Ultraskin Pro Maintenance question

caff3in3 · May 19, 2015

Hey all,

I am about to try ultraskin tips for the first time and had a couple questions.

I have been playing for about 20 years and have used medium tips exclusively. I use a lot of spin in my game and after doing some reading it seems like I should be using soft tips instead of medium to get more grip on the cueball. I am having an ultraskin pro tip installed.

I understand that softer tips will mushroom and need more maintenance. Specifically I would like to know (from folks who have used the pro tips):

1. I have an ultimate tip tool. Will this be sufficient to trim the mushrooming or should I invest in a tip shaver like the Joe porper one to save time?

2. How often should I be shaping it to keep a dime radius?

Thanks for any assistance. I am really excited to try these tips after reading all of the great feedback for them on here!

Cheers,

Chris

Cross · May 19, 2015

I dont know if I am thinking about the same ultimate tip tool , but what I had a few years back did not really trim the mushroomed sides. I think it just squuezes it back into original shape without trimming. If this is the same one, then the mushroom will just come back over and over. Usually, even on soft tips, I dont remember having to shape my tip into a dime radius more than once or twice for the lifetime of the tip.

for what its worth, I too use a lot of spin in my shots and when I switched to a softer tip ( G2 soft) I began missing more shots. I think that because it grips the cueball more, the spin I impart becomes more than I intended. Im sure that given enough time I would have learned to adjust to the softer tip but I just took it off and went back to my usual kamui black soft ( little bit harder than the g2 soft).

good luck!

Tramp Steamer · May 19, 2015

Welcome to the forum. Lots to see and do.

I've been using Ultraskin medium tips for several years now and have had great success with them. They play well, hold their shape well; all the things you want in a layered tip can be found in an Ultraskin.
To maintain shape, and for me, a nickle radius, I use a Willard tool.
Dr. Dave, I think, has done quite a bit of study on the differences between medium versus soft tips. Check out his web site.

bdorman · May 19, 2015

I use an UltraSkin Soft. After about three months of use I had MINOR mushrooming. I emphasize minor because it was so little that you'd have not noticed it unless you looked real, real close.

I had it trimmed by a guy who opened up a part-time pro shop at the local bar/room and I wanted to support his business; otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. It was that minor.

I too have thought about buying one of the better tip-trimming tools, but then I admitted that I didn't really need one. He charged me $6 to trim the tip; there's just no sense in spending $100 for a decent tool.

Fast Lenny · May 19, 2015

Mine has mushroomed and I use the Ultimate Tip Tool to get it back in shape but it keeps coming back so going to take the shaft to my cue guy and have it taken care of. Great tip. :smile:

Willi Makaball · May 19, 2015

Ive used Ultra Skins, pro soft, some minor mushrooming or ballooning of tip early on, then all held up great, It seems to need scuffing to prevent tip glazing, I find these tips preform better than expected, the cost is reasonable, and would recommend them to all.

caff3in3 · May 19, 2015

Thanks for the info guys. Tips arrived in the mail today

Blue Hog ridr · May 19, 2015

I don't think that you will have much, if any problem with even the Soft Ultra. Never have with any of mine.

Don't mess about with the Ultimate Tip Tool. That will scratch the heck out of your ferrule and you will have to get a repairman to take them out.

The Porper Grazer is probably the best for the job. A little sand paper to clean it up after and a burnish. You can set the depth of the blade so it takes the mushroom off and not come remotely close to your ferrule. Also used for trimming an installed tip by hand, so serves 2 purposes.

The Porper Little Shaver works excellent but only good for a mushroom. A sharp Carbide edge so works well. I shouldn't say that. I used to use a sharp blade to take the majority of leather off a new tip, and then used the Shaver to clean the little bit of excess off the tip.

The Porper Burnisher is excellent and cheap also.

Trust me on this one. When I was experimenting with tip tools, it must have cost me at least a couple of hundred, most likely more on everything I could get my hands on. Only to find out that the Porper Tools were the best quality for the cheapest price.

Opinions on tools will vary. I never go anywhere without a Willards nickel and dime shaper in the case.

acedonkeyace · May 19, 2015

Ultraskins Pro Tip Maintenance

I have a Cue Repair Business and have 4 Pool Halls that I have Shops in and I install many of the Ultraskin Products that Tom Hay has produced, in fact I have installed over 500 of Ultraskins Products since they came out and about 300 Oinkers and probably less than 100 Kamuii, since the price difference after my customers are turned onto the ultraskins, they stay with the Ultraskins and the money they save they can play an afternoon of pool and buy a Pitcher of Beer and if you put the kamuii black and the ultraskin black onto 2 of the same cues, 95 out of 100 players could not tell you which is which, so why spend the extra money and keep the money spent in the USA with USA companies.

What I tell all of my customers on the mushrooming on the tip is to not do this maintenance, RETURN the tip to Me or the Cue Repairmen that replaced the tip and hve him trim the mushrooming off the tip. On the PRO, which is Ultraskins softest version, will need atleast one trimming and most need 2+ depending on how much initial tip height you leave on the tip. Many of my customers only want 1/2 to 3/4 of the original height of the tip left and the rest cut off. When you start with less you will have less overall mushrooming.

The other issues with glazing, use the tools u feel most comfortable with but be easy with the pressure so you don't delaminate or peel layers off.

I suggest the 120 grit sandpaper in the curved board or plastic insert board and just swipe it across the tip with easy pressure and it will return the original tackiness and keep the curvature of the tip that u like.

Hope this helps a bit

Good Stroking and Ball-Pocketing!!

Mike 'acedonkeyce' Kennedy:thumbup:

Vahmurka · Jun 12, 2015

acedonkeyace said:
On the PRO, which is Ultraskins softest version, will need atleast one trimming and most need 2+ depending on how much initial tip height you leave on the tip. Many of my customers only want 1/2 to 3/4 of the original height of the tip left and the rest cut off. When you start with less you will have less overall mushrooming.

this. Like stated several times before, UltraSkin tips are thicker (or higher if you like) than any other tip there, so every time you get a new one installed it is a must to have 2 or 3 layers cut off. That brings us to 3/4 of initial height like stated above. There were also opinions that UltraSkin tips work best when they are about 50-60% cut, as compared to new tip. Some players would want this straight away, some would prefer wearing the tip down to that condition (which takes about a week or two, from 60 to 50% I mean)

Patrick Johnson · Jun 12, 2015

caff3in3 said:
...it seems like I should be using soft tips instead of medium to get more grip on the cueball.

All normal well-chalked tips grip the same.

pj
chgo

macguy · Jun 12, 2015

acedonkeyace said:
I have a Cue Repair Business and have 4 Pool Halls that I have Shops in and I install many of the Ultraskin Products that Tom Hay has produced, in fact I have installed over 500 of Ultraskins Products since they came out and about 300 Oinkers and probably less than 100 Kamuii, since the price difference after my customers are turned onto the ultraskins, they stay with the Ultraskins and the money they save they can play an afternoon of pool and buy a Pitcher of Beer and if you put the kamuii black and the ultraskin black onto 2 of the same cues, 95 out of 100 players could not tell you which is which, so why spend the extra money and keep the money spent in the USA with USA companies.

What I tell all of my customers on the mushrooming on the tip is to not do this maintenance, RETURN the tip to Me or the Cue Repairmen that replaced the tip and hve him trim the mushrooming off the tip. On the PRO, which is Ultraskins softest version, will need atleast one trimming and most need 2+ depending on how much initial tip height you leave on the tip. Many of my customers only want 1/2 to 3/4 of the original height of the tip left and the rest cut off. When you start with less you will have less overall mushrooming.

The other issues with glazing, use the tools u feel most comfortable with but be easy with the pressure so you don't delaminate or peel layers off.

I suggest the 120 grit sandpaper in the curved board or plastic insert board and just swipe it across the tip with easy pressure and it will return the original tackiness and keep the curvature of the tip that u like.

Hope this helps a bit

Good Stroking and Ball-Pocketing!!

Mike 'acedonkeyce' Kennedy:thumbup:

You sound like the right guy to ask. I got a few Ultraskins medium and I kind of don't like them. I want to give them an honest try. What hardness to you find most people like? It can be subjective as far as what the tip says in terms of hardness, what do people actually think and seem to like?

Also I took the tips down a few layers before installing them they were very high, maybe I should just have used them at full height. What do you think? . Maybe they are just not for me but I want to be fair with the tips.

Agent 99 · Jun 12, 2015

caff3in3 said:
Hey all,

I am about to try ultraskin tips for the first time and had a couple questions.

I have been playing for about 20 years and have used medium tips exclusively. I use a lot of spin in my game and after doing some reading it seems like I should be using soft tips instead of medium to get more grip on the cueball. I am having an ultraskin pro tip installed.

I understand that softer tips will mushroom and need more maintenance. Specifically I would like to know (from folks who have used the pro tips):

1. I have an ultimate tip tool. Will this be sufficient to trim the mushrooming or should I invest in a tip shaver like the Joe porper one to save time?

2. How often should I be shaping it to keep a dime radius?

Thanks for any assistance. I am really excited to try these tips after reading all of the great feedback for them on here!

Cheers,

Chris

Before I decided to never use a layered tip again I played an Ultraskin Med to check it out. My opinion is that the Ultraskin tip is by far the best value in a layered playing tip - outstanding performance for the money !!!

The medium Ultraskin felt a little on the soft side to me, compared to say a Tiger Everest or a Kamui Medium...

So you may want to try a medium if you are used to that type of tip hardness. The pro is extremely soft and you may find it messing with your stroke and having you come up short, unless you start to use a little more stroke than you are used to.

If they make a Med-Hard you may want to give that one a try as well. The harder the tip you like, the less mushrooming effect will take place. The Medium I played had excellent grip - really, it was a lot of spin.

Personally I would never do any tip work myself, except for roughing it up occasionally with my favorite, and only tip tool, the Willard. If it mushrooms it goes back to a pro with a lathe - but that's just me.

Good rolls.

caff3in3 · Jun 12, 2015

thanks for all of the info guys, much appreciated.

I have been playing a few weeks with the pro and I love the spin I can get with a softer stroke but like 99 said I have come up short on a lot of shots. The biggest thing I noticed (other than more spin at low speed) is that I cant draw as well with a hard stroke.

So far I love the Ultraskin tips but will likely be moving to medium instead of pro.

Cheers,

Chris

Blue Hog ridr · Jun 12, 2015

Yes Mike. I forgot to mention, the curved shaper that holds the paper, 120 grit preferably, is also a must have. I bought a long one and cut it down to 4" so it fits in the case pocket well. 4" is just the proper size to hold in your hand also.

That particular shaper is also available with the permanent Diamond Grit in it so never a need to change sand paper.

I have one or 2 different styles kicking around. Very handy to put that final touch on a tip when you're out playing.

will likely be moving to medium instead of pro.

Give it a little time, if you haven't already and then make a decision. Tom's soft tips tend to be a bit more harder than the average soft tip in hardness rating.
After a while, all tips will pack down a bit, so you may end up with a tip closer to what you would like in a Medium.

Not saying that they will turn into a medium, cause they won't. Just that it may turn into something closer to a soft medium on the softer side and you will learn to like it as it is.

caff3in3 · Jun 12, 2015

I was planning to keep it on a while but I am selling the cue and bought a new one. I picked up a predator Roadline LE3 with a vantage shaft. It has a medium kamui clear on it. Not sure what I am going to do yet. I bought 10 ultraskin tips and am thinking about putting one on but may use the kamui until it needs to be replaced.

Blue Hog ridr · Jun 12, 2015

Yeah. Even tho I am probably not on Kamuis Christmas List, I am also not a waster.

I would try out the Kamui until, as you said, needs replacing.

I have to admit, I wasn't a huge fan of Kamui but after buying 2 Players HXT shafts that come with a Kamui soft on them, I'm not hating them at all.

So why rip off a perfectly new tip unless you absolutely can't abide by it.

caff3in3 · Jun 12, 2015

I am curious to see how the kamui plays. I used to use talisman tips but decided to try ultraskin from all the good reviews.

Below your name is says pro ice fisherman. What do you fish for? Here is a nice brown trout I caught.

Agent 99 · Jun 13, 2015

caff3in3 said:
I was planning to keep it on a while but I am selling the cue and bought a new one. I picked up a predator Roadline LE3 with a vantage shaft. It has a medium kamui clear on it. Not sure what I am going to do yet. I bought 10 ultraskin tips and am thinking about putting one on but may use the kamui until it needs to be replaced.

Congrats on the new LE3 ! Very nice cue in my opinion - Great Joint with an excellent shaft. If they made a wrap less version I would have bought one.

Good rolls.

Agent 99 · Jun 13, 2015

caff3in3 said:
I am curious to see how the kamui plays. I used to use talisman tips but decided to try ultraskin from all the good reviews.

Below your name is says pro ice fisherman. What do you fish for? Here is a nice brown trout I caught.

Now that just made me hungry - I'm off to the kitchen to fish up some grub.

Ultraskin Pro Maintenance question

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