OOAK Table Tennis Forum

At the club I change a lot of peoples rubbers for them and part of the deal is that I keep the old ones which if they have some life in them I put on a cheap blade to give away to new players or club bats or whatever.

Last week I took off 2 sheets of Hexer. There were grip on some parts but the rest was completely smooth, almost like it was left in the sun smooth, with no grip whatsoever. I'm not surprised the person had been losing a few games to lower players lately.

After reading around some forums I tried some Olive oil on the topsheet. After a couple of coats sinking in, there was no difference. They were about to go in the bin until I discovered that someone had used a bit of wet and dry sandpaper to gently rub on the surface.

Went to the hardware store and bought the finest sheet of wet and dry I could, which was 2000 grit, and just felt like thick paper. Cost $2. Went home and put a bit of water on the sandpaper and the rubber and give it a bit of a scrub. The sandpaper was so fine I really didn't think it would do anything.

Much to my surprise, it actually worked. The grip level is now quite good. The look of the topsheet appears just a little worn but no evidence of scratching or anything obvious.

Its likely illegal to do this for competition but for a sheet that is about to go in the bin, its worth a shot for a practice rubber or to give away to a beginner.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Victas VS401 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Interesting experiment, thanks for sharing!

Sounds like the surface on the old rubber had dried out / oxidised completely, which is not really reversable.

The wet&dry probably removed the dried-out layer, exposing a much fresher rubber layer underneath.

Although that's no doubt better than a dead sheet, I'm not sure the grip will be as high as a new sheet, but it will be interesting to hear when you try it. The smoother a sheet the better (and more) contact with the ball which produces maximum spin. That's why pimple rubbers can't produce as much spin as smooth rubbers.

Never the less, it's great to get something out of an otherwise useless dead sheet, so I'll be interested to hear how it plays and if it lasts.

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Poverty is the mother of invention, is it not ?

Its not, necessity is.

Anyway after 2 match nights and 2 practice nights the rubbers that I sanded have still retained their new grip without any additional treatment such as spinmax or anything.

Definately worth a go for any dead rubbers. 2000 grit wet and dry.

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Victas VS401 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

Just came across this video. Igor would say it's not kosher, er, legal, but...

Actually, I wonder if it'd work to rejuvenate an old, dead sheet...



Iskandar