Many new players asked me how to remove the old glue from the rubber. After mastering the basic skills in table tennis, new players should know how to glue the rubbers correctly. It’s nothing wrong to take care of your table tennis equipments. Here are basic steps to replace rubber in table tennis.
Today, I will explain how to remove the old glue from the rubbers, and how to glue your new rubber to the blade. The demonstration’s video is made by Butterfly.
How to glue the rubbers on the bat
To glue the table tennis rubber on the blade, there are 3 steps:
- Apply the glue on the rubber’s sponge
- Apply a thin layer of glue on the blade surface
- Glue the rubber
Step 1 – apply the glue on the rubber’s sponge
This step is very important. You don’t want to make the “bubble” after gluing right? So you need to spread the glue evenly. Let’s it dry (about 5-10 minutes, depends on the type of glue).
For the glue, there are many good non-VOC types of glue (or water-based glue for table tennis):
I, myself, prefer using strong glue. So I like Free Chack II and Haifu Glue.
Take your time, and spread the glue correctly on the rubber’s sponge.
The chip sponge is necessary to apply the glue evenly. Use one chip sponge only one time, and then throw it away.
Step 2 – Apply the glue on the blade surface
Waiting for the glue dry on the rubber, you can now apply the glue on the blade.
If you want to protect your blade, you can seal your blade. Re-gluing several times, and using water-based glue can damage the outer-ply of your blade. So I recommend you to seal your “precious” blade before gluing. I prefer using Tibhar Clean Coat Lacquer to seal my blades.
Why do you need to glue your rubber first, and then glue on the blade later? Because the glue will dry faster on the blade. It takes about 5 minutes for rubber, and 3 minutes for the blade.
Final step – Glue the rubber perfectly
This step is crucial. You need to apply and glue it from the bottom to the head of the blade. By doing this, you can avoid any “air bubble” during gluing.
If you have many rubbers to cut (you are the coach or the shop owner), you can use an electric cutter for table tennis.
You can also apply the edge tape to protect your blade!
And finally, here you are! You have a nice set-up with the guaranteed performance from the rubber. Gluing correctly is the key to maintain the initial performance of your rubbers.
To protect your blade for the long term, avoid any contact with the humidity! Remember! The blade is made of wood, and wood doesn’t like water!
Old rubber removal
You want to remove the old rubber. Don’t worry! Here are 3 steps to do that:
- Remove the edge protector
- Peel off the rubber
- Remove the glue from the blade surface and the rubber
Time needed: 10 minutes.
You want to remove the old rubber. Don’t worry! Here are 3 steps to do that:
- Remove the edge protector
Before removing the old rubber, remove the edge tape first.
![Step 1 - Remove the protector (edge tape) of the blade](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 "%3E%3C/svg%3E)
- Peel off the rubber
You can cut a small piece of unused rubber, and use it as the rubber chip. Use the rubber chip to remove the residual glue on the blade, and on the old rubber. To peel off the old rubber, you should do it slowly. And peel it from the side of the blade. This helps to protect your rubber. If you do it fast, you can damage the rubber’s sponge, or can peel off the thin layer outer-ply of your blade!
- Remove the glue from the blade surface and the rubber
Step 3, use the rubber chip (a small piece of unused rubber) to remove the residual glue from the blade surface. Use the same rubber chip to remove the old glue from the rubber.
Take time to remove all of the old glue from the blade surface. I recommend you to use the sealer for your blade. Sealing your blade is very important.
If you often re-glue your rubbers or you use the water-based glue, you should seriously consider sealing your blade. A sealer (or varnish) gives a thin layer of protection to the blade surface, as well as strengthening the adhesion of the fibers on the surface of the blade.
Remember: Blade don’t like water!
Now you know how to remove the old rubber from the blade. You also know the best way to replace glue the rubbers on your paddle. Now you are ready for the match 🙂
Thanks a lot…
hi coach,why do we need to wait for 5-10 minutes to let the glue dry? Is it okay to stick it directly without waiting for the glue to dry?
Every glue (both VOC, and water based glue), you need to let the glue dry (to make a transparent layer of glue), it will glue stronger, better. Don’t glue when the layer is still wet. (Chemical bonds need times to glue stronger)
Hi coach
Will lacquering the blade make it bouncier or faster. I mean reduce the dwell time?
Thanks
Sreng
Hi coach,
how often should i seal the blade?
Sealing the blade is crucial nowadays with the water-based glue. I recommend you seal your new blade. And then re-seal every 3 years.