how do you seal your blade???

Thylacine wrote:  I have sealed 3 of my blades with XIOM I-sure (2-3 layers) but now I regret. They lost their feeling.

varghesep wrote: Thylacine wrote:  I have sealed 3 of my blades with XIOM I-sure (2-3 layers) but now I regret. They lost their feeling.   What do you mean by feeling? Did the blade change the behavior?

Hi Rok,
     Yea, I am not saying I don't beleive him, I am curious if the stuff he used is that much different than Poly.  I still don't see why anybody uses anything else. Poly is immune to the glues, water proof and the toughest varnish there is and costs less than the table tennis specific sealers. It drys thin and clear.  ( .0015 inch per layer )

I use Minwax Quick Dry Poly. You can get it in a spray can or regular can. I use the spray.
Tommyzai likes Verithane brand. (also Quick dry) He uses Water based Verithane. He gets the can and wipes it on.  Once dry, it is totally water proof.
You can get water based Poly also.
The disadvantage to water based sealers, They "Might" raise the grain on some woods. Then you would have to sand and coat again. Mineral based Poly or Verithane will NOT raise the grain. I don't know anybody that has sealed more blades than Tommy and I. There probably is but I don't know them.

you can use a lot of stuff
if you dont care about voc: super glue is acutally really good, joola varnish works exccelent

voc free: andro free seal is very nice, seals nicely plus gives your paddle a cool glossy look

I wipe minwax poly on there as thinly as I can. Just barely dampen the blade.  You shoudlnt' be able to see it on there. It really can't be too thin, as long as the blade is uniformly dampened.  I haven't had a splintering complaint in years and the blades feel exactly the same.

Here's a picture after I remove Donic water base sealer with speed glue.

Asaomi wrote: hairspray

Sorry bro,
No offense, but there's no sense using hairspray unless you are trapped in a igloo and your dog-sled won't make the journey to a hardware store. I've tried hairspray on more than a dozen blades. I wanted it to work desperately. It was better than nothing, but what's the point? It comes off with water, which makes is USELESS with water-based glues. Remember, it's called, HAIRspray.
Tzai OUT!!!

peter79 wrote:    I regret that I sealed my Acoustic since the feel become harder and dwell time shorter. Luckly the water base sealer from donic come off. I don't want to remove the seal near the logo, otherwise the speed glue will ruin the logo .

I am agree. My sealed Acoustic lost its feeling. I just feel as dead wood

Hookshot wrote: If the glue will remove the sealer, what is it sealed against? Bugs? Use a thin coat of Polu U and it will not change the blade and glue will not touch it. Not water based or speed glue.

Some of the new polys do not smell. Some of them you have to use outdoors. Minwax is not bad. The water based polys do not smell either. At least not very strong.

I am just too confused to even try. What will work, what won't, what will change the feel of my blade, what won't, I am just confused.
So far I have had no issues with splintering with my Butterfly blades. Not sure about my new acquisitions, a 729 and a YinHe, will find out when I change the rubbers. The Yinhe is sealed by Cole though so should be ok.

You would if like Peter79 you notice substantial difference in your blade's characteristics that you couldn't live with.....

Varathane/Waterbased/Satin has NEVER let me down. The only thing I've found that removes that stuff is sandpaper or acetone.

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!!