My predator cloth only lasted 4.5 months

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Because I couldn’t get any simiones cloth, i decided to go With PREDATOR CLOTH, in blue. My mechanic just a great job installing the cloth, and every thing was good in the beginning. Slick, fast, i was pretty happy. I play/practice 3 hours a day, everyday, give or take a hour or two. Which Comes out to 270 hours of playing time on the cloth.

I have a tendency to lose my draw stoke. When its gone, it gets ugly. I freak out, and shoot at ball after ball, mostly launching the ball off the table. And i just keep shooting and shooting. It’s gets very bad, until i rediscover my draw stoke and i calm down. so i have contributed somewhat to the wear and tear on the cloth, as I’m hitting so low on the cue ball.

But 4 months? I kept it clean, wiped it down with a micro soft towel, some times a little OxyClean, i feel i babyed the cloth pretty good.

Today, my mechanic installed 860HR on my table, and no more blue for me, seems to show wear and tear too much, when with green. Looks great. Am i out some money????? Yes, as my mechanic does nothing for free. But i had to do It. Hopefully i can do better on keep the cloth clean. My plan is if i am shooting more than one long draw shot, in a drill or practice, i will put a pad under the cue ball, which will keep the cloth from contacting my cue tip. Wish me luck.
 
Picture of cloth
 

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Because I couldn’t get any simiones cloth, i decided to go With PREDATOR CLOTH, in blue. My mechanic just a great job installing the cloth, and every thing was good in the beginning. Slick, fast, i was pretty happy. I play/practice 3 hours a day, everyday, give or take a hour or two. Which Comes out to 270 hours of playing time on the cloth.

I have a tendency to lose my draw stoke. When its gone, it gets ugly. I freak out, and shoot at ball after ball, mostly launching the ball off the table. And i just keep shooting and shooting. It’s gets very bad, until i rediscover my draw stoke and i calm down. so i have contributed somewhat to the wear and tear on the cloth, as I’m hitting so low on the cue ball.

But 4 months? I kept it clean, wiped it down with a micro soft towel, some times a little OxyClean, i feel i babyed the cloth pretty good.

Today, my mechanic installed 860HR on my table, and no more blue for me, seems to show wear and tear too much, when with green. Looks great. Am i out some money????? Yes, as my mechanic does nothing for free. But i had to do It. Hopefully i can do better on keep the cloth clean. My plan is if i am shooting more than one long draw shot, in a drill or practice, i will put a pad under the cue ball, which will keep the cloth from contacting my cue tip. Wish me luck.
what makes you think the cloth was worn out? worsted wool can show a lot of marks(especially blue) but still play fine. unless it had holes in it i just can't see any quality worsted being worn out after 270 hrs of play. Just now saw the pics. Are those holes? You don't get those from normal use. Bad jump shots or violent miscue maybe. Don't think your issue(s) are the result of bad cloth.
 
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“When its gone, it gets ugly. I freak out, and shoot at ball after ball, mostly launching the ball off the table. And i just keep shooting and shooting.”

Is this a joke post?

If not I doubt your new cloth will last much longer than your old cloth.
Agree 100%. I'm not laying off what i saw on the cloth. This stuff has been used in lots of pro events with no problems. Don't think any cloth will make a difference if treated the same way.
 
Well i know that i was a big problem with my draw shots. But i think i have solved that problem with putting a thin sheet of material down when I’m going to shoot my draw shots, (like a break shot pad) so the new cloth will be protected from my cue tip. I have used oxy-clean in a bowl of warm water, with a micro soft towel, wrung out pretty good, and do the table in four sections. Comes out pretty clean. Why do i lose my draw stroke?????? Don’t know, but i think i have cured myself of that, as I’m drawing the ball well now, with no launches.

OK, I ADMIT IT, I PRETTY MUCH SELF DESTRUCTED THE HOLES IN THE CLOTH. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

i try to shoot 50 long draw shots a day, but with a pad down, i shoud be fine.
 
Well i know that i was a big problem with my draw shots. But i think i have solved that problem with putting a thin sheet of material down when I’m going to shoot my draw shots, (like a break shot pad) so the new cloth will be protected from my cue tip. I have used oxy-clean in a bowl of warm water, with a micro soft towel, wrung out pretty good, and do the table in four sections. Comes out pretty clean. Why do i lose my draw stroke?????? Don’t know, but i think i have cured myself of that, as I’m drawing the ball well now, with no launches.

OK, I ADMIT IT, I PRETTY MUCH SELF DESTRUCTED THE HOLES IN THE CLOTH. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

i try to shoot 50 long draw shots a day, but with a pad down, i shoud be fine.
don't use oxy. use a lil woolite in water and a microfiber cloth. couple times a month is all you really need. make sure to vac it good before. btw, you shouldn't be hitting the cloth if you know how to draw it properly. you might graze it but that's about it.
 
Back when I was serious about pool, I did the mighty X every day.
My table was a practice table and rarely saw any actual play with an opponent. Because of this, I used packaging tape at the 4 ball spots to keep my tip from digging into the cloth. My instructor had it on his table and it seemed to work well.
My new table will never see the mighty X. I will shoot the shots from all over the table when practicing. The X is brutal on a table, both for the cue tip during follow through draws and the wearing of the cloth in the X like the break lines.
When a practice session goes wrong and I started to get amped up, I walk away for a bit. Take the dogs outside or make a sandwich. Go back to it 20 mins. later and it typically fixes itself. It's more of a state- of- mind thing for me. Beats abusing my equipment or myself.
 
Yes, I have done that, walk away for a while, and then come back to figure things out. I think putting down the thin round plate size target i have cut is really going to help with ball marks on low cue tip draw shots.

Can i draw the cue ball today? Like a pro, i have worked on this shot so long, i just recently put it all together, and I’m very happy with my draw shot. (I was the only man in my local fabric shop looking for material, all the women were looking at me, like whats he doing in here. 😂😂😂😂😂😂)

i am going to treat my new cloth like a baby, no MIGHTY X DRILL FOR ME. Got masters green chalk too.
 
I've seen the predator cloth on the tables at Hard Times in Sacramento, I think they get at least 6 months out of it, and that place is busy. I know someone practicing diligently will shoot many more shots per hour than an average game, but 4.5 months is pretty quick unless you need your cloth pristine.
 
A friend has 2 tables in a small town bar and they see a LOT of use. I put 860HR on them twice, and the last time he wanted Predator. Paid more for it, too.
He liked it at first, but will not be using it again. He said it doesn't hold up as well, which seems to be pretty common.
 
Had 860 Hr for almost 3 years. It's had an untold amount of hours on it. Track lines all over. Cleaned religiously. Only reason I changed it was to install new rails. It had plenty of life left in it.
 
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