Life expectancy of new cloth
- Thread starter JuicyGirl
- Start date
I agree 3-5 years depending on what you call worn out and how much you play. This is assuming your using simonis.
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What this guy said lol. My cloth is 2 years old gets about 12 ours of week played on it. It's championship tournament cloth. I play rotation 99 percent of the time and the main wear on my table is from the break. If your a 1 pocket or straights player 8 to 10 years wouldn't be a problem with high end championship or somonis.
Typically just 9 ball and 8 ball, straight pool but rarely. I'm not brave enough for one pocket yet.
If you use a cloth square for breaking it can last longer.
Note that lighting can affect the life of the cloth. The cloth will last longer if kept away from direct sunlight (the UV light will fade the color and break-down the fabric).
For artificial lighting, fluorescent lighting will fade the cloth color, and slowly damage the cloth as well (albiet, maybe not enough to concern you). LED lights don't produce UV, but whether LED lights produce good pool table lighting or not, well that's subjective. Of course, the majority of pool hall lighting is fluorescent and the cloth fades but remains playable long after that, but if you want to maximize the cloth life, scientifically fluorescent is not the way to go.
For artificial lighting, fluorescent lighting will fade the cloth color, and slowly damage the cloth as well (albiet, maybe not enough to concern you). LED lights don't produce UV, but whether LED lights produce good pool table lighting or not, well that's subjective. Of course, the majority of pool hall lighting is fluorescent and the cloth fades but remains playable long after that, but if you want to maximize the cloth life, scientifically fluorescent is not the way to go.
My cloth (Simonis 760) is going on 4 years old with 2 hours per day time, but I don't break on it very often, I just roll balls out and shoot.
Amen..........:thumbup:
2-3 hours per day... I'd say 2-6 years of good use. My Simonis has easily seen more than an average of 2-3 hours per day (of serious play) over the past 2 years and people tell me that it looks like it's recently been recovered. I know you don't have 860 Simonis cloth...
But if you want to get the most from your cloth then several things will come into play here (no pun intended)... A table is only going to be and play as good as the time that you put into it.
[This is lengthy but in my opinion it's stuff that every table owner should know and follow] Sorry, I'm not going to give you a simple answer here... but if you follow these rules you should get the maximum life out of your cloth.
A bottom end cloth is going to have less wool and more nylon woven into the cloth.
A 18-20 mph break can generate nearly 500 deg Fahrenheit in an instant. So any shot that is played hard or has a lot of downward friction is going to create a lot of heat against the cloth. What this does is to actually melt down the nylon in the cloth causing the common white marks on the table.
Most of the wear on whatever kind of cloth that you have will also depend on what kind of balls that you are using. Aramith made balls (as well as Cyclop) are phenolic resin balls which generate less heat friction than non-phenolic balls. The higher the quality (Super Pro, Tournament, Centennial, ect..) the less friction you will have against the cloth so the less wear and burns.
Most important... KEEP THE CLOTH AND BALLS CLEAN!!!
I can't stress this enough as dirt on the cloth and balls grind into the fabric with every shot. I choose to use a different color chalk (blue) than my cloth color (blue/green) so that I can see when it is time to vacuum the table and where the heavy buildups are located. If there is a noticeable amount of chalk it is time to suck and brush the entire table and cushions. I use a vacuum first so as not to brush the chalk dust down into the cloth. Never use a rotating upholstery attachment. Use a standard upholstery bristle attachment with enough suction to draw chalk and dirt out of the cloth... without pulling at the cloth. You could also use a Simonis X-1 cleaner instead of a vaccum if you have $100 to burn, but I prefer a vaccum myself... a bit more work but (I believe) better results. Also the final brushing with the table brush (after you vacuum) should be lengthwise in the direction of the break... particularly with lower end cloths that have much more nap than say the Simonis 860. As well the wool on a lower end cloth will not be worsted (tightly woven) so it will have fuzz that will collect in tiny balls on the cloth as it wears. The vacuum should clean up these loose debris well... a table brush will not.
Keep a micro fiber cloth around just for a quick wipe down of the balls each day before you shoot... and use Aramith or equal ball cleaner on your balls when they need it. How often? Well, I clean just the cue ball when there are light chalk marks that won't wipe off. That's a sign that the wax from the cleaner is breaking down... and I clean all of the balls about every other (or third time) that I clean the cue ball. Of course the cue ball is the one that does most of the damage to a cloth and picks up most of the dirt and debris.
I personally use a 4" x 3" square of scrap billiard cloth as a break cloth because you're going to get burn marks real quick without it and once you do... there's no going back. I have had guest who have rolled their eyes or balked over having to use a break cloth on my table. However not any of them have ever shelled out $600+ to recover a 9' table... because they've never owned one. If they did then I dare say they wouldn't treat it like the pay table they shoot on at the local pool hall or bar. But if I had the money to recover my table every year or so then I'd probably have no rules on shots or breaks.
I also have the "no masse or jump shot" rule on my table... however... it is a table for shooting so if someone has to play down on the cue ball to get a little curve on a shot... well everyone knows the difference between a masse and hard english.
And expect track lines along common break spots toward the head spot over time (even using a break cloth). They will be much lighter than an unprotected break spot would be and hardly noticeable, but they will begin to develop over a matter of time... just like the lines running along the table under the edge of the rails.
One last thing off of the top of my head... when you rack do not keep the balls tight as you push the rack to the foot spot. Let them roll free and tighten them up at the spot. If you push them forward while tight, it won't take any time at all before you see 8 ball rack push lines between the bottom rail and the break spot.
Just remember... you're going to get play wear. Keeping everything fairly clean will more than triple the life of your cloth and a clean table and balls play so much better and make it worth a little extra work. You're going to get wear spots... the key is to avoid the big nasty (obvious) ones so that the cloth wears as even as possible.
I also suggest not to wear watches, rings that are not smooth or most any jewelry as a slight pr-i-ck on a tightly stretched cloth becomes a hole over time... much worst than a burn mark.
But if you want to get the most from your cloth then several things will come into play here (no pun intended)... A table is only going to be and play as good as the time that you put into it.
[This is lengthy but in my opinion it's stuff that every table owner should know and follow] Sorry, I'm not going to give you a simple answer here... but if you follow these rules you should get the maximum life out of your cloth.
A bottom end cloth is going to have less wool and more nylon woven into the cloth.
A 18-20 mph break can generate nearly 500 deg Fahrenheit in an instant. So any shot that is played hard or has a lot of downward friction is going to create a lot of heat against the cloth. What this does is to actually melt down the nylon in the cloth causing the common white marks on the table.
Most of the wear on whatever kind of cloth that you have will also depend on what kind of balls that you are using. Aramith made balls (as well as Cyclop) are phenolic resin balls which generate less heat friction than non-phenolic balls. The higher the quality (Super Pro, Tournament, Centennial, ect..) the less friction you will have against the cloth so the less wear and burns.
Most important... KEEP THE CLOTH AND BALLS CLEAN!!!
I can't stress this enough as dirt on the cloth and balls grind into the fabric with every shot. I choose to use a different color chalk (blue) than my cloth color (blue/green) so that I can see when it is time to vacuum the table and where the heavy buildups are located. If there is a noticeable amount of chalk it is time to suck and brush the entire table and cushions. I use a vacuum first so as not to brush the chalk dust down into the cloth. Never use a rotating upholstery attachment. Use a standard upholstery bristle attachment with enough suction to draw chalk and dirt out of the cloth... without pulling at the cloth. You could also use a Simonis X-1 cleaner instead of a vaccum if you have $100 to burn, but I prefer a vaccum myself... a bit more work but (I believe) better results. Also the final brushing with the table brush (after you vacuum) should be lengthwise in the direction of the break... particularly with lower end cloths that have much more nap than say the Simonis 860. As well the wool on a lower end cloth will not be worsted (tightly woven) so it will have fuzz that will collect in tiny balls on the cloth as it wears. The vacuum should clean up these loose debris well... a table brush will not.
Keep a micro fiber cloth around just for a quick wipe down of the balls each day before you shoot... and use Aramith or equal ball cleaner on your balls when they need it. How often? Well, I clean just the cue ball when there are light chalk marks that won't wipe off. That's a sign that the wax from the cleaner is breaking down... and I clean all of the balls about every other (or third time) that I clean the cue ball. Of course the cue ball is the one that does most of the damage to a cloth and picks up most of the dirt and debris.
I personally use a 4" x 3" square of scrap billiard cloth as a break cloth because you're going to get burn marks real quick without it and once you do... there's no going back. I have had guest who have rolled their eyes or balked over having to use a break cloth on my table. However not any of them have ever shelled out $600+ to recover a 9' table... because they've never owned one. If they did then I dare say they wouldn't treat it like the pay table they shoot on at the local pool hall or bar. But if I had the money to recover my table every year or so then I'd probably have no rules on shots or breaks.
I also have the "no masse or jump shot" rule on my table... however... it is a table for shooting so if someone has to play down on the cue ball to get a little curve on a shot... well everyone knows the difference between a masse and hard english.
And expect track lines along common break spots toward the head spot over time (even using a break cloth). They will be much lighter than an unprotected break spot would be and hardly noticeable, but they will begin to develop over a matter of time... just like the lines running along the table under the edge of the rails.
One last thing off of the top of my head... when you rack do not keep the balls tight as you push the rack to the foot spot. Let them roll free and tighten them up at the spot. If you push them forward while tight, it won't take any time at all before you see 8 ball rack push lines between the bottom rail and the break spot.
Just remember... you're going to get play wear. Keeping everything fairly clean will more than triple the life of your cloth and a clean table and balls play so much better and make it worth a little extra work. You're going to get wear spots... the key is to avoid the big nasty (obvious) ones so that the cloth wears as even as possible.
I also suggest not to wear watches, rings that are not smooth or most any jewelry as a slight pr-i-ck on a tightly stretched cloth becomes a hole over time... much worst than a burn mark.
Pool cloth is like just about everything else today. It's made to wear out much faster than the same products years ago. I can tell you for sure that many firehouses, VFW's, American Legions, and private clubs and homes had cloth played on many hours a day that lasted way over 10 years playing mostly 14.1 on Long Island from 1940's to 1980's. Also most were 10' tables. Johnnyt
Bottom end cloth - the lowest I would go is Championshio Invitational. For an 8' table it's a little over $100. It's still a worsted wool blend with nylon. Even though affordable, this is tough, durable stuff for a home table and will last many years. You do want some sort of worsted wool blend even if the cloth is cheap.
The issue with cloth that is properly cared for is mostly appearance. I've seen terrible looking cloth that plays just fine. Some things you can do to help matters is, use a break cloth, wash your hands before you play especially after eating, keep the balls clean, and vacuum the table regularly. The idea is to keep moisture and grease away from the cloth.
I've not been able to clean a grease spot off without leaving some sort of mark. My Simonis lasts about 8-10 years before holes start appearing. I jump on it and break without a break cloth but only play maybe 10 hours a month.
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When you are ready contact Tom Wirth in S. Florida.
