Cricket bat help

[formula1man]

I bought a new Puma Ballistic GTR.
It is English willow.
I will only be using it in the nets for a while.
But it says it is pre-prepared.
This is what the tag says.
"Your bat has been pre-prepared to save you the time of initial knocking in period. Puma have also applied a protective facing for additional protection, this is a synthetic cover that is adhered to the face of the bat and does not require maintenance or oiling. Your bat will be ready for immediate use against old balls, once you apply two coating of linseed oil to the exposed willow areas.

Now Ive never prepared a bat before and this is a very expensive bat. What do i need to do. Im not sure how to oil it properly. Plus there are only small areas of exposed willow, on the shoulder, some of the edge and the back, plus tiny areas on the splice. Do you oil these tiny areas? how do you do it without ruining the stickers. The entire face is covered in the protective film. plus it has a toe guard. I will use old balls at first too.
PLEASE HELP

Also our Linseed oil says its poison, is this raw linseed oil? it says to be used on timber, do i need to buy something differemt? it says its 50% some weird chemical.

 

[formula1man]

so the stickers will be ok?

formula1man added 6 Minutes and 39 Seconds later...

so the face doesnt need knocking in or oiling?

how far down does the splice go?

 

[formula1man]

well i watched a video of the gray nicolls dude and he said all exposed areas should be oiled, so i very lightly oiled the top part of the bat, not hugely, plus the shoulders.

 

[mattfb]

Just knock it in a bit anyway to be safe. It can't hurt. When your sitting down watching TV just grap a cricket ball and knock it in a bit more.

 

[formula1man]

So where exactly is the splice, could some1 show me where not to oil. As I oiled the shoulders and the thin edges at the top of the bat. Will the handle weaken 1st time, or does it take heaps of oilings on the splice to ruin it?

 

[King Pietersen]

Personally I'd just take the protective sheet off the bat, they don't really provide a great deal of protection, and it then allows you to fully oil the bat. I don't really see the point of having a fibre sheet over the bat from new, after it's been used for a year you can whack one on, but don't think it's necessary from new. I'd take the sheet off, and then oil the front and edges of the bat upto the stickers. Then give the bat a session or two of knocking in, just to make sure it's fully knocked in.

Any chance of a few pics of your bat? I love the style of the Puma's.

 

[formula1man]

well i oiled the shoulders and the bits of exposed wood where the stickers dont cover near the top, is this ok?

 

[Leicester Fox]

I ripped the protective sheet off my brand new bat once and it didn't go well. I would knock the bat in as if it hadn't been prepared too, I don't trust these people.

 

[formula1man]

So my oiling is ok? Is the splice the small bit directly under the handle or does it go down further?
Is it ok to oil the edges at the top?

 

[Highlander999]

I ripped the protective sheet off my brand new bat once and it didn't go well.

Just wondering, but what do you mean by that?

 

[formula1man]

So can any1 answer me?

 

[Leicester Fox]

Just wondering, but what do you mean by that?

Well it took a bit of wood off the side and left the face looking very rough. I probably should have sanded it or something after and reoiled it.

Oh well, as it turns out it's the best bat I've ever had by a country mile.

 

[Highlander999]

Ah good. I just want to make sure that my bat hasn't been ruined or anything like that Need to get my oil sent up though from home before I go into the nets with it