My experience with Copydex

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Hello fellow TTD'ers,

I would like to share my experiences so far with Copydex glue.

A short time ago I bought a Yasaka Sweden Extra blade with Yasaka Rakza 7 soft rubbers. That's gonna be my second blade ever, I started to play table tennis not that long ago. Since I expect to be playing many more years, building my own racket is something I'd like to learn. I ordered a bottle of Copydex, a nice amount of glue that leaves some room for experimenting. Since I don't have any experience with gluing rubbers yet, it seemed convenient to me to be able to easily remove the rubbers and peel off the glue in case of a failed glue job.

When it comes to Copydex - and gluing in general - there's a lot of different opinions. I gathered some information but realized I really had to do some experiments myself. The glue itself isn't too thick, but it seems to dry quite a bit faster than the dedicated table tennis glues. Diluting the glue would increase the drying time, so at first I diluted a little bit of glue in a 4 (glue) :1 (distilled water) ratio. The glue became pretty watery and after shaking the jar where I've diluted the glue in, pretty large bubbles appeared. I tried the glue on some pieces of plywood and the bond was pretty strong. Also, the increased drying time because of diluting the glue would give you enough time to apply an even layer of glue on the blade and rubbers. Anyway, I think in this ratio the glue is just too watery.

After that I made a small batch of the glue in a 10:1 ratio. Of course the glue became less runny than before, but after shaking again some (small) bubbles were formed on the surface. Again tested the glue on some plywood, strong bond again but it was a bit easier to peel off the glue after seperating the two pieces of plywood I've glued together. I found out some other waterbased glues also showed some bubbles after shaking the bottle. In this ratio I liked the glue more, so I decided to use it to glue the rubbers. Afterwards I also made a bit of glue in an 8:1 ratio, but that didn't seem to differ that much.

Then the gluing itself. I decided to apply 3 layers on the rubber and 2 layers on the blade. I used a small teaspoon to measure the amount of glue I applied each time. The first layer on the sponge took 3 teaspoons. In a 10:1 ratio you have plenty of time to apply the glue, no need to hurry because of drying too fast. The second and third layer took 2 teaspoons, I guess that's because on the first layer more glue got absorbed by the sponge. It was easy to spread the glue to get a nice, even layer.

Then the blade, that caused some troubles at the beginning. The first layer on the blade wasn't a problem, but the second layer caused some issues. I have a Yasaka Sweden Extra blade and on the side with the print on it, the glue started to clump at the letters 'EXTRA', despite the glue looking to be dried. I had to start over several times, but the last time I just waited longer to be sure. I ended up waiting like an hour before I applied the second layer, and that did the trick. I'm not entirely sure what exactly caused this, since only at 'EXTRA' it started to clump. At the last attempt, I also spreaded the glue in another direction (vertical), I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. For your information, my blade is sealed with a very thin layer of Polyurethane. I don't expect the same issue with the other side since there's no print on it.

Because it took a while before I got the second layer applied to the blade, the rubber was resting for a while which caused the rubber to curl a bit. Not sure if this happens with other glues as well. Eventually I glued the rubber to the blade and it looked ok (I think). Unfortunately it isn't perfect. I haven't cut the rubber yet because I'm still considering to redo it. When it comes to things like this, minor flaws can annoy me. I used a roller for the rubber. On several video's I see people first completely laying down the rubber on the blade and then start to use the roller. I applied some pressure with the roller while laying down the rubber, I'm not sure which method has your preferences.

I think if the rubber could be put on the blade before it started to curl, it would have been better. Now I put some books on it, hopefully it can fix things a bit. I'll add a picture because I'm curious to your opinions.

I have noticed that it's better to put a little but too much glue on the blade/rubber than just not enough glue. If the layer is too thin and you keep continuing to spread the glue with a sponge, the glue starts to clump. If enough or a little bit too much glue, then you have time enough to spread it. If there's a bit too much glue on it, just use the other side of the sponge you use to apply the glue and the residue will be absorbed by it.

As you could read, I had to start over again several times. Removing the old glue is really easy. It can be peeled off in one piece. So in a 10:1 ratio, the glue isn't too watery to peel off at once.

Here's a picture of the glue job. I wonder if you would redo it if this was your result.

IMG_20161024_120706.jpg

I know this is a long read, but hopefully some information is useful to you. Any tips whatsoever are more than welcome.




 
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Wturber at mytt also once recommended adding a trace amount of ammonia to Tearmender to slow the drying. Some TT glues clearly do that since I can smell the ammonia. Just another variable.

From the photo you posted, it seemed like an excellent glue job. Better than I ever got with Tearmender, but I wouldn't have the patience for your procedure.
 
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Thank you Baal, that's good to hear.

You also just helped me reminding that the glue I've used, has been diluted with ammonia solution (which is an ammonia solution in water). I forgot to mention that. I think it was you that wrote that ammonia also prevents the glue from clumping, so diluting the glue with ammonia solution seemed a good idea to me.
 
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depends on the blade i eyeball the amount and put more on the rubber than blade, also somtimes 2 layers, i get a perfect glue job imho on my TBS but on my sealed blades they often peel at the edges VERY easily.

That's something to keep in mind, saves some time and when the result is just as good, why not. Although I don't mind to use a time consuming method (if that leads to better results), in relation to the amount of hours you play with the rubbers it still is absolutely nothing.

Right now the bond seems to be more than strong enough on the edges, hopefully it will stay that way. What do you use to seal your blades? I use a very thin layer of thinned Polyurethane.
 
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That's something to keep in mind, saves some time and when the result is just as good, why not. Although I don't mind to use a time consuming method (if that leads to better results), in relation to the amount of hours you play with the rubbers it still is absolutely nothing.

Right now the bond seems to be more than strong enough on the edges, hopefully it will stay that way. What do you use to seal your blades? I use a very thin layer of thinned Polyurethane.
similar sealant but i think i need to roughen it slightly? i didn't seal most blades i own tbs isnt sealed as far as im aware (i got second hand from myTT) but copydex is a relatively weak glue so im not too worried
 
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similar sealant but i think i need to roughen it slightly? i didn't seal most blades i own tbs isnt sealed as far as im aware (i got second hand from myTT) but copydex is a relatively weak glue so im not too worried

I didn't sand anything, although when I have to glue other things, I sand the parts. I don't have any experience with removing rubbers, so I can't tell you what the chances are of damaging the blade with Copydex and other waterbased glues.
 
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Although the bond seemed strong enough the first few days, now I experienced the same as passifid. Near the edges the rubber came loose. I guess that means regluing. I think it would be a good idea to sand the surface a little bit with a piece of very fine sandpaper. What grit sandpaper do you use for that?

Since the rubber curled, I was wondering if there's a way to flatten it without applying booster.
 
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Wow that's pretty exhaustive :) Personnally, I use one layer of copydex on the rubber and one on the blade, let them dry, and then apply. Gives a fairly decent result, it's important not to put too much glue though. I always add a bit of water inside the glue to make it easier to apply, but not that much, I have no idea of the water/glue ratio.

By the way, is your copydex coming with the "new formula" on the label ? I found this one far better (much easier to remove the glue from the rubber afterwards).
 
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On my bottle it doesn't say 'new formula'. I have the 250ml square bottle.

Well I just checked and the exact label is "new improved formulation". I found this one to be much easier to peel off the rubber afterwards. Otherwise, both formulations work fine but I tend to prefer the "new improved formulation" ones now.
 
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