Hey guys! I just put my new H3 provincial blue sponge on my H301 blade, and when I peeled the protection sheet off, I did a tackiness test. For the first 30 seconds I was very surprised at how tacky it was. The ball would only bounce twice and get stuck and when I flip my racket, the ball stayed on the topsheet. But one minute later, when I found out that there was a little bit of dust on the topsheet, I breathed on it and wipe the rubber. Then, suddenly, I have no idea why the tackiness decreased! The ball would now bounce 4-5 times!!! (well the last 3 are micro bounces) I panicked and cut a piece of a magazine out and put it on the rubber. Pros plz help me is this normal??? And when I take off the magazine page will it be as tacky as it was before??? Thanks, Im having EJ anxiety right now lol.
1) H3 is not a very tacky rubber comparatively. There are much tackier rubbers.
2) DHS tacky rubbers are EXTREMELY vulnerable to even slight moisture. All the tackiness will go away quickly and you got a brick. If your club is not well aired and/or if you live in a warm humid place, DHS tacky rubbers aren't for you. If you want the tackiest modern rubber that's, to an extent, moisture-resistant, order a 729 Battle II. There's also the 999, but it is an older, heavier, very slow rubber.
3) Yes you need to clean the rubber. But don't use any sponges or any shit like that. Tiny fibers from whatever you use to clean it with will adhere to the rubber and ultimately after a while you'll just be rubbing dirt and fibers from the sponge to the rubber and back.
To clean your tacky rubber, put 2 drops of water on the rubber and then rub it vigorously with the palm of your hand (very fast back-forth motions with your palm on the rubber, like when you rub your hands together for heat). This will cause bits of fiber and dirt to wad up into bigger clumps that will then be easier to remove (either wipe them off with the side of your hand or put another drop of water on and rub vigorously and fast again until the rubber is mostly dirt-free).
Touch the rubber with the back of your finger. Does it stick and make an 'ungluing' sound when you pull the finger off? Good. If not, it is still a bit too moist. Wipe it again with your hand.
Then put a non-adhesive plastic rubber protector on it and you're done. You can get those on ali-express for like 0.3 dollars each, but you also get them free whenever you order a rubber/blade on ali express. It is customary for most stores to gift you these. When you cover the rubber make sure it is entirely covered (the edges are important!) and without any air bubbles.
4) Another tip for tackier rubbers is to have 2 blades with tacky rubbers and let one rest with the protector sheet on for a few weeks as you use the other. Then switch and let the first one rest. This rebuilds the tackiness. I'm not exactly sure why, but from experience this works. Perhaps it's also to do with the humid environment of where I live.
So for example use one racket for a few weeks and then when you have a competition switch rackets and you'll have the spin of the gods again.