Speed Glue ban, part 12:
andro practice tip - News you should know about gluing/ assembling of rackets

The time of speed-gluing is over. Besides the ban of glues containing volatile organic solvents (VOCs) the ITTF has additionally decided to prohibit the so called tuners and boosters.
After the summer break the last step into the new era of table tennis will be taken when punishments threaten players of all levels and ages around the globe in case of contravention.
But also in the future players will still need to glue and stick their rubbers onto the blade. The question is - how?
Some players experienced negative surprises with new glue products during the first attempts. Most complaints: Rubbers do not stick to the blade properly and once they are really fixed it is very difficult to remove them from the wood without harming blade or rubber sponge.
andro product team members have recognised these challenges at an early stage and developed new items offering the ideal solution: andro FREE.
Mature athletes however should not only be aware of the right products but also about the know-how in terms of using them.
This is a summary of what every player should know about gluing rubbers after the ban of VOCs:
The new glues are water-based and contain no volatile organic solvents. This results in three characteristics:
- the drying time of the glue extends to 5 to 10 minutes
- the new glues do not offer any speed effect - they solely have the function to fix the rubber to the wood
- water-based glues are stronger in their adhesion character

Because water-based glues make wood and rubber get a stronger adhesion the risk of damage while removing the rubbers increases. Thus all players shall prepare their blade with the special lacquer andro FREE Seal. The use of FREE Seal closes the fine pores in the veneer and protects the blade against damage. A disturbance of playing character will not occur because the VOC Free lacquer is very thin and especially developed in order not to have any impact on the blade characteristics.
After sealing the blade should dry out for 4-12 hours before the rubbers can be glued to it. Once the blade is sealed and prepared it offers ideal prerequisites: the rubber will be easy to remove when changing the rubbers the next time and no glue remains on the wood.
For players who have not yet treated their blade with andro FREE Seal realising while removing rubbers that veneer fibres tend to tear out: take care that the rubbers are removed in a rectangular way to the wood fibres - meaning from one side of the blade to the other and not from top to handle. Afterwards: Treat the blade with andro FREE Seal and use andro FREE Glue to fix the rubbers from now on.

andro FUTURE-CHAMP global junior support program