Rubber Application and Care 101

Also See:
Create Your Own Rubber and Sponge Combination
How to glue your custom rubber and sponge

Rubber Application:

1. Apply thin coat of rubber glue or rubber cement to blade and sponge, let tack dry.

2. Apply the sheet starting at the handle and lay sheet on blade.

3. Use a rolling pin, paint can, or a full beer can, to roll rubber to blade with moderate pressure.

4. Cut with sharp hair cutting, or rubber scissors, face sponge up and follow the blade, apply and cut ONLY one sheet at a time.

Rubber Care: (revised 10/31/03 due to reformulation of 729 rubbers)
After use, clean rubber in one of the following ways:
Note: cleaning methods listed from least damaging, (1), to most damaging, (3).

Use only one method per rubber cleaning

CLEANING INVERTED (PIPS-IN) 
1. Use a clean slightly moist sponge; lightly wipe dirt and debris off rubber, wave racket dry.

2. For very dirty rubber, use a small amount of liquid dish soap on a moist sponge clean rubber then
 rinse sponge free of soap and wipe your rubber clean.

3. The staff at ZeroPong does not recommend any rubber cleaners; all these products are just foaming
    glass cleaners with alcohol contents so high they will make your rubber start chipping and cracking. 

CLEANING PIPS-OUT 
1. Use a clean slightly moist sponge; lightly wipe dirt and debris off rubber, wave racket dry.

2. For very dirty rubber, use a small amount of liquid dish soap on a moist sponge clean rubber then
     rinse sponge free of soap and wipe your rubber clean.

3. The staff at ZeroPong does not recommend any rubber cleaners; all these products are just foaming
 glass cleaners with alcohol contents so high they will make your rubber start chipping and cracking. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Best sponge for cleaning rubber is O-Cel-O™ Sponge (by 3M) from grocery store, (2 sides sponge).
You must first clean the sponge in hot water thoroughly prior to use, as the sponge comes with
 a preservative in the package.
Yes this product woks better than the ones intended for Table Tennis, so save your money and spend
 it on new rubbers:)

For protection of inverted rubbers only:
ALWAYS RE-APPLY THE PLASTIC SHEETS THAT COME WITH OR ON YOUR RUBBERS.
For better thicker sheets get the plastic sheets for overhead projectors, (available at all office supply stores),
and cut to size. This is cheaper than getting the protective film and it does not have the sticky surface that tends 
to introduce contamination to your rubbers. (Protective sheet hint thanks to Tim). 

Note this works for Chinese type rubbers only.

***Many products work to adhere rubber to sponge, Monkey grip rubber cement works great, as well as, rubber adhesive that you get from the hardware store. My personal favorite is Best Test One Coat Rubber Cement. I also purchase the Bestine solvent/thinner to thin the cement out a bit, (a few drops of thinner). Pour some Best Test One Coat in a clean jar or small paint can from the hardware store, use a cheap brush to apply the glue. Don’t ever glue with ANY glue without good ventilation. Best Test One Coat will keep just fine in a glass jar or small paint can, leave the brush in the jar or can for re-use. If Best Test One Coat sits too long you may need to put in a little more thinner, (couple drops at a time). Best Test One Coat will give a more dynamic, longer lasting bond than any other cement I have tried.

Get Best Test One Coat and Bestine Thinner for the best price on the Internet at MisterArt.

Get Best Test One Coat Here: http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?store=001&group_id=1011

Get Bestine Thinner Here: http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?store=001&group_id=1157

ZeroPong has no affiliation with MisterArt.