Review: Haifu Water Solubility Bond!

Finally got the bottle from my friend who returned back after the tournament!
Now for the review:

Physical Appearance:- It is fairly liquid and very very thin as compared to the glues previously used (VOC based glues) by me. It is white in color.

Properties:- It does not dry so quickly. It has a very pungent ammonia smell to it. It reminded me of the chemistry labs of school times.

Testing Apparatus:-
Blade :- K-5 (Galaxy)
Rubber 1:- Palio CJ8000 Biotech 36-38 deg
Rubber 2:- Haifu BW2 39 deg Factory Tuned (Tuning layer removed even before the first use)

I would focus only on Palio CJ8000 Biotech for this review as i had applied around 2 layers of speed glue in between on Haifu BW2. Will tell that story later.

Effect on Palio CJ8000 Biotech:-
My initial thoughts were similar to what other forum members have, that is: How can a water based glue give speed glue kind of effects? Well, all i can say right now is, that i was certainly wrong in judging that.
I applied around 5-6 layers of Haifu WSB onto the sponge of Palio CJ8000 biotech. To my surprise, it turned out to be a pretty good experience for me.

I was playing with Palio on my Forehand for quite some time now as i really like the European feel rubbers and Palio delivered it with style.
The only thing that i did not like about Palio was its sponge, which although was marked as 36-38 deg, was quite hard in reality. Also, the speed on Palio wasn't quite up there at all. It was pretty slow. The spin was pretty good though, i must admit.

After i applied 6 layers of Haifu WSB, with each layer being allowed to normally dry (without using a hair dryer).
I noticed one bad thing about this glue though: No matter how much carefully i applied it on the sponge, it did leave a couple of small bumps in between the entire application. Small balls had formed at some places. Although, it was not that troublesome after all.

I applied only a single layer to the blade and stuck this rubber.
Had a hit with it today and to my surprise the speed on Palio had increased a couple of notches.
It had a softer feel to it today. The sound had gone a touch louder (though there was not much of this so called sound effect from the glue). On hard shots though, there was a lot of speed gluish sound coming from the rubber today. This sound was there earlier too, but was not as loud as today. If earlier it was 9, today it was 10.
The rubber felt much softer today. It felt as if i was using a 30 deg sponge. The rubber turned into a monster today. All the shots were going at the same speed as that of a Coppa JO Gold on a BTY Firehand blade (thats quite fast, for your kind information).

I love this glue and i am going to stick to it for the times to come.

Now for the downturns:
It takes a lot of time for it to dry up if you don't have a hair dryer. Also, the viscosity could have been a bit high to allow for easier spreading. I know that people will always complain if it is too thick, but i seriously feel that it should be made just a bit more thicker.
The pungent ammonia smell is something that one should keep away from to avoid nausea.

The good part of it all:
It does give some speed glue effect for sure. If i were to say the exact percentage of glue effect in 6 layers, it would be somewhere around 50% for ME. I guess if i would have applied 10 layers of it, i would have achieved the exact glue kind of feel. But i guess i am happy with the kind of speed i am getting right now out of my Palio.

I have already ordered a bottle of it and it should be on its way.

Had applied 2 layers of speed glue after the 4th and 6th layer of glue on Haifu BW2 and hence i kept it out of discussion this time. I will take it up after a week.

So it was 6 evenly applied layers of Haifu WSB on my Palio CJ8000 Biotech and
1-4 layers of Haifu WSB, 5th Layer of Speed gue, 6th layer of Haifu WSB, 7th layer of Speed glue and last layer of Haifu WSB on the BW2.
Will discuss BW2 sometime next week when the speed glue effect subsides.

Do let me know in case you have queries or doubts or comments!

Thanks a lot for the compliment haggisv !
On the contrary i personally believe that it is VOC free. As far as i can recall Ammonia cannot be considered a VOC based solvent. Correct me if i am wrong here.
It is definitely tournament legal. It did not soften the sponge. What i meant was, the layer of glue between the sponge and blade was so elastic that it gave an effect of softening of sponge. The rubber did not dome at all and there was no smell of VOC what so ever from the glue.
Please feel free to clarify this point if you find me wrong here!

What happened here Haggisv is that the smell of Ammonia is till it is in the bottle. Once it is applied to the rubber and it evaporates/dry off i did not notice any smell further.
It was till the glue was in liquid condition. I firmly believe that it won't set off the ENEZ machine.

I believe the ITTF changed the wording to Volatile Compounds, it no longer needs to be an Organic Compound.

If the glue does indeed dry immediately and the volatile compounds evaporate, then it may pass the enez.

However if it does this, I find it hard to believe the rubber can have much of a glue feel, as this feel come mostly from the topsheet and sponge, not what's underneath...  I'll be very happy to be convinced otherwise though

Sorry anubhav1984, I'm not trying to ruin your great review and enthusiasm for this product. I would be VERY happy to hear if it does pass the enez and gives a glue feel!

haggisv wrote: I believe the ITTF changed the wording to Volatile Compounds, it no longer needs to be an Organic Compound. If the glue does indeed dry immediately and the volatile compounds evaporate, then it may pass the enez. However if it does this, I find it hard to believe the rubber can have much of a glue feel, as this feel come mostly from the topsheet and sponge, not what's underneath...  I'll be very happy to be convinced otherwise though Sorry anubhav1984, I'm not trying to ruin your great review and enthusiasm for this product. I would be VERY happy to hear if it does pass the enez and gives a glue feel!

TearMender has an ammonia smell.  This is fairly common with water based latex compounds as ammonia acts as a latex preservative.  I know that rackets freshly glued with Tearmender passed the ENEZ with ease. 

How sensitive the ENEZ is has everything to do with the particular sensors that it employs.  It is a relatively simple device

silverhair wrote: There are a couple of points that I think are being overlooked (other than what happens to the wood when it soaks up water).

Which is basically that nothing of importance happens.  I've been using water based glues for eighteen months now and there have been no adverse effects. Of course, I seal my blades with a super-thin coat of poylurethane finish.  Failing do to that can cause damage - usually by the glue pulling out wood splinters from the blade surface when you remove your rubber!!

silverhair wrote: The ITTF considers the layers of glue as part of the thickness of the rubber (anything on the wooden face of the blade).  Therefore, if gluing max thickness rubber using a lot of coats of glue, its highly likely that the resulting thickness of "rubber" will exceed the 4.0mm max thickness.

Yes, building up layers of glue can cause you to exceed the 4mm max thickness.

silverhair wrote: The ITTF has ruled that the rubber must have the same playing characteristics as that approved by the ITTF.  So if additional glue layers change the performance, they would be, by the book, illegal substances.

No, the rule you are citing deals specifically with the topsheet and the topsheet only.  The rule says "as authorized."  All rubber is submitted for authorization and tested without sponge.  Sponge changes the way the rubber plays - yet sponge is allowed.  You can pretty much do all kinds of things to the sponge - so long as those things only modify the sponge and don't travel through the sponge and then modify the topsheet.

silverhair wrote: So we're back to using glue strictly for attaching the rubber to the blade.

silverhair wrote: Elmer's No-Wrinkle Rubber Cement, not water-based, passed the ENIZ test the morning after fresh rubber was glued onto a blade.  The procedure was to let the glue dry thoroughly, maybe an hour, prior to applying it to the blade.

I know of a person who failed the ENEZ test three days after using a standard rubber cement.  The general testing rule of thumb is to allow a day or two if you want to be sure, but depending on how you store the racket and no doubt other factors, that may not be sufficient.  Also, the ITTF has announced a zero tolerance policy and has mentioned changing the sensitivity of the testing devices so that they are more sensitive.

Personally, I think rubber cement is a fine option.  But I'd allow many days of airing time.  In fact, if I were to use it before a tournament where testing would be performed, I'd glue a full week ahead of time.  Overkill?  Sure.  But better safe than sorry.

Rubber cement is not a good choice if you find yourself needing to glue at a tournament or the day before.  In that case, you have little choice but to use a water based glue.