OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I've found a few threads about using rubber cement for gluing rubber - interest in rubber cement died off after the VOC rule and everyone's using water-soluble glues now. Except it seems that water based glues cause blade deterioration over the long term - possibly something us rec players won't ever have to deal with, since we don't replace sheets twice a week like the pros do. Then again, since we're not subjected to racket testing, why use water based glues at all? They're a major pain in the rear - you have to wait a long time for them to dry, for instance, and they can cause damage when you remove sheets, forcing you to varnish your blades (which some people claim ruins the "feel" of the blade). The old VOC based glued didn't have this problem. Not to mention that the water based glues are expensive. If they actually PLAY better, fine, but I've never heard anyone claim this to be the case.

Which leads to problem #2. Can't get Bestine, only Elmer's and Faber Castell here and the yellow tube UHU. None of these is thin enough - you end up with lumpy. So I need to thin my Elmer's. Problem is - which thinner to use? One suggestion, gasoline:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=17072

Pardon me, I'd rather not. There's all sort of nasties in gasoline, even after they removed the tetraethyl lead. Choices at the moment are turpentine (has waxes and gums in it, no thanks), spirit (a.k.a. methylated spirit, this is a polar solvent, don't think it'll work), GP (i.e. General Purpose) (paint) thinner, lacquer thinner (which contains ketones and acetone), and mineral spirits (a.k.a. white spirit, wasbenzin, Stoddard Solvent). GP thinner and mineral spirits are the easiest to get and the best bet, the former is more volatile (and should therefore dry faster).

The Elmer's label leads me to believe that the solvent it uses is n-heptane, hard to find in even semi-pure tech grade and expensive.

Iskandar

Yes heptane is the one used to thin rubber cement, and it also the major solvent in most of the rubber cement.

I used to get my rubber cement from an arts supply shop, and they also had low-vapour thinners, which had very little fumes or smell, and worked just as well. Unfortunately it was just labelled as 'art cement thinner'.

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Yeah, I'm getting my Elmer's rubber cement from an art shop. Interestingly enough, it's cheaper than at Ace Hardware (the only place one can find a large variety of American-made DIY stuff). They've got the low-odor thinner as well but it is fairly expensive. I suspect it's heptane plus octane and maybe a couple more straight chained hydrocarbons (like mineral spirits, which is also supposed to be low odor).

Will have to head back there to get a smaller can of Elmer's - the big 16 ounce bottles don't come with a brush, I just found out...

I'll check to see if the lab downstairs has some heptane - maybe they'll give me two or three ounces. Not if it's reagent or HPLC grade, though.. that costs a fortune.

Iskandar

One data point. GP thinner doesn't work, the Elmer's clumps up rather than dissolving.

Iskandar

There's lot of nasty chemicals in most GP paint thinners, so it's probably not a good idea to use those anyway.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

Good thing I was cautious and tried it with a small dab of glue in a Dixie cup. It would have been quite depressing to ruin an entire bottle. I'll try mineral spirits next.

On another note - Falco Long. Gee... they weren't joking when they say "long". I used some on that old Apollo III sheet last Friday and it's STILL very domed up. Tried to glue it to a blade with unthinned Elmer's, the edges are coming up. A whole week after applying it. Definitely "longer" than Seamoon!

Iskandar

I've tried that, it does not work (can't remember what happened). I've also tried Turps, which works to some extent, but the glue loses it's adhesion to more you turps you add.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

In the end I've been using it straight. It needs quite a bit more glue than you'd think at first. I bought a 16 ounce can of it, should last a bit, and the cost was only half of what my last bottle of water-based glue cost.

Iskandar

Use TOLUENE to thin the rubber cement.

I used unleaded gasoline to mix with Elmer rubber cement @ 50-50 ratio . So far , I have done more than 20 rubber changes and the concoction works just fine . Am I pushing my luck ?

By the way, on some paddles, I took out the original edge tapes and replaced them with electrical tapes , which cover also the rubber & sponge edges . This definitely help keeping

the rubbers on the blade much longer .

I know this is an old thread, but I don't have any trouble getting a nice thin even coat with straight Elmer's rubber cement using the built in applicator brush. I just brush it a lot to get it thin.

Within ten minutes it's tack dry to the touch, and the rubber stays on during play and comes off cleanly and without any trouble when I get the EJ urge (something I can't say about the water based glue that TT11 uses).

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Yup, exactly my experience. What I do do is keep a large 16 oz. bottle of it, and re-fill the small 4 oz. bottle when it's down to 70%. That way it stays thin. If you wait until the bottle gets down to 25% it gets thicker and thicker as you go, as the solvent evaporates.

Iskandar

When you peel off the rubber, does the glue stay on the blade or rubber? It on the rubber, can you peel it off? I've been using Donic Vario glue with only a thin layer. Stays on fine and peels off fine but sticks to rubber and as it's thin, is nearly impossible to peel off.

Sent from my SM-T210 using Tapatalk

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It stays on the rubber. I never worry about it staying on the rubber or about rubber buildup (we aren't using speed glue these days, so it's not really a problem).

Iskandar

Naptha lighter fluid (not the butane type) that would go in an old style Zippo lighter, works just fine. Used to get at any drug store. Charcoal lighter fluid and Coleman stove fuel are nearly the same thing.

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