Plastic wrap as more than just dust protection
Discussion
Roderick Medina Asked 11 years ago
I recently noticed something regarding table tennis rubber maintenance that I'm hoping is of use to some of you out there looking to extend the life of your rubber.
The short story: Kitchen plastic wrap not only protects from dust, it can actually condition your rubber.
The long story:
I have only been playing again for about 6 weeks after 5 years of not playing. I had two bats that were in storage for that time (both rubbers had about 2 months of play time when they went in). One (with tacky chinese hurricane 2) did not fare well at all and was using butterfly adhesive plastic sheet rubber protectors. The second (with butterfly cermet rubber) fared extremely well and was using normal kitchen plastic cling wrap because I was out of "actual" rubber protectors.
I have continued to play with the second bat regularly and continue to use a fresh piece of kitchen wrap on it every time I'm done using it for the day. At first I noticed that whenever I removed the plastic wrap, the wrap had become somewhat stiff compared to when I had first put it on. Now the wrap comes off more or less in good condition and the rubber is as good as ever. I had a long thought (and some internet searches) about what might be going on here and this is what I came up with:
The plastic wrap is so flexible because it uses plasticizer chemicals. When I took my bat out of storage, its rubber was probably low on this and was already starting to degrade. As I kept using new plastic wrap, the rubber kept absorbing plasticizer from the plastic wrap until it had absorbed enough to be in balance with the new wrap. This seems like a good method to maintain the quality of the rubber topsheet though I suspect that the sponge may be degrading and I know of no way to revitalize that.
It may sound annoying to cling wrap your bat every time you put it away but I've actually become quite quick about it and it's far cheaper than the more "official" sheet protectors that are sold by TT supply shops. I have also taken Alois' advice and use plain water to clean my bat whereas I used to use rubber cleaner product. (acknowledged that my rubber cleaner may also have something to do with the rubber wearing out faster than it does now).
Also, make sure your bat is DRY before wrapping the rubber.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with cling wrap?
Alois Rosario Answered 11 years ago
Hi Roderick,
That is an interesting observation.
It would be interesting to hear other players thoughts on this or if they have had similar experiences.
Thoughts on this question
Become a free member to post a comment about this question.
leonardo gabica Posted 11 years ago
Ahh, That's why my bat still do not display signs of wear even for months of playing of it, now i know
Dana Ence Posted 11 years ago
I have been using cling wrap, which I buy from Costco, on my bat for about 2 years. I clean the rubber after each use, and after it's dry, I then wrap and smooth the cling wrap completely around it. It usually grips very well for 2 or 3 uses, then I just cut another piece. The rubber stays very pliable and in great shape all the time. Much cheaper than the sheets, and it covers the edges as well, so there is no edge damage if you bang it against something in your bag. I highly recommend doing this!! Thanks for all of the great info Alois and Jeff. I bought your video set last year and they have really helped me learn some new tricks....even us old timers that have played for 40 years can learn something new!!
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Thanks for your insights Dana and the kind words as well.
ujjval verma Posted 11 years ago
Interesting really...
Roderick Medina Posted 11 years ago
I started out with the giant roll of costco wrap as well. I've had the costco wrap roll for a few years and now that I've been using it a lot more due to having to cover my bat, I started to notice that the wrap has some tiny globs of "oil" on it as I get deeper into the roll which I think is the plasticizer chemical itself that sweat out over time. I didn't want THAT much on it so I bought a new (smaller) roll of cling wrap just for bat. Has anyone else noticed the costco (or any wrap) "sweating" an oily residue? (incidentally the roll itself is turning a little yellow)
I haven't been using the new "bpa free cling wrap" for very long but we'll see if it is just as good. I see that costco themselves have switched to a different type of wrap so perhaps the old stuff I have is one of those with the more bad-for-you chemicals (probably good-for-my-tt-rubber chemicals?)
I'll update if I come up with any more evidence/observations...
Luis Rodriguez Posted 11 years ago
Dear all,
Could you please include some pictures?
Thanks
Rene van der Kleij Posted 11 years ago
Plastic wrapping also helps sealing de rubbers, preventing ox. contact for oxygen is an accelerator to aging of rubber as well as heat and ozone
Sammy Serea Posted 11 years ago
Great find guys - I use DONIC Formula rubber protection sheets and they are wonderful, but I once damaged one and had to drive 10 miles through heavy traffic to my pro shop in order to get a new set, so it's great that I now know that I have an alternative right here in my kitchen cabinet :)
Thank you,
Sam
Dana Ence Posted 11 years ago
For Luis Rodriguez: E-mail me at this address and I'll send you some pics of how I do my paddle, can't figure out how to post pics here: danainrror@live.com
Luis Rodriguez Posted 11 years ago
To Dana.
I will.
Thanks so much,
Lorenzo Coopman Posted 11 years ago
Been using wrap for some weeks now, rubbers look and feel every time as new, this is a real good tip!
Erriza Shalahuddin Posted 11 years ago
Very interesting :D
So now we know how to maintain the quality of rubber. So my question is, is it possible to rejuvenate a very old and worn out rubber to its former quality?
Just curious....
Jeff Plumb from PingSkills Posted 11 years ago
Hi Erizza,
Unfortunately not. Once the rubber is worn out, it is time to buy a new one.
Lorenzo Coopman Posted 11 years ago
I'll side with Jeff, I don't think it maintains the quality, it just slows down the decay of the sheet (due to much lesser interaction with O2 which is, if you remember your chemistry classes a very reactive gas) The conditioning effect can't be that much, I don't think that the PVC particles can penetrate very deep in the rubber sheet and it would be a very, very, rare thing if PVC particles somehow form a superb toplayer mixed with any kind of rubbersheet. .... Maybe in the future there will be some (I'll guess it will be very expensive) rubbersheets with some kind of nanotechnology with self-healing capabilities ( LG has a mobile phone with a self-healing coating , so maybe in 5 or 10 years .... )
Erriza Shalahuddin Posted 11 years ago
That's too bad :(
But i think i can live with that fact :)
Thanks for the good information, all :D
Gordon L Posted 11 years ago
Here is a product which claims to restore the grip and elasticity of old rubber:
Falco Life Extender
Review
Roderick Medina Posted 11 years ago
Yeah rubber can be "modified" by after market chemicals but it does not necessarily restore to a "new" condition. It will just be "different". I had some really old hurricane chinese tacky rubber that was dull and dead (didn't smell like much of anything) and I followed something I saw on the internet (for "science") and dipped my finger in vegetable oil and rubbed it evenly over the surface of the rubber so it was rather shiny and slick at the end. FYI it smelled much like veggie oil at this time. I left it alone for about an hour and when I came back to it, the rubber had absorbed the oil and it was no longer slick. It was sticky (though not as sticky as new) and not slick. It also beaded water better than it used to. FYI the smell was like fresher rubber and not veggie oil anymore. It was also not transferring oil to my fingers or a ball either. The oil didn't simply evaporate either since if I had rubbed the same oil on my kitchen counter it would still be an oil slick days later.
I think for sticky chinese rubber, adding oil in a careful fashion might help get some extra life out of it but I wouldn't hold out much hope for it. (and you probably need to throw it out if you accidentally over-saturate it) There are many properties of a new rubber/sponge that are simply not addressed by these kinds of treatments. I suspect that this oil adding method would have negative consequences for a japanese or european style rubber. I can see that just as well from one of my paddles that has sticky chinese rubber on the backhand and european rubber on the forehand. A chinese coach at my local club recommends using your sweat to clean the dust off the rubber during a match as it will "make it more sticky anyways". I personally don't recommend this but in times where i've accidentally gotten my sweat on my paddle, I have noticed that sweat makes the chinese rubber stickier and it makes euro rubber more slick until you clean it off.
Anyways, back to the plastic wrap issue. I would believe that the plastic wrap is primarily helping to keep it away from too much air but I do still think there is some sort of chemical leaching process going on that explains why the plastic wrap came off noticeably stiffer after using it on old rubber versus the way it is when I've been using new plastic wrap on the same rubber for a long time.
Also as an aside, I've been having great results using distilled water in a small spray bottle (empty rubber cleaner bottle) and using that with a rubber care sponge (with a sponge side and a squeegee side) and it's been great versus the rubber cleaner I was using before. I still use the rubber cleaner occasionally if I get some actual gunk on my paddle but for normal sweat and dirt, distilled water is great.
Sammy Serea Posted 11 years ago
I use the following:
- sponge and plain water to clean at home or in between matches
- sweaty hand to clean during a match (rub your sweaty hand evenly on the rubber until the sweat evaporates from both hand and rubber and you start feeling the rubber grip your fingers and your palm)
- sticky protective sheets when storing the racquet in its sleeve
Cheerios,
Sam
Nicho Marpaung Posted 10 years ago
This is a good technique. I have tried this and the grip of my rubber was increased significantly.