Tutorial: How To Best Clean Tacky Rubber

[Lightzy]

Hey. Recorded this for people who have been asking this a lot:

 

[Archosaurus]

This is about what I do, except more water and less rubbing. Can attest to it working.

 

[dominus7]

That was spit? :O

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[Lightzy]

That was spit? :O

Rofl no, it's regular water. Well, filtered, but who cares.

 

[Atas Newton]

But it works better if it's a spit. Of a virgin. Equal parts with dragon egg yolk! There's the Chinese National Team Rubber secret for you.

 

[Suga D]

But it works better if it's a spit. Of a virgin. Equal parts with dragon egg yolk! There's the Chinese National Team Rubber secret for you.

Awww, c´mon. Now you gave away the whole secret. You didn´t even leave out the part with the dragonegg....
At least you didn´t tell ´em about that the virgin has to celebrate her 77th birthday a day. You also left out the part that it wasn´t exactly spit but some other liquid. IIRC it was fresh morning urine which must be collected at full moon on a misty novemberday....
Phew... just got lucky. Almost gave away all the secrets...

On a more serious note: anyone remember Spinmax? That stuff in there is called Methylcyclohexane and is known to restore grippy rubber´s Grip and tacky rubber´s tack. (It´s not magic and can´t create any new characteristics, meaning it won´t make a grippy rubber tacky or a tacky rubber grippy) but it does what it does quite well.

 

[Floris]

I sometimes clean my rubber by means of broad adhesive tape. Just push it on and rip off, it takes all the dust. My own invention.

 

[dominus7]

I sometimes clean my rubber by means of broad adhesive tape. Just push it on and rip off, it takes all the dust. My own invention.

Me too

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[Tony's Table Tennis]

wow
from what I saw, you are damaging your top sheet more than cleaning it....

 

[Lightzy]

No, I noticed the sound is loud because of the recording but really the rubbing is very light and I've been doing this with this rubber for months and it is always clean and tacky as day 1. The water prevents harmful friction, which should be obvious because if there was any friction my hand would have melted already. And you remove the water at the end with the side of your hand.
This is how to best clean it. Try and see.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

No, I noticed the sound is loud because of the recording but really the rubbing is very light and I've been doing this with this rubber for months and it is always clean and tacky as day 1. The water prevents harmful friction, which should be obvious because if there was any friction my hand would have melted already. And you remove the water at the end with the side of your hand.
This is how to best clean it. Try and see.

No thanks
I've been cleaning my rubbers the same way for 20+ years

 

[Lightzy]

Sure, whatever works for you

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

wow
from what I saw, you are damaging your top sheet more than cleaning it....

I had the same thought when I saw the video. At that point, I decided not to say anything.

Since I have not used tacky rubbers in years--except to occasionally try someone's setup--I wasn't going to say anything. But there are ways to clean that are much gentler to the topsheet. It could even be a similar concept of water and hand.

But, I think, if someone used that kind of touch in short game, they would be in the same kind of trouble. The skill of developing soft hands is valuable in TT.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

I had the same thought when I saw the video. At that point, I decided not to say anything.

Since I have not used tacky rubbers in years--except to occasionally try someone's setup--I wasn't going to say anything. But there are ways to clean that are much gentler to the topsheet. It could even be a similar concept of water and hand.

But, I think, if someone used that kind of touch in short game, they would be in the same kind of trouble. The skill of developing soft hands is valuable in TT.

If I do use my hand, I would only go one direction, and that is from inside to outside (bringing things off the surface) and not rubbing back and forth
I would use the same principal with sponge, however the sponges nowadays have 2 sides - 1 firm and 1 soft
the firm one with enough water or spray, I can go up and down like the video, but it very gentle as it is flat (our palm isn't flat)
and then using the soft one to brush off the liquid

rubber surface squeaking is never good

 

[Lightzy]

Told you, it sounds very sqeaky because a cellphone microphone picks up and amps up only high frequencies. If there really was any friction then my hand would have melted off.
If you play with tacky rubbers (or any rubbers really) you know that doing what I did is IMPOSSIBLE if there is any friction.
Again, if logic doesn't guide you to this conclusion then try it and see.

The purpose of rubbing back and forth with speed is, as I explained, to cause all the tiny bits of dirt and fiber to adhere together into larger pieces of dirt that are then easily removed with one final wipe with the dry part of the hand.

 

[dominus7]

Told you, it sounds very sqeaky because a cellphone microphone picks up and amps up only high frequencies. If there really was any friction then my hand would have melted off.
If you play with tacky rubbers (or any rubbers really) you know that doing what I did is IMPOSSIBLE if there is any friction.
Again, if logic doesn't guide you to this conclusion then try it and see.

I've washed many times the rubber and it keeps its tackiness, so I don't believe about people who says it will damage, on the contrary it becomes more tacky!

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[Hamasaki_Fanz]

No thanks
I've been cleaning my rubbers the same way for 20+ years

how do you clean tacky rubber, Tony?

 

[bobpuls]

This how it is done correctly version 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etp_VXgINFI

and here is beer version 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2u_SKHw7GI

 

[Atas Newton]

I applaud your courage, sir! What beer do you prefer, light or dark?

 

[bobpuls]

Pilsner 12 degrees. The best choice.