Silicone for trick shots

Tennesseejoe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I understand many trick shot artists spray silicone on the table to increase the effects of masse. Will silicone have long term effects on the cloth or does it evaporate/dissapate?
 

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
I guess it depends on whether the silicone is suspended in a gel like petroleum, or if it's a dry-form that uses aerosol to spread it.

If it's dry-form it could probably be vacuumed up.
 

DAVE_M

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've seen an Eric Yow video where he talks about it. I've tried it. It didn't help much with the humidity down here.
 

erriep

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
for artistic billard, a silicon sponge (primary sold for shoes care) is used . not on the balls, but on the cushions, when the cloth isn't hot new.

it looks like this : https://fr.123rf.com/photo_5827652_eponge-de-chaussures-de-silicone-sur-un-fond-blanc.html
a few brands are good.
the applicaiton is "light", because if you put too much, too wet impregnation of the cushion cloth, then the result is crappy.

its primary goal is to make the table play much much longer, by decreasing the ball/cushion friction.
It is rarely applyed on the cloh itself, or on just the first 10-15cm of the cloth, from the cusion side.


such silicon coating is very efficient for some hours, and decrease shortly. BUT is it noticeable during days and days, if not weeks.

if this coat is good for aartistic, it is in fact not appreciated for the 3 cushion game (or worse, the balkline/small games) because it introduce too much artificial modification of the ball paths. In other terms, it can be used to make an old cloth to play a bit like a newer cloth, but it's not the same and the effects aren't stable in the time. even during a 50points game you can see the effects of the silicon to decrease ---> hard to adapt your shots.

Since in my poolclub we not only own 2 dedicated artistic billard 10' tables , but 2 pool tables too, I could recently notice than the effects of this sponge is less noticeable on a pool table than on carom tables . due to the cushion profiles I guess.

Note than in artistic billiard , silicon isn't used on the balls. never. Hot new balls, perfectly cleaned and polished, that's the best.
silicon used in artistic billiard : on cushions. but carefully....

about pool artists, dunno. may be Florian could answer, but IMHO with new balls & on a very fast cloth (like a simonis 300 fast) , i ain't sure than it is needed on the balls....
 
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foxcues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I know a few high level players that use silicone instead of wax when the use a ball polisher.I tried it at home and it works ok but the balls skid of the rails for the a while(like new cloth).It takes a while for the silicone to wear down then they play good.
 

Chip Roberson

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I played an exibition match back in the early 90's on a table that had somekind of cloth on it, where it seemed there was no stoping of a ball when it started rolling--if you gave the cue ball the slightest hint of draw it would come back almost as fast as it left the cue--My thoughts on this--there is a different cloth for billiards --and a different cloth for pocket billiards-- I am noticing also that there are a number of companies now offering cloth that has been treated with Teflon--I have used Teflon in the past to coat the cueball and it's unbeliveable what happens---Dupont came out with a product called Teflon Wipes a few years ago--they no longer produce it--but it made the cueball go crazy when applied and you could use it and not miscue--Dupont now makes a product called Dry Teflon Film--purchased at Lowes Hdware--works great for this also--I haven't applied this to the cloth but was just wondering what it would do---Also I remembering reading around on the Forum somewhere a few weeks ago about someone spraying down there table on a regulor basis with Pledge...Anyone know anything about that?
 

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
I understand many trick shot artists spray silicone on the table to increase the effects of masse. Will silicone have long term effects on the cloth or does it evaporate/dissapate?

Just for conversation, I watched Mike Massey perform some of his standard tricks with the explosive spins that seem to defy physics. I grabbed the cueball just to see... nothing on it but cueball.

The only time I saw him put anything foreign was when he chalked his fingers for finger pool.

Freddie <~~~ can't defy physics
 
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