Removing rubber from Pre-Assembled Paddles

Marty Masicampo Asked 14 years ago

Is the rubber on pre-assembled paddles meant to be taken off? I just spent two hours removing the Butterfly Stayer rubber off a Butterfly Stayer pre-assembled paddle! Now the paddle is over ten years old. And it was kept in a tool box for many years in a very low humidity climate. The red rubber was so hard and brittle that it shattered as I scraped it off! Of course, both top sheets separated from their respective sponge layers, so the majority of my time was spent scraping them off. Please tell me that it won't always be this difficult to replace the rubber on pre-assmbled paddles...

Alois Rosario Answered 14 years ago

Hi Marty,

A lot of factory pre-assembled bats do use a very strong glue so it can be difficult to get them off.

You can use a solvent such a petrol based substance to get the rubber and sponge off the bat. Once I get most of the rubber and sponge off I also sometimes just use a sander to get it off.

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Marty Masicampo Posted 14 years ago

Yeah, it wasn't until after I created a mess that I learned about using a solvent (e.g. nail polish remove) prior to removing the rubber. Well, I just learned a valuable lesson! Thanks.