Restoring Tackiness

**Hurricane_boss** · 10-17-2017

Hi everyone, I am currently using a Hurricane 3 commercial, and I know DHS rubbers are known to lose tackiness overtime but I was wondering if applying oil would restore tack to it. However currently I can still lift the ball up for about 10 cm into the air. My friend tried the putting oil on his rubber and it actually kinda worked, ( but I think he had European rubber) I just wanna know if I should try too. Thanks

**SFF_lib** · 10-17-2017

Prevention is the key. After each session, clean your hurricane with just water. Leave a few drops of water on it, put a NON-adhesive protective sheet on it. Press on it so that few drops of water get evenly spread out without bubbles. Leave it for at least 24hrs.

When you peel off the sheet you would notice how sticky it is.

If you do this every time, your hurricane will last at least a year.

Passionate about TT

**Hurricane_boss** · 10-17-2017

Originally Posted by SFF_lib

Prevention is the key. After each session, clean your hurricane with just water. Leave a few drops of water on it, put a NON-adhesive protective sheet on it. Press on it so that few drops of water get evenly spread out without bubbles. Leave it for at least 24hrs.

When you peel off the sheet you would notice how sticky it is.

If you do this every time, your hurricane will last at least a year.

Passionate about TT

WOW!! DUDE! YOU ARE LITERALLY THE MOST HELPFUL GUY EVER!!!! YOU RESPONDED TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY POSTS WITH EXCELLENT ANSWERS AND WELL EXPLAINED!! WE NEED MORE PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET LIKE YOU!

edit: lol that was a little too dramatic but oh well XD

**Clu37** · 10-17-2017

I've been using my TG3 Skyline Neo for almost a year. Basically, make sure you clean it with water and a cloth only, let it dry, then rub it against your arm until it feels tacky and store it in your bat case. During practice/gameplay, occasionally rub it onto your arm or breathe on it and rub it on your arm to remove any dust, etc. Really works for me and it's still very tacky. I don't really see the use of a non-adhesive sheet or any oils or cleaners. Perhaps the non-adhesive sheet might help somewhat, but I personally don't think it expands a rubbers longevity. I have a tenergy that I OCCASIONALLY washed with water and lasted around a year and a half to almost two years before I started seeing that it was losing its grip and it was not good enough for me to use anymore, but it still has enough grip. Moved onto MX-P and Skyline since then and both are still like-new regarding grip. Wash it every time you play, let it dry and rub it until it feels tacky; that's about it for me.

**Der_Echte** · 10-18-2017

Do a good clean, however you like. If REALLY grimy dirty, do a wash with lemon juice / olive oil...

Wipe dry rubber with damp cloth, then put on your protective sheet right away, leave on over night. Next day, rubber will be tacky again.

If you want extra tacky, rub a lot of olive oil on topsheet and put on protective plastic sheet right away while it is still wet. Leave on a few days, rubber will be insane.

**Hurricane_boss** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by SFF_lib

Prevention is the key. After each session, clean your hurricane with just water. Leave a few drops of water on it, put a NON-adhesive protective sheet on it. Press on it so that few drops of water get evenly spread out without bubbles. Leave it for at least 24hrs.

When you peel off the sheet you would notice how sticky it is.

If you do this every time, your hurricane will last at least a year.

Passionate about TT

actually, I dont have any non adhesive protective sheet, so what should I do? Also, why only a year?

**Der_Echte** · 10-18-2017

HB,

It is possible to use the same plastic you use to wrap food, like sandwiches. That is also a good way to store rubbers after taking them off.

**Suga D** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by Hurricane_boss

actually, I dont have any non adhesive protective sheet, so what should I do? Also, why only a year?

Most rubbers last about 3 - 6 months, depending on how often you play. Many will “lose their life“ even sooner, so a year is quite a long time...

**UpSideDownCarl** · 10-18-2017

A plastic sheet actually helps a tacky rubber keep restore its tackiness. Any plastic sheet is fine. The plastic sheets from report covers will work. And any plastic sheet will work. What Der_Echte said about the plastic you wrap food with, it will work. So will a plastic bag for storing food. But the firm plastic from a report cover is what I like to use.

If your rubbers are still tacky, adding oil is not really something you should do though. When they start losing their tackiness, then adding some oil will cause the rubber to restore some of the tackiness. I would use mineral oil or baby oil rather than olive oil or vegetable oil. Vegetable oils will do something. But mineral oil will actually be better for the rubber. WD40 also works.

One more thing about oil: don't use too much: a certain amount added to the topsheet will help restore tackiness. A certain amount added to the sponge will cause the sponge to have a little more responsiveness for a few weeks. But too much oil can cause the glue where the topsheet is attached to the sponge to dissolve and then you get bubbles. You can get this from putting too much oil on the topsheet or the sponge separately. If you do both, you run a higher risk of bubbles in the topsheet. Also, don't add oil too frequently. More than once a month, after a while can cause the rubber to stop performing and to weigh too much from how much oil has been added. In the short term, oil seems to make the rubber more elastic. In the long run, oil causes the rubber to oxidize faster and become less elastic faster. So it is something to use on a topsheet when your rubber is already losing grip. Not when it is still performing well enough.

While just cleaning, the way Clu37 suggests will be much better than not cleaning, the plastic sheet actually does help tacky rubbers keep that tackiness. It has to do with how the tacky rubber will stick to the plastic.

One year: While the tackiness of the topsheet is part of what makes a H3 rubber tick, so is the sponge. Rubber molecules oxidize and break down over time. A year is a good long time to use a rubber. Longer than a year is kind of a surprising amount of time. I know Der_Echte has had some rubbers that he used for over two years. But as the rubber oxidizes and breaks down, it becomes less elastic and does less stretching and rebounding. So even if you are thinking the rubber is providing enough grip. It probably won't be doing all the things a rubber should do to help you spin the ball.

Not everyone can tell when a rubber is actually dead. But when a decently high level player picks up your racket and hits with it and says, "your rubber is dead and using this could mess with your technique. You should think about getting new rubber," they may know what they are talking about.

So the actual answer to your poll is that, whether you should add oil to your topsheet or not depends on how the rubber is actually performing currently.

And, it sounds like your rubber still grabs to ball well so, NO, you should not use oil yet.

**UpSideDownCarl** · 10-18-2017

These work well:

That is two uncut plastic sheets from report covers and one sheet that has been cut that I am holding up. This kind of plastic sheet really is helpful to the life and tackiness of a tacky rubber like H3.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

**OhWell** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by UpSideDownCarl

These work well:

That is two uncut plastic sheets from report covers and one sheet that has been cut that I am holding up. This kind of plastic sheet really is helpful to the life and tackiness of a tacky rubber like H3.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

Carl, do report cover sheets work well for non tacky rubbers as well, or will they not stick to them?

**MohdHafiz** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by UpSideDownCarl

These work well:

That is two uncut plastic sheets from report covers and one sheet that has been cut that I am holding up. This kind of plastic sheet really is helpful to the life and tackiness of a tacky rubber like H3.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

Yes..I also use this plastic to cover my h3 and 05fx..

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

**UpSideDownCarl** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by OhWell

Carl, do report cover sheets work well for non tacky rubbers as well, or will they not stick to them?

They are okay on non tacky rubbers. I use them and I don't play with tacky rubbers anymore. They are enough. But it is not the same thing. For non tacky rubbers they simply protect the topsheet from air and therefore oxygen. With tacky rubbers, the tacky rubber topsheet really sticks to them and somehow makes itself a little more tacky. If you cleaned a tacky rubber that was losing its tack and put one of these on and left it for a month, without doing anything else, it would be a lot tackier than it had been when it was losing its tack. It won't do that for a non tacky rubber.

**suds79** · 10-18-2017

Carl, Where do you get your report sheets? I like my plastic sheets to have some thickness & firmness also.

Walmart? Some office store?

**darucla** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by Clu37

I've been using my TG3 Skyline Neo for almost a year. Basically, make sure you clean it with water and a cloth only, let it dry, then rub it against your arm until it feels tacky and store it in your bat case. During practice/gameplay, occasionally rub it onto your arm or breathe on it and rub it on your arm to remove any dust, etc. Really works for me and it's still very tacky. I don't really see the use of a non-adhesive sheet or any oils or cleaners. Perhaps the non-adhesive sheet might help somewhat, but I personally don't think it expands a rubbers longevity. I have a tenergy that I OCCASIONALLY washed with water and lasted around a year and a half to almost two years before I started seeing that it was losing its grip and it was not good enough for me to use anymore, but it still has enough grip. Moved onto MX-P and Skyline since then and both are still like-new regarding grip. Wash it every time you play, let it dry and rub it until it feels tacky; that's about it for me.

Breathing on the rubber and rubbing it with hand during a match will work, and you see the pros doing it all the time. However, this is how I discovered that I have an allergy to latex. So I now try to avoid touching the rubber as much as possible. To clean during matches, I use breath and rub against my TT shirt. Must be the artificial fibre sort. To clean a very dirty topsheet, I used to use water and rub with hand method, which is effective, but still, allergy. So now I use literally a drop or two of olive oil, which I spread over the sheet and remove almost immediately with a lint-free cloth. This removes all the dust and with plastic covers attached, the rubber will be fine for next use.

Plastic covers are sent as "gifts" with almost any purchase of a rubber on Aliexpress incidentally.

**OhWell** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by UpSideDownCarl

They are okay on non tacky rubbers. I use them and I don't play with tacky rubbers anymore. They are enough. But it is not the same thing. For non tacky rubbers they simply protect the topsheet from air and therefore oxygen. With tacky rubbers, the tacky rubber topsheet really sticks to them and somehow makes itself a little more tacky. If you cleaned a tacky rubber that was losing its tack and put one of these on and left it for a month, without doing anything else, it would be a lot tackier than it had been when it was losing its tack. It won't do that for a non tacky rubber.

That makes sense. I guess I was wondering more specifically whether they stick to the non tacky rubbers well enough to protect the rubbers - eg while in a case.

**UpSideDownCarl** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by OhWell

That makes sense. I guess I was wondering more specifically whether they stick to the non tacky rubbers well enough to protect the rubbers - eg while in a case.

You have to press them on, and the rubber has to be clean. But they will stick. I will see if I can post a video of me peeling off and putting on when I get a chance.

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**Hurricane_boss** · 10-18-2017

hi all,

I just realized that my rubber DOES NOT lift the ball up for 10 CM, but more like 4!! so should I use oil? And if I should, would a magazine work as a protective sheet?

**UpSideDownCarl** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by Hurricane_boss

hi all,

I just realized that my rubber DOES NOT lift the ball up for 10 CM, but more like 4!! so should I use oil? And if I should, would a magazine work as a protective sheet?

No. If your rubber picks up the ball you don’t need it. So the actual question is: why do you want to do it?

If you want, you CAN add oil. But you do not need to.

And you don’t need something like a magazine. If you put so much oil on that it spills off the topsheet, you have used too much.

So, why do you want to add oil? What makes you want to try it? If it is to experiment to see how it works, it is fine. But it will, ultimately, make the rubber wear out faster. So if you want the rubber to last as long as possible, then you should wait till the tackiness is not strong enough to pick the ball up.

And since you are asking about why a rubber lasts for “only” a year, then you should not use oil just yet.

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**UpSideDownCarl** · 10-18-2017

Originally Posted by suds79

Carl, Where do you get your report sheets? I like my plastic sheets to have some thickness & firmness also.

Walmart? Some office store?

I have a client who is a trader. He had 100s of stock reports that had these covers. I just took the covers and chucked the reports.

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