how do you seal your blade???

Many members on this post are claiming a big difference in the "feel" of the Acoustic when sealed. tdragon told me this a while back. As a result, the last Acoustic I owned was lightly sealed instead of my world famous Triple Sealed as per Chinese Specs. It's hard to argue with the overwhelming reports about the Acoustic; yet, why is there such a big difference with this blade and not others? I can easily argue that there is almost no difference with most blades, and if there is a difference, it is often better performance due to factors I've explained on several other posts. What's the deal with the Acoustic? My first thought is . . . the flex and feel of this blade are dependent upon the sensitive top ply/fibers. Any other thoughts? And, if this is the case, what are Acoustic owners supposed to do to protect their blade? Water-based glues will destroy an unsealed blade!! And, even if the application of the glue didn't destroy the blade, the removal will!!! You need to use warm water, which will soak the top ply and you will be left with a MUSH!!!

Hookshot wrote: Blades in the ALL+ to OFF- will show very little change if any with one or two coats of Poly.

Thanks Rich215,
     Thats one Minwax product I have not tried.

peter79 wrote: Hookshot wrote: Blades in the ALL+ to OFF- will show very little change if any with one or two coats of Poly.   No wonder I can 't really feel any difference with my 1 ply since it's OFF+ category

In that case I suppose you got yourself a rare edition of Acoustic which is in the All- category...

What makes you think some mass production sealing would be better than you doing it? I'm outta here. I can't take it anymore. Hairspray? You're killin' me! I'll seal my blades and you guys can pull the top plies off yours. I'll sit back and wait for the sales frenzy!! WEoooooo!!!

rokphish wrote: peter79 wrote: Hookshot wrote: Blades in the ALL+ to OFF- will show very little change if any with one or two coats of Poly.   No wonder I can 't really feel any difference with my 1 ply since it's OFF+ category In that case I suppose you got yourself a rare edition of Acoustic which is in the All- category...

Currently, I'm using strong hair gel. I love it, because it's extremely easy to apply/you can use your fingers, clean and voc free, dirt cheap, and leaves your blade smelling really nice.
But some hair gels smell really bad, so be careful to get a nice smelling one

And Tommy is right, professional table tennis sealers will get weak in a year or so, especially if exposed to water. Hairspray and Hairgel is the same, but I like hair gel, because I can reapply some every so often, it's so easy, cheap, and clean

The verathane, the minwax wood sealers, or just plain transparent lacquer? Do they need to be diluted with thinner from time to time, like paint? I can get the normal wood lacquer here quite easily, will a very thin, highly diluted copat of that work? Or two veery thin highly diluted coats? I get none of the above mentioned brand names here so I need to know if the generic lacquer will work?

And there are two kinds of polyurethane varnishes, water based and non-water based, which one is better?

Will these work, this brand is available here.

http://www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/DDCUK/ICIPaints/servlet/DDC_SubCategoryView?storeId=10202&catalogId=10005&langId=-1&categoryId=370

Thanks Hookshot, that does help a lot, I will try to see if the spray on version is available here or not. I asked about my list because it says polyurethane, so I figured its the same as minwax, just a different brand. Should I use the water based one then?

I think I am good now. I will experiment on some old blades that are lying around with me, took the rubbers off them and they are all clean and ready. I think I will go for the water based one, simply because it dries much faster. And I also read up on the differences between the two, not much really, like you said, except the water-based is easier to clean up and the brushes are also easier to clean.

Thanks a lot Hookshot.  And everyone else, and one can't ignore the Zai-man :)

I've had good luck using an oil-based sanding sealer.  I've read to avoid getting the kind with wax.  Before I apply it I use a 400 grit piece of sandpaper and lightly sand the face and edge of the blade to get it pretty smooth.  Next, I use a piece of shipping styrofoam to seal the entire edge of the blade.  I even seal the exposed edge on the handle too keep sweat from soaking in.  Next I take a paper towel and dip it in the sanding sealer and run it across the face of the blade.  I try not to put too much in the "hitting" zone.  I then repeat the edge sealing a time or two waiting about 10 minutes for the last seal to dry.  After it's all dry I'll sand again very lightly. 

Hookshot, thanks for the info on the wax and sandpaper.  I also do the edge on the handle to keep it clean.  Problem is after I'm finished sealing it it's too nice to play with.

Hi Rokushi,
     Depends on what you want and the wood.
     One coat will make it waterproof.
     Two coats will start to make a shine on the surface. If it is real smooth wood with fine grain like hinoki, it will have an almost glass shine after two. Rougher wood will take more.
     You can try it with one coat and add more later. All you have to do is wipe the blade well with rubbing alcohol. It will remove any glue residue and not touch the Poly.
     If you just want to protect it from water based glues, one coat is fine.

thanks hookshot! that was very helpful. yea, i just added one coat to make it "waterproof" like you said since i'm using water-based glue. that was my only concern i guess.

some people mentioned that 2 coats may take away the feel of the blade, so i didn't wanna risk it. hehe

anyway, i think it's dry by now. can't wait to add the rubbers.