Boosting with baby oil

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If you read and understood some of what BrokenBall wrote, you would probably prefer to use boosters that are proven to work well.

Baby oil does very little; or, if you put a certain amount, it makes the sponge mushy and that does not help in any way. If you take a kitchen sponge and put water on it, it will expand as the pores absorb the water. If you put water on a TT sponge, the water will sink in and cause the sponge to expand. This would also cause the rubber to curl because the topsheet is still the same size while the sponge has expanded. This will not make the rubber play better. In fact, it will make the sponge play worse. You want an oil that evaporates fast enough to make it so that there is more GAS in the pores of the sponge than there was before you applied the booster. This is why Baby Oil can cause the sponge to curl but does not give you a useful boost response.

Try some form of lighter fluid, gasoline, or other highly flammable oil......All would be considered VOCs. Those would work the way speed glue worked. The booster oils on the market work better than baby oil or paraffin oil but worse than Speed Glue or Vulcanizing Glues made to repair tire punctures on bicycles or cars. However, they are pretty bad for your health. :)

Here: knock yourself out:

1) Ronsonol Lighter Fluid

2) Xtra Seal Vulcanizing Cement

This next link is to the original stuff that got people to realize the effects of vulcanizing glue on TT rubbers:

Rema Tip Top Vulcanizing Glue

Have fun. Don't let yourself get high on the fumes from the glue. Each time you inhale this stuff, it kills massive amounts of brain cells. At a certain point, your brain goes into permanent SLOW MODE.
Â

Do those fluids also act as a glue? or do you need a separate glue. I would be interesting to try it, but im worried about the fumes because we have kids in the house.Â

Also Lighter fluid?? Would the rubber catch fire??

 
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Do those fluids also act as a glue? or do you need a separate glue. I would be interesting to try it, but im worried about the fumes because we have kids in the house.Â

Also Lighter fluid?? Would the rubber catch fire??

This is very funny.

The ones that say they are glue, ARE GLUE. So, Vulcanizing Glue is GLUE. Vulcanizing glue is glue used to repair leaks in the tires of CARS and/or BICYCLES. So it is designed to glue rubber to rubber. And is perfect for gluing your TT rubbers to your blade. In fact it was used as speed glue for decades. But it is no against the rules because of the VOCs (Volatile Organic Chemicals) in the glues.

The lighter fluid, if you put it on the sponge and then glue with any glue, the lighter fluid will give a speed glue effect for about 8-15 hours. People used to put that on the sponge and then glue with speed glue to get a bigger speed glue effect.

Would the rubber burn? If you put a match the the rubber it would burn with or without the lighter fluid. With the lighter fluid, it will catch fire faster. But the lighter fluid does not self combust. It needs something to ignite it. So.....wood is flammable.....will it burn? Yes....but only if you cause it to burn.....same with the lighter fluid.

So your question is sort of like asking if you can burn your hand on a stove when the stove is off: "Its a stove, can you touch it? Or will you burn your hand?" :)

 
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But it is no against the rules because of the VOCs (Volatile Organic Chemicals) in the glues.

No, not or now. I assume now.
The lighter fluid, if you put it on the sponge and then glue with any glue, the lighter fluid will give a speed glue effect for about 8-15 hours. People used to put that on the sponge and then glue with speed glue to get a bigger speed glue effect.
Seriously, there is some optimal point where the amount of fumes/gas to liquid is optimal. I still wonder if putting edge tape around the paddle to seal the vapors in would prolong the speed glue effect. VOC molecules are rather big so they shouldn't diffuse through the top sheet well if at all. The gases must be diffusing out around the edge of the paddle through the porous sponge.

BTW, 1 and 2 liter beverage bottles are tested using hydrogen gas. The manufacturers don't want the fizz of the CO2 to dissipate. Hydrogen is used because it is an even smaller molecule and will diffuse through the plastic bottle more rapidly than the CO2. My hint here is that VOCs with bigger gas molecules will not dissipate as quickly as lighter/smaller molecules. So it is good to know what the gas molecules are that are filling the pockets of your paddle. This would be much better than just guessing using trial and error and ruining your rubbers in the process.
 
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No, not or now. I assume now.

Seriously, there is some optimal point where the amount of fumes/gas to liquid is optimal. I still wonder if putting edge tape around the paddle to seal the vapors in would prolong the speed glue effect. VOC molecules are rather big so they shouldn't diffuse through the top sheet well if at all. The gases must be diffusing out around the edge of the paddle through the porous sponge.

BTW, 1 and 2 liter beverage bottles are tested using hydrogen gas. The manufacturers don't want the fizz of the CO2 to dissipate. Hydrogen is used because it is an even smaller molecule and will diffuse through the plastic bottle more rapidly than the CO2. My hint here is that VOCs with bigger gas molecules will not dissipate as quickly as lighter/smaller molecules. So it is good to know what the gas molecules are that are filling the pockets of your paddle. This would be much better than just guessing using trial and error and ruining your rubbers in the process.
Yeah. Typo. "But it is NOW against the rules....."

And Michael, who seems so intent on research into rubbers and boosting techniques should know that all boosting is against the rules. As long as you know that, I don't really care whether you boost or not. :)

But what BrokenBall is saying here about the size of the molecules that evaporate into gasses from the VOC oils is very useful information. Also the idea of edge tape that covers the sides of the sponge. :)

Just don't light a match to see how fast your racket will burn after adding those wonderful smelling chemicals to your sponge. :)

 
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Also Lighter fluid?? Would the rubber catch fire??
I guess one more thing with this. It is worth understanding, the oils that will give you a boost effect are oils that evaporate over time. Any oil that gives you a good boost effect is decently flammable. So, those Vulcanizing Glues (one of them has the title "Cement" but that is like "rubber cement", so it is glue), they have warnings on them of hazardous chemicals, fumes, and flammability.

 
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Also Lighter fluid?? Would the rubber catch fire??
I guess one more thing with this. It is worth understanding, the oils that will give you a boost effect are oils that evaporate over time. Any oil that gives you a good boost effect is decently flammable. So, those Vulcanizing Glues (one of them has the title "Cement" but that is like "rubber cement", so it is glue), they have warnings on them of hazardous chemicals, fumes, and flammability.

 
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I guess one more thing with this. It is worth understanding, the oils that will give you a boost effect are oils that evaporate over time. Any oil that gives you a good boost effect is decently flammable. So, those Vulcanizing Glues (one of them has the title "Cement" but that is like "rubber cement", so it is glue), they have warnings on them of hazardous chemicals, fumes, and flammability.

Yes I know its illegal in tournaments. I dont play that seriously, so just looking to toy around with whatever rubbers are around.

Is the elmers Rubber Cement itself similar as a booster as those vulcanizing tire cement?

 
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Yes I know its illegal in tournaments. I dont play that seriously, so just looking to toy around with whatever rubbers are around.

Is the elmers Rubber Cement itself similar as a booster as those vulcanizing tire cement?

A regular rubber cement will have a small boost effect. The original regular table tennis glues from before speed glue were basically the same as the formula for Elmers Rubber Cement. The vulcanizing versions have a lot more of the chemical solvents (the oils that are flammable and cause the evaporating gasses to fill the pores of the sponge).

Back in the 1970s (I think it was late 70s but could have been mid-70s or it could have been early 80s) someone did not have the regular glue for rubbers and decided to use the glue from a tire repair kit and found out that it made the rubber play A LOT BETTER. That was how they discovered that those vulcanizing glues had a speed glue effect. Then TT companies started marketing the stuff with the title "Speed Glue."








'

 
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A regular rubber cement will have a small boost effect. The original regular table tennis glues from before speed glue were basically the same as the formula for Elmers Rubber Cement. The vulcanizing versions have a lot more of the chemical solvents (the oils that are flammable and cause the evaporating gasses to fill the pores of the sponge).

Back in the 1970s (I think it was late 70s but could have been mid-70s or it could have been early 80s) someone did not have the regular glue for rubbers and decided to use the glue from a tire repair kit and found out that it made the rubber play A LOT BETTER. That was how they discovered that those vulcanizing glues had a speed glue effect. Then TT companies started marketing the stuff with the title "Speed Glue."








'

If the vulcanizing cement had a better effect, why did the early speed glue use a formula similar to rubber cement? Why wouldnt they just go ahead and use the vulcanizing glue.

 
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If the vulcanizing cement had a better effect, why did the early speed glue use a formula similar to rubber cement? Why wouldnt they just go ahead and use the vulcanizing glue.

I am not sure you understood what you read.

The original regular glue was like regular rubber cement. The original speed glue was simply the same formula as vulcanizing glue.

 
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SHELL PETROLEUM is the mother of ESN tensor rubbers.

Original tensored rubber by ESN is a complex vulcanizate. Mineral oils is the very agent to make the tensor rubbers bouncy as hell. The German branch of SHELL PETROLEUM company is known to supply mineral oils for ESN rubber manufacture.
It is a dirty cheap product derivative of natural petroleum.
 
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I am not sure you understood what you read.

The original regular glue was like regular rubber cement. The original speed glue was simply the same formula as vulcanizing glue.

Â

Ill try to take a video today if I can. Also, I was just curious to see, so I tried to put the elmers rubber cement on 2 of my rubbers (both had light layer of baby oil from before). To my surprise, both domed up quite a lot after applying the rubber cement. Based on what you said, its not supposed to be much of a speed glue, but why did it cause both rubbers to dome? Maybe the combination of previous baby oil caused it to dome? But anyways, it domed and became very supple.Â

 
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See here
IMG_20211007_151622.jpg

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Just to be sure i wasnt imagining things, i applied a 2nd layer of elmers rubber cement, and it domed even more. You can see the far bigger angle

IMG_20211007_152158.jpg
 
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The doming isn't everything. I promise, a real speed glue gives you much more effect than regular rubber cement. :)

And with speed glue or rubber cement, you don't wait before you attach the rubber. You glue and when the glue dries, as soon as the glue dries, you attach the rubber.
 
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The doming isn't everything. I promise, a real speed glue gives you much more effect than regular rubber cement. :)

And with speed glue or rubber cement, you don't wait before you attach the rubber. You glue and when the glue dries, as soon as the glue dries, you attach the rubber.

you don't wait before you attach the rubber. You glue and when the glue dries, as soon as the glue dries, you attach the rubber. ?????????

and it sticks to the paddle even though the rubber is domed ????

 
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