he cuts open an oiled bat and shows how deep the oil penetrates the Willow. It's barely 1 to 2 mm.

I have oiled a lot of bats. Over oiling is a myth. When a bat cannot absorb the oil any further, it starts to dry up on the surface like gum. I have also seen bats literally drink up oil for a variety of reasons unknown to me and that did not affect the performance. Although I must admit, that I have never soaked a cricket bat in a vat of oil like WG Grace.

@npillay , If I were you, I would just leave the bat as it is, do a bit of knocking, and then make it a practice/net bat.

[tushar sehgal]

@tushar sehgal Julian Millichamp said in his last maintenance video that if you scuff a new bat it needs less knocking in than if you oil it, as the fibres are softened by the piling process, and he knows a thing or two about bats!
With this in mind a bit of mallet love after an off season coat of oil can never be a bad thing. I think of it as part of the oiling process now.

When you say you over oiled a bat what was the effect of this (other than what you've already said)? Unless the willow actually rotted I don't beleive a bat has been over oiled. In fact I beleive I read somewhere WG Grace used to soak his bats in Linseed oil, if his bats survived that I highly doubt anyone would manage to over oil a bat with just a bottle of oil.

@WalkingWicket37 Julian definitely know about bats as for me I prefer to oil -> knock -> scuff.

As for over oiling, only downsides i found were listed in my original post. Bat didn't rot but if you wipe the bat clean with paper towel multiple times over weeks and still somehow find more oil on the surface next time you pick the bat up is a sign to me that bat was over oiled, it was always greasy for almost an entire season but I didn't really notice any real issues, preferred wet weather bat

One interesting observation is at some point the bats stop absorbing oil, I think that is the saturation point for me that i have gone too far with bat and usually a wipe with a paper towel and 3-5 days of resting time means the bat is ready for knocking.

[Seniorplayer]

I agree it takes some doing but Over oiling can add weight clog deaden fibres and weaken the glue around the splice.
Also the thicker the  coats of oil the greater the reduction of the  ball impact speed off the bat
I also would suggest first knocking the bat in to harden and compress the fibres.
Then vertically  sand off all visible dried oil from the blade edges and the back of the bat along  the grains using various grades of sandpaper from 120 grit upwards  as each smoother grade will remove the marks left by the previous one till you get the smooth finish you require.
Then apply two coats of raw linseed oil around 48 hours minimum between coats to allow the first coat to soak in.

[Number 11]

Just thinking if there's any oil glazing on the surface, try wiping it down with lighter fluid to remove it.