Blade Lacquering, i haven't done this ,should i and why?

How do you determine which blade would likely require sealing? Does it depend on the surface wood composite? Or is it manufacturer (seems like many Stiga blades need sealing).

Also, you mentioned earlier in your post that the wood will absorb WBG. Is this really a risk? We always wait until the glue is completely dry (no longer in liquid form) before gluing the rubber. Will this still lead to water being absorbed...?

Determining which blade needs sealing is a bit of both surface wood AND manufacturer. As UpSidedownCarl has mentioned: 1 ply Hinoki does not need sealing. Better to be safe than sorry IMO so now I pretty much seal all of my blades composite and all wood. I thought My Rosewood XO with NCT coating wouldn't need sealing but I used Xiom I-Bond glue for the first time on this blade and when I changed the rubbers I noticed 2 tiny splinters embedded in the sponge. I've sealed it since then without this happening again. And yes, overtime wood will absorb the water from WBG and change the playing character of the blade. Also when the glue is drying on the blade I believe that some moisture (water) is being absorbed into the (unsealed) blade while drying. Hope this helps.
 
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Here is the thing. No blade "needs" sealing. Sealing is a choice. Some blades with delicate top plies benefit from sealing. Some blades, particularly certain blades from Stiga, are made in a way that makes it very easy to splinter the top ply. Sealing would be beneficial to the top ply of those blades. Please note: I did not say "need"; some blades would benefit from being sealed.

Some people like to seal all blades. Some people do not like to seal at all for any blade.

A strong wood like Koto probably would not see much benefit from sealing (maybe only a little but not a lot).

Blades with very good build quality like Butterfly blades usually don't benefit that much from sealing.

However, here is the thing about water and wood.

If you take a piece of wood, any wood, any kind (but not sealed) and every ten or so days you pour water on it and let it dry, the water will sink in. Then the water will evaporate and be gone. Now, if you did this just once, it would do a little but not much. But done consistently, over time, it would have an impact on the wood. The water causes the wood to expand and then when it evaporates out of the wood, the wood contracts. The water would cause the plies that had more water to expand more--the top ply would absorb more water from the glue than any other ply. Over time this causes the wood to warp.

I would be willing to bet that a lot of guys who have old blades that are not sealed, if they took their rubbers off and placed them on a flat surface, there would be a certain amount of warping to the wood of the blade so it was not flat. That will impact the blade's performance.

Over time the water sinking into the wood and then evaporating out of the wood, will also cause the wood to have a duller feel. Sometimes that may be wanted and sometimes that may not be wanted. Each person will experience that differently. But over time, that will make the blade slower. Again for one person that may be just what was wanted. And for another that may be the opposite.

Now the reason I said 10 days is, that is about how long many top pros use a rubber before changing (sometimes it is one week, sometimes it is two). So, what I have explained, means that for a pro, after about a year, the performance of their main blade will be diminished enough that they may want a new version of the same blade.

For a normal player, it may take 4-8 years before the blade's performance was changed significantly enough to cause them to want a new blade. And for someone who was using a blade that was initially too crisp or too fast, the water damage that occurs may simply make the blade better for that player.

But sealing would protect the wood a little from the consistent water damage that will happen every time you use a water based glue on your blade.

As far as needing to reseal, if you did the job right the first time, you should never need to do it again. The wood of a patio deck at a beach town resort may need to be finished once a year as the deck is exposed to heat, cold, rain, sea salt over and over. But if you seal your blade with a thin layer of sealant, it should never need more than that unless you use a solvent to remove the sealant.

As far as chips and dings on the edge of your blade: don't worry about them. You don't hit with that part of the blade. If you wanted to put sealant on that part you could. It wouldn't really hold it together though. It would just protect the wood fragments from water damage. Wood that is already damaged is not held together by a sealant. Wood that is not damaged can be protected, in part because the sealant makes it easier to remove the rubber. Too thick a layer of sealant would not be good either because it would impact the way the blade performs.

With the issue of the edge of your blade, one thing to remember is: you usually are trying to hit the ball with some area in the center of the racket. When you hit the edge or, even, within 5mm of the edge, it is usually a mishit and if it does go on the table, an accident and a poor quality shot.
 
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Yes, sealing is a choice. I do it because it adds surface hardness and a certain crispness to my shots. I use 4-5 layers on some blades, none on others.

If you are worried about splinters, do the hybrid gluing method, water based on sponge and speed glue on blade. No splinters at all, even on the the finicky Stiga blades.
 
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Yes, sealing is a choice. I do it because it adds surface hardness and a certain crispness to my shots. I use 4-5 layers on some blades, none on others.

If you are worried about splinters, do the hybrid gluing method, water based on sponge and speed glue on blade. No splinters at all, even on the the finicky Stiga blades.

Interesting... Never heard or thought of this hybrid gluing method. If it really works, it seems like a clever way of not altering the rubber characteristics while at the same time avoiding splintering the wood.
 
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5 layers??? I just bought myself a new blade (Cornilleau Absolum Off+) and for the very first time I decided to seal. I bought the Donic Lacquer and I made a thin layer on both sides. Sunday I glued my rubbers on the blade and monday I went to the club. I felt my rubbers a little dead and when I tried to peal then off from the blade they came out easy like butter. I glued then again yesterday but I´m preatty sure I will have the same problem today.

So I believe the laquer screwed my blade with just one thin layer. How is it possible to use 5 layers of it?
 
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5 layers??? I just bought myself a new blade (Cornilleau Absolum Off+) and for the very first time I decided to seal. I bought the Donic Lacquer and I made a thin layer on both sides. Sunday I glued my rubbers on the blade and monday I went to the club. I felt my rubbers a little dead and when I tried to peal then off from the blade they came out easy like butter. I glued then again yesterday but I´m preatty sure I will have the same problem today.

So I believe the laquer screwed my blade with just one thin layer. How is it possible to use 5 layers of it?

Hi, I have the Absolum too. The blade comes pre-sealed, so adding another layer was not necessary.

Also, Ebony will not splinter. To fix the glue problems, not only did I not varnish it, I actually sanded the original varnish off the blade. Use 1000 grit to get a matte finish without streaks.

As I said, some blades need it, some don't. Yours certain do not.

For the 5 layers, it was an experiment to change playing properties (increase the surface hardness), couldn't care less about splinters. worked pretty well.
 
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Hi, I have the Absolum too. The blade comes pre-sealed, so adding another layer was not necessary.

Also, Ebony will not splinter. To fix the glue problems, not only did I not varnish it, I actually sanded the original varnish off the blade. Use 1000 grit to get a matte finish without streaks.

As I said, some blades need it, some don't. Yours certain do not.

For the 5 layers, it was an experiment to change playing properties (increase the surface hardness), couldn't care less about splinters. worked pretty well.

Are u sure this blades comes pre-sealed? I’m so stupid!!

What if I use thinner?
 
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I don;t think regular paint thinner will remove hardened varnish, never tried. Sandpaper works, why bother?
 
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Any suggestions for sealing a blade that has soft outer ply - like hinoki. Would it affect feeling/performance to a large extent?
 
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Hi guys, i know Carl has already helped me with this, but i am wondering if anyone knows if there is even a need to seal my blade if i am using elmers rubber cement glue on my limba blade?
 
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Hi guys, i know Carl has already helped me with this, but i am wondering if anyone knows if there is even a need to seal my blade if i am using elmers rubber cement glue on my limba blade?
Yes and No. :) The reason to seal it is because you want to. The reason not to seal it is because you don't want to. Even with old school rubber cement (which has VOCs in it and has a speed glue effect....just making sure you know this) you still can damage the topsheet when you pull off the rubbers. But if you do it carefully and take the rubber off parallel to the grain of the wood, it makes it less likely you will damage the top ply regardless of what kind of glue you are using.

 
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