Weak rubber cement bond

Hey All,

Need some fast advice on this:

I've glued my rubber to my blade (not sealed) with rubber cement, but the bond is very weak. When I pull the rubber off, it almost feels like the rubber is just laying on the blade.

When I glue some other rubber on some other blade, using the same rubber cement. The bond is much better and it's hard to pull the rubber of the blade, this is what I'm used to.

Have to play a match this evening and I do want my rubber to be glued on properly.

Anyone know what can cause this problem and how to solve?

Grtz Remco

thanks for the fast reply!

Sounds like a solution but it's a new Butterfly Mizutani Jun blade though, so I'm a bit scared to sand it.

I might give it a try on my yinhe blade and see how that works out. The yinhe blade also has the bonding issue....

I'm only suggesting you "lightly" sand it.  Lightly sanding the surface shouldn't hurt the blade and should help the rubber stick, but go ahead and try it out on the Yinhe blade first.  Just make sure you use a very light "grit" sandpaper.  Do not use a medium - heavy grit sandpaper as it may damage the blade. 

One of two things is going on. 1) The affected blade has too much sealant. That makes it difficult to glue anything. 2) you are not waiting long enough before slapping on the rubber.

I suspect he thinned the rubbercement too much. That gives a thin layer that dries very quick. Voc,s only evaporate to open air instead of evaporating/absorbing/diffusing partly into the sealer. This process lets solvents pass through the surface but collects and pulls the latex part from the glue against the surface. Similar as how a filtermembrane collects dirt. Time and surface area are you,re friends for this. A little roughening the surface with abrassive kitchencleaner and build up a thicker layer (in between let each layer dry only partly).

Another method is to use a clamp. Pressure doesn,t matter for this (this only influences how two glue layers weld together) but it keeps the solvents from escaping to open air too much and quickly. Few books is enough.

But this methods gives an even less legal setup with a more pronounced glue effect. Some opponents could not appreciate this.

different speed glues have different adherence.
for example the haifu speed glue has very little adherence.
so if your rubber has a bit of dome you probably won't get it to remain stuck to your blade.

as for "the longer the wait, the more adherence" I think it's not always true.
you do have to wait for the glue in the blade to dry.
after that you can join blade and rubber.

if your rubber has a dome wait for it to go away a couple of hours.
if it doesn't have a dome you shouldn't have problems with the process of gluing.


Edited by sa01 - 03/16/2012 at 1:10pm

How long did you let it dry before you tried pulling it off? Here's my gluing process:

1. Trace blade on the back of the rubber.
2. Spread thin layer of rubber cement on rubber, inside your outline.
3. Spread thin layer of RC on blade.
4. Let dry for ten minutes. Hold up to the light at an angle and make sure you see no wetness.
5. Roll rubber onto the blade with light pressure. Within 1 minute of attaching rubber you should have a pretty good bond, but you're best off not pulling it off and resticking it.
6. Put some books on it and leave it for 1 hour.
7. Cut rubber.
8. Put books back on and leave for 3 hours.

Works for me! Rubbers come off like a champ too but are also solidly attached.


Edited by chopchopslam - 03/17/2012 at 4:06pm