Looking after pimple table tennis rubbers

Most of you would know that you need to keep your rubber clean, not just to give it consistent grip to the ball, but also to make it last longer, as the continuous grinding of dust into the rubber reduces durability. Well that’s for inverted (smooth on the outside) rubber, but what about pimple rubbers?

Although pimple rubbers are often used to hit through spin, or in some cases even reverse the spin (long pimples), they all have a certain amount of grip that will affect the trajectory and spin on the ball. Just like dust will accumulate on your inverted rubber, it also accumulates on the tips, sides and the base-sheet of a pimple rubber, all of which tend to reduce the grip in those areas.

Unfortunately dust or dirt does not accumulate evenly (just look at your inverted rubber after a practice session!), so your pimple rubber will become ‘patchy’, as the grip at some contact points will be less than at others.

For inverted rubber, any non-abrasive damp cloth will remove the dirt with ease, but with pimples it’s a little trickier, as it’s hard to get to the sides and base of the pips.

TSP have come up with a pimple rubber cleaning brush just for this purpose. The bristles of this brush are flexible enough to get in between the pimples, and not too rigid as to damage the rubber.

As you move over the pimple rubber with the brush, you can feel the bristles getting in-between the pimple, dislodging the dirt and dust.

It’s highly recommended to do this regularly, to keep the grip on the rubber consistent, which should product a more consistent return.

With the right technique for the right ball, you must be confident that the ball will go where you want it to go, and it should not be left to chance of what spot it will hit on your rubber. For the cost of just a few dollars and a minute’s work, I think it’s worth it.

 By: haggisv