The popularity of indoor games has increased a lot now as people are much more health conscious than before. Indoor exercises start to get boring after a certain time. To remove the monotony and to keep the fitness game going, people have started to delve into indoor games which saves them from the hassle of finding a new place to play and also from going outside. Outdoor games are not always accessible to people living in cold countries. It is also another reason for people getting into indoor games. One of the most played indoor games right now is ping pong. Be it professionally or just for fun; ping pong is one of the most popular indoor games.
What is ping pong?
Ping pong is a game played on a table between two or four players where you hit the ball back and forth. There is a net in the middle of the table. It is to be ensured that the ball crosses the net when a player hits the ball. Though these rules seem easy it is definitely not as easy as it looks. Always hitting the ball with at least a certain amount of power (so that the ball crosses the net) is not easy. So, the players always use some techniques to ensure that they can do so. And one of the easiest way to ensure that is to know and apply different methods of how to make ping pong paddle sticky. Also, if the description has made you curious about ping pong and intrigued you to get a new paddle for yourself, you can check our article on the best ping pong paddles review.
Stickiness in ping pong paddle:
The bats that are used in this game is known as ping pong paddle. These rackets are usually made with layers of wood glued together. And then those are glued to layers made of rubber on the top and bottom. The rubbers are usually made little bit sticky so that when a player hits the ball, the rubber gets glued to the ball for a very short amount of time and then the full power applied through the bat gets passed on to the ball. It helps the shot to be fast and powerful and ensures that the ball crosses at least the distance of the net. It also gives room to the players to play more accurate shots with high speed.
A sticky ping pong paddle helps a player in many ways. But after about 80 hours of playing with a new ping pong bat, the stickiness of the rubber tends to wear out. Then the players start facing problems like not being able to play accurate shots and not being able to hit the ball with decent speed. And it is also not possible for everyone to buy a new bat after a few days of use. To use the same bat again and hit good shots, one needs to make the ping pong paddle sticky again. This articles would go over different techniques of how to make ping pong paddle sticky.
How to make ping pong paddle sticky:
Among different ways of making ping pong paddles sticky, few of the most used techniques are-
- Cleaning the paddle
- Storing the paddle covering it
- Using sunflower oil
- Replacing paddle rubber
- Using Glue
These are some of the popular techniques. Before applying any of the techniques, one needs to know if the stickiness is completely gone or if the ping pong paddle is still sticky. To test that, you don’t need to go to a shop or to an expert. You can do it yourself. For that, you will need to follow a few steps.
At first, you will need to take a piece of paper (A4 size papers would get the job done). Then you will need to stick the paper on the front side of the paddle. After doing that, you should swing the paddle in the air. If the paper remains stuck to the paddle, you don’t need to do anything. The stickiness is still there. If the paper falls, then you will need to follow one of those techniques to make the paddle sticky again.
- The easiest and simplest method is to clean the ping pong bat. It would make the bat sticky again. Over time and with continued usage, the paddle starts to collect dust. Various small materials get stuck to the bat. By cleaning the paddle with a clean piece of cloth, you can bring back the stickiness and play like it is a brand new bat.
- Most of the times, the paddle loses its stickiness when it is not being used. If it is stored in a place where there is a lot of dirt, the bat starts getting dirty. Because of that, it starts to lose its property. By storing in a clean place and keeping it in cover, you can easily keep your paddle fresh.
- If the stickiness of the rubber of the ping pong paddle has completely worn out, one of the best ways is to apply sunflower oil on the rubber. This process needs a paint brush and sunflower oil. At first, sunflower oil has to apply on the table tennis bat. By using the paint brush, it is to be spread out completely on the bat. Then the paddle needs to be left for some time for drying. It is to be made sure that the oil has completely dried on the bat. Again, the oil has to be applied on the paddle. Then again it is to be dried after applying the oil on the whole surface. This process is to be repeated until you get the level of stickiness you want on the bat.
- Replacing the topmost and the bottommost layer of the table tennis bat i.e. the rubber layers can be a great option too. As the bat becomes old, its stickiness tends to wear out. Sometimes, even the rubber layer wears out. By changing the rubber layers, you can easily get the feeling of a new and fresh ping pong paddle. You can play for a long time and the stickiness would remain the same, unlike other techniques where you need to reapply the methods after few days of use.
- One method that is not recommended but can be used if there is an emergency is glue. If you suddenly realize just before a game that the stickiness of your ping pong paddle is gone and you need to manage the situation somehow, you can use glue. But make sure you use it in a very little amount. If it is always used, it can damage the bat. Always be careful before taking such a step.
Final Words:
We hope that this article regarding how to make ping pong paddle sticky will help you to better your game and remove the obstacles you face while playing. This is just a way to give an edge over the opponents, but one should always focus on developing their skills and techniques.
Share to
Remember
Care
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on google
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
Leave a Reply