Can we reverse shrinking?

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It was klmy stupidity. I bought a 2nd hand T05 which has been sitting idle for a year.

I was replacing my BH rubber so I took the T05 out. The size is dramatically smaller than the blade. I knew about this issue. I should've glued the rubber onto a blade as soon as I got it.

My question is, is there any way to stretch it again without compromising its performance?

I have searched everywhere with no avail.

Thanks

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says Spin and more spin.
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Boosting it will cause the sponge to expand. Will it expand enough? Don't know. Boosting Tenergy will not do anything bad to it. Especially old Tenergy. But a year of the topsheet sitting on a shelf may make the topsheet play worse. The boosting might have been needed even if it had not shrunk.
 
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Ok. I might try. Some forum says booster might damage Tenergy rubber.

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Booster does tend to reduce rubbers' longevity, but it's quite mild as far as methods for stretching the rubbers go. For one thing it's slower acting than e.g. speed glue (or glue with VOCs): so it won't expand as fast, but also won't shrink back nearly as fast. Boosting tenergy is surely not for everyone fresh out of the box, but enough people do it without problem that I doubt you should be too worried. Unless you are willing to play with a smaller rubber, it's as low risk a method as you'll get AFAIK.

Using e.g. Falco Long, apply a first layer, let it sit for 24 hours, see what happens, and evaluate if you need any more to stretch it further. (If so repeat.)
 
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says Spin and more spin.
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Booster does tend to reduce rubbers' longevity, but it's quite mild as far as methods for stretching the rubbers go.

I agree with everything OhWell has said. I just want to add a qualifier to this statement I quoted.

It is true. But leaving a rubber in a closet for a year so that oxygen can break down the rubber molecules and reduce the elasticity of the topsheet and sponge may be a larger factor.

Booster allows a rubber to play better in the short term and causes the rubber to degrade faster in the long run.

But leaving a rubber sitting idle for a year causes the rubber to play significantly worse than it would have played if it had not been left sitting idle for that year.

To say it more clearly, let’s take 4 T05s.

1) straight from the factory just after production and directly onto your racket.
2) sitting on a warehouse shelf for 1 year in the packaging and then directly onto your racket.
3) straight from the factory just after production and then you open the package and leave it on a shelf for a year before you put it on your racket.
4) sitting on a shelf in a warehouse for a year, then you open the packaging and put it on a shelf for a year before you put it on your racket.

#1 will play the best BY FAR because there will be the least amount of oxygen exposure to cause the degradation of the rubber molecules and their elasticity.

#2 will Play second best and most of use would be able to tell a clear difference between the two. And most of us, this is what we are getting when we buy a “new” Tenergy. But if you ever feel one straight off the press you will know the difference.

#3 will Play a little worse than #2 but not as much worse as one might think. This is because the packaging for the rubber is not fully air tight so the rubber is still subject to oxidation and number #2 and #3 are out of the factory and off the press for just about the same amount of time.

#4 will Play significantly worse than #2 and #3 because it has been off the press for at least twice as long and has had much more time for the rubber to become less elastic.

For this reason I can never quite understand why people would even think of buying rubbers that someone else, bought, cut and used.

It is even more strange to me when the rubber is a rubber like MXP which starts out boosted where the boost effect only last for a few weeks.

But when you are using old rubbers to save money, I get that. And that is one of the times when boosting can make a lot of sense.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy
 
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I use rubber cement on the rubber (some times blade as well) -- then get a hefty rolling pin and stretch that sum'bitch out! It does quite a lot of stretching using that method. Some times even too far!

Or you can use your finger/thumb to "drag" the rubber toward the edges. This one some times causes bubbles, but you can usually get the rolling pin afterward and flatten any out.

And for me, it saves my wife a step as well. She doesn't have to open up the kitchen drawer and get the rolling pin, it's already out so she can club me with it for cluttering up the kitchen with ping pong paddles!
 
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You may try with solvents containing Toluene, Xylene or just Naphtha.
Or, with some nitrates - better ammonium nitrate.
You may try first to dip in Naphtha for some time, and dip in ammonium nitrate after that - its coagulant features wil fix and strengthen the expanded mold.
If you can't find the exact solvents, you may use some Diesel fuel from a petrol station for the first stage, and some Urea for the second.
Urea is easyer and cheeper.
 
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You may try with solvents containing Toluene, Xylene or just Naphtha.
Or, with some nitrates - better ammonium nitrate.
You may try first to dip in Naphtha for some time, and dip in ammonium nitrate after that - its coagulant features wil fix and strengthen the expanded mold.
If you can't find the exact solvents, you may use some Diesel fuel from a petrol station for the first stage, and some Urea for the second.
Urea is easyer and cheeper.
Do you mean dipping the whole rubber + sponge into the solvent?

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I stretch the rubber with a roller. Boosting in itself won't work. I did the same today (used small Tenergy boosted and stretched onto my old beginner blade (limba-ayous-ayous-ayous-limba, ALL+ speed, great feeling). I will try it on Friday.
How do you stretch it evenly with a roller?

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How do you stretch it evenly with a roller?

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I don't stretch it evenly. I stretch it more in upward-downward direction when I place the rubber on the blade. After it's on the blade, I use the roller to stretch the rubber in every direction. This gives you a 'mechanical boost' effect. This method is certainly bad for the rubber, that's why I am using it only on old rubbers and on spare blades. I use a roller with a grip (like a painting roller, just a more robust construction)
 
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Good one Baal... but the OP might have issues keeping it down. (On the blade)

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Doesn't seem feasible, would have to soak the Viagra in water to dissolve, then apply to the sponge. I have never heard of anyone doing that with Trojan rubber to expand it.
 
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