Removing the glue from rubber prior to re-use
Table Tennis Equipment
Last updated 7 years ago
Ken Cominsky Asked 7 years ago
Hi guys,
I have question and hope that you can help: I bought some expensive new rubber for my bat a few weeks ago but I don't like the blade/rubber combination. Since the rubber only has a few hours on it, I'd like to try it on another blade versus buying some more. Did I mention that it was expensive? :-) A friend of mine, who is an advanced player, told me that, after I peel the rubber away from the old blade, I have to rub the old glue off of the sponge before re-gluing the rubber to a new blade. This has to be done very carefully so that the sponge isn't damage. What a pain! I managed one rubber but still slightly damaged the sponge.
My question is this: Is removing the glue from the sponge prior to re-using the rubber really necessary? Am I wasting my time and should just go get new rubber?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
Ken C
Alois Rosario Answered 7 years ago
Hi Ken,
If it is only one layer of glue I wouldn't worry about it.
If you have glued a rubber several times then I think it is worth taking the glue of the back.
As you found out, it is a pain and the rubbers are expensive so if you damage them... you will not be happy...
Thoughts on this question
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Jean Balthazar Posted 7 years ago
It is actually easier to peel of the glue from a sponge when there are several layers of it (don't know why, but it is). And as Alois mentionned, if you had only one thin layer of glue on it, and it is nice and flat, don't bother removing it. The remaining layer of glue will also prevent the fresh glue to get sucked into the sponge, therefore you will need less of it.
Some sponges are also much more fragile than others (the ones that are brittle when you cut them and have large pores), and some glues are probably harder to remove than others as well (haven't tested that many myself).