Rubbers are not sticking well on my blade

[deepanmania]

Hi guys,
Rubbers are not properly sticking on my forehand side. Earlier I was using Rakza 7 on my forehand, and it never glued well on my blade (I reglued it 3 times, never stuck properly), I thought it was my glue issue and the rubber was gone.
So till its life, I've managed to use it only on its sweet spots avoiding the dead corners. Today I've changed my rubbers to Dignics 05 both FH & BH.
Again I'm facing the same issue with my D05 on the forehand side at the same spots, the BH side is fine. The rubber is not sticking well.
I've read a few forums and those are suggesting me to sand the top of the ply to make it rough before glueing it.
Has anyone else here faced this issue?
Can someone help/guide me on what to do? I'm so depressed now since my D05 is expensive

 

[Arkady]

Is your blade sealed with a varnish? That's a very common reason for rubbers not sticking to the blade.
What will actually do the trick, is use glue sheets instead of glue.

Tibhar Self Adhesive Film Duo | Tabletennis11.com (TT11)

www.tabletennis11.com

I use them instead of glue and never had a problem.

 

[Topspinslinger]

I never had this problem, I use Gewo hydrotec. One layer on rubber on small layer on blade. Get a glue remover sponge and you can easily re-use the rubbers. No splinters no trouble

 

[deepanmania]

Is your blade sealed with a varnish? That's a very common reason for rubbers not sticking to the blade.
What will actually do the trick, is use glue sheets instead of glue.

Tibhar Self Adhesive Film Duo | Tabletennis11.com (TT11)

www.tabletennis11.com

I use them instead of glue and never had a problem.

I'm not sure whether it's sealed or not. Are you sure that glue sheets will fix this issue or Do I need to remove the sealant on top of the ply first?

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

I have experienced this issue, when the blade is sealed to a certain degree and I have stretched the rubber onto the blade by rolling the rubber on with too much pressure. It has also happened to me when the rubber is boosted and has a reverse dome. Given that applying pressure to the rubber to stretch it onto the blade has the effect of increasing the amount of stretch towards the top of the rubber, it will peel from the top as that is where the rubber is the most stretched. I will second the glue sheet idea, but I will also caution that glue sheets tend to have a strong bond to the wood, and that sometimes they will cause splintering if you are not careful when removing the rubber

 

[Arkady]

I'm not sure whether it's sealed or not. Are you sure that glue sheets will fix this issue or Do I need to remove the sealant on top of the ply first?

Yes I'm pretty sure glue sheets will fix the issue.
Some years ago with a sealed SK7 blade that rubbers wouldn't stick with normal glue, glue sheets did the trick.

 

[deepanmania]

Yes I'm pretty sure glue sheets will fix the issue.
Some years ago with a sealed SK7 blade that rubbers wouldn't stick with normal glue, glue sheets did the trick.

Thanks, buddy, will try.

 

[deepanmania]

I have experienced this issue, when the blade is sealed to a certain degree and I have stretched the rubber onto the blade by rolling the rubber on with too much pressure. It has also happened to me when the rubber is boosted and has a reverse dome. Given that applying pressure to the rubber to stretch it onto the blade has the effect of increasing the amount of stretch towards the top of the rubber, it will peel from the top as that is where the rubber is the most stretched. I will second the glue sheet idea, but I will also caution that glue sheets tend to have a strong bond to the wood, and that sometimes they will cause splintering if you are not careful when removing the rubber

Sure, thanks for your input dude. I will try again with normal glue before ordering a glue sheet.

 

[Scarfed Garchomp]

Sure, thanks for your input dude. I will try again with normal glue before ordering a glue sheet.

I'll suggest trying 2 layers of glue on the rubber instead of 1, and to set something heavy and flat on top of the racket for 24hr after assembly to see if it allows the glue to stick a bit better.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

If there is vanish, there is no pores for the glue to get into and there won't be a bond, so you need to rough it up with sand paper and get some pores in the varnish

Feel with your fingers if the surface is smooth or not.
pretty certain it is a varnished surface, unless you have a terrible gluing story to tell

 

[WingTT]

What made you rule out the glue being the issue? What glue are you using? I have used glues that don't work very well and have not had issues since I switched to other types/brand of glues. Use the good glues and make sure you are gluing correctly. Always let the glue dry clear naturally (do not force it with a hair dryer). I recommend Copydex if it it availabe cheaply to you or Donic Formula First. These two have been reliable for me and I only needed one layer on each surface.

 

[deepanmania]

What made you rule out the glue being the issue? What glue are you using? I have used glues that don't work very well and have not had issues since I switched to other types/brand of glues. Use the good glues and make sure you are gluing correctly. Always let the glue dry clear naturally (do not force it with a hair dryer). I recommend Copydex if it it availabe cheaply to you or Donic Formula First. These two have been reliable for me and I only needed one layer on each surface.

@Tony's Table Tennis Ha ha I didn't glue. Basically, I got it from a shop assembled with my new rubbers and that shop owner is a reputed one.
The same issue happened with my previous rubber on the same side and in the same spot. That's why I've ruled out the glue for this issue.

 

[WingTT]

The shop may be reputable but glue can go bad or they can get bad batches. If it was an issue you should be able to go back to the shop and tell them they need to redo your racket and tell them to use new glue.

 

[JJ Ng]

A few comments:

1) Rakza 7 (or at least the sof version) is known to have trouble being glued to my blade. I have wasted a couple good sheets here and there due to that issue. So you are not alone. I have glued Tenergy, Dignics, Xiom Vega, Gewo, Victas, Donic rubbers without a problem.

2) Domed up Hurricanes are also especially hard to glue to the blade, especially the neo version. That layer of pre-applied glue actually makes it harder to glue the rubber to the blade! (side note, I also had a terrible time gluing Friendship Battle II provincial blue sponge as well). However, when you take the rubber off in the future, and not take off the pre-existing glue and just put one more layer of booster on it, it become so much easier to put the rubber back on the blade for the second time in a month or so.

3) It is the laquer problem. I have no issues with blades that are not lacquered. Unfortunately my favorite brand of blades is Gambler right now and every single blade came pre-laquered.

4) I put two layers of glue on the blade and three layers of glue on all rubbers now.

5) Butterfly Chack Pro II works much better than Revolution Nr 3. Trust me on this one.

6) When everything else fails, go back to using volatile glue (i.e. like the old speed glue and NOT the new VOC, water based glue). I have a bottle right now. I have not used it yet. However, I heard from some souces, many table tennis shops use the volatile glue when you ask them to pre-assemble the blade and rubber before they arrive in the mail for you. I can see that being an easy solution. If you are not competing internationally or eager to compete right away after you glue, volatile glue is fine.

7) I have not used a glue sheet but I can see how that could be an excellent solution.

 

[deepanmania]

A few comments:

1) Rakza 7 (or at least the sof version) is known to have trouble being glued to my blade. I have wasted a couple good sheets here and there due to that issue. So you are not alone. I have glued Tenergy, Dignics, Xiom Vega, Gewo, Victas, Donic rubbers without a problem.

2) Domed up Hurricanes are also especially hard to glue to the blade, especially the neo version. That layer of pre-applied glue actually makes it harder to glue the rubber to the blade! (side note, I also had a terrible time gluing Friendship Battle II provincial blue sponge as well). However, when you take the rubber off in the future, and not take off the pre-existing glue and just put one more layer of booster on it, it become so much easier to put the rubber back on the blade for the second time in a month or so.

3) It is the laquer problem. I have no issues with blades that are not lacquered. Unfortunately my favorite brand of blades is Gambler right now and every single blade came pre-laquered.

4) I put two layers of glue on the blade and three layers of glue on all rubbers now.

5) Butterfly Chack Pro II works much better than Revolution Nr 3. Trust me on this one.

6) When everything else fails, go back to using volatile glue (i.e. like the old speed glue and NOT the new VOC, water based glue). I have a bottle right now. I have not used it yet. However, I heard from some souces, many table tennis shops use the volatile glue when you ask them to pre-assemble the blade and rubber before they arrive in the mail for you. I can see that being an easy solution. If you are not competing internationally or eager to compete right away after you glue, volatile glue is fine.

7) I have not used a glue sheet but I can see how that could be an excellent solution.

I've reglued the Dignics 05 with the same guy, he showed me the issue with the blade. Bubble started with the same area once he rolled the rubber in. The rest of the places, it's holding fine. I have to trust that guy since in a day he is at least assembling 15-20 table tennis rackets.
I got this blade from my friend, I've shown him this issue and I'm gonna return this blade to him. He will refund me back.
Now planning to buy a new blade and glue these new rubbers on that. 😫

 

[impluse101]

If there is vanish, there is no pores for the glue to get into and there won't be a bond, so you need to rough it up with sand paper and get some pores in the varnish

Feel with your fingers if the surface is smooth or not.
pretty certain it is a varnished surface, unless you have a terrible gluing story to tell

I experience the same issue prior, so I do sand it out a bit but most of the time i think I'm sanding the surface itslef not the lacquer anymore lol

 

[TensorBackhand]

Hi guys,
Rubbers are not properly sticking on my forehand side. Earlier I was using Rakza 7 on my forehand, and it never glued well on my blade (I reglued it 3 times, never stuck properly), I thought it was my glue issue and the rubber was gone.
So till its life, I've managed to use it only on its sweet spots avoiding the dead corners. Today I've changed my rubbers to Dignics 05 both FH & BH.
Again I'm facing the same issue with my D05 on the forehand side at the same spots, the BH side is fine. The rubber is not sticking well.
I've read a few forums and those are suggesting me to sand the top of the ply to make it rough before glueing it.
Has anyone else here faced this issue?
Can someone help/guide me on what to do? I'm so depressed now since my D05 is expensive

Did you put glue on rubber and blade?

 

[Der_Echte]

Some glues are stronger than others, so some may come off soon, especially if the top veneer of the blade is naturally smooth, or even worse, was varnished.

A few light scratching with course sandpaper will make it way easier for the same glue to make good adhesion.

Of course, if you are bold and want to permanently fix this issue, see if Gorilla Glue is available in your market.

 

[Gtsnake]

My blades are all sealed with polyurethane and I don't have any problems gluing down rubber. Even when boosted. I use Donic Blue. Its an excellent glue. I used to have all sorts of problems with Revolution so I switched and never looked back. I love the Donic blue so much I bought a huge 1 liter bottle.

 

[deepanmania]

Fortunately, I had the option to return my blade and I got the refund. I bought the FZD Alc instead of my Andro Ligna CO Off.