The following tests were performed to evaluate the performance of Spinmax Red and Spinmax Aqueous, and to identify any differences in performance between them.

 

A bat with a used rubber (Kokutaku/Tulpe 007 black) which had had been used for a few sessions (but still in good condition) was divided into halves with a plastic strip as shown. One half was treated with Spinmax Red, and the other with Spinmax Aqueous, and performance of the liquids and how they compare are discussed below. This rubber had NOT been cleaned with Spinmax before.

 

 

Before cleaning or wiping the rubber (although the rubber WAS in a clean state and had the plastic protection sheet attached), the bat was pushed onto a table tennis ball on a table, and the time taken for the ball to drop off (the upside down bat) was measured. The ball could be lifted momentarily, but the tack on the rubber was not strong enough to hold it. A brand new rubber is normally better than this, but this effect tends to wear off quite quickly.

 

Both halves were treated with the respective Spinmax solutions. Spinmax Red was dry immediately, Spinmax Aqueous dried within 1-2 mins. The bat was pushed onto a table tennis ball on a table, and the time taken for the ball to drop off was measured. Tests were repeated at least 5 times to get a more accurate result.

 

Both halves held the ball for about 3 secs, and there was no significant difference between the 2 halves. Note that this time will be different depending on the rubber and and tackiness level.

 

As the instruction mention, maximum performace is reached 10-15mins (red) and 30mins (aqueous) after application. So i waited 30mins and repeated the test.

 

Performance was indeed improved, the ball was now held for about 5 secs, but still there was no noticable difference between the 2 halves.

 

 

 

The same bat was put on an angle (as pictured), and the time taken for the ball to roll from top to bottom was measured. Again tests were repeated at least 5 times to get a more accurate result.

 

In both cases it was obvious that the ball was slowed down significantly due to the tackiness of the surface. Spinmax Aqueous seemed to perform a little better here, with the time taken was (on average) 5 secs, whereas Red was about 3 secs. A small difference but both with very good performance.

 

 

The ball was bounced from a height of about 30cm, and the number of bounces was measure before the tacky surface gripped the ball enough to hold it. Again tests were repeated at least 5 times to get a more accurate result.

 

                            The 'roll test'

 

On both halves the ball bounced about 3-5 times before it laid still on the surface. The difference between the 2 halved was not really measurable.

 

 

 

Well this is not really a test as such, but after the few applications I inspected the rubber carefully to see how it looked. Both halves looked very clean, and were obviously tacky. The Spinmax Red half had a bit more of a 'dry' look with a few more markings, whereas the Aqueous looked a little darker and more continuous.  This may not be significant at all in terms of performance, but it's worth noting.

 

 

I gave both halves a good scrub with a damp cleaning sponge, and repeated the hanging test of test 1. Results were not significantly different, with the ball still hanging on for about 5 secs, which is a very encouraging result. The rolling test seemed to be a little different, with both halves having the ball roll off a little faster, but the aqueous still a little slower than the Red.

 

 

 

After players finish their session and clean their rubbers (and let it dry), it is good practice (for tacky rubber) to adhere a plastic protection sheet to the rubber. This helps retain the tackiness of the rubber, and can even restore it to some extent. To test what affect this procedure had on a rubber with spinmax, I put a plastic protection sheet on after the cleaning process in step 5 as pictured. I left it for a few hours and tested the rubber again.

 

The results were good, the tackiness that were found 30mins after the first application returned, again with the Aqueous a little better result than the Red in the 'roll test' 

 

 

 

This is an important test to see what effect Spinmax has on a non-tacky rubber. I decided to test it on a non-tacky rubber made by AVX Avalox, the 'AVX Sterco'. The rubber was almost new, and the topsheet non-tacky. Trying to pick up the ball from the table with the rubber hardly made it move. This rubber is of course designed to generate spin by mechanical means, ie you have to dig the ball into the rubber a little to get the grip., this is how these types of rubbers work...                               

 

I treated the rubber with spinmax as per manufacturer instructions. The rubber did get just a little bit tacky, but nothing like the tacky rubber discussed before. Even after several more application, the rubber remained the same, just the slightest bit of tack.

 

Now some of you may be disappointed with this, but I'm actually very impressed and happy with this result. You see these are designed to be non-tacky, and their performance depends on this. If Spinmax turned this rubber into a tacky rubber, it would totally change it's characteristics, and would turn it into a different rubber altogether. Instead Spinmax has just given it a little bit of tacky, which will aid in generating spin on serves and pushes, but not too much so that it might affect the performance of loops and drives too much.

 

 

Further test to follow...