Silicone spray on old junk table not worth recovering???

S

spindoctor9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have an old 8' in my garage in horrible condition. My garage is small (can't shoot from the rails) and damp. The cloth is apparently 25 years old and VERY slow. This table is definitely not worth putting any money into (maybe if I had room inside the house to set it up). I removed the rails last night and restretched the cloth, it helped a little. The rails actually play ok, due to the humidity I assume. My question is, will a coat of silicone spray help speed it up? I've heard of a little silicone on the cue ball to get better action on old bar tables, so I imagine that some on the cloth itself would better my situation. But I'm also worried that the dampness of the garage would make it play even more sticky with silicone. Does anyone have any experience with this? This is just a middle-of-the-night-just-watched-a-match-need-to-play... table. I do most of my playing at the pool hall so this thing doesn't need to play great, just let me draw the ball! For reference; on good cloth I can get about 12-15 feet of draw from 8' away... on this table it's a stop shot lol.

Thanks in advance.

Also, the balls look as old as they table and have probably never been cleaned. Regular polishing isn't gonna do it... what can I soak them in to break the grime without negatively affecting the finish/play? This table/balls sat in someone's garage under a bunch of junk for 20 years.
 
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Silicone is probably not going to speed up the table.

Vacuum very well.
Then a wipe with lightly damp micro cloth.
Take that cloth and lightly spray with silicone on one of the clean sides for 3 seconds.
Wipe the table with the silicone. No downward pressure. Get the rail edges too.

Humidity will not be a factor on the silicone.

If you want a crude test just silicon the balls and see what happens. The action will be quite different. Your draw will likely increase.

I silicone my table about every 2-4 weeks depending on hours of play. but that's another story and its a 3C table.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I just found some info that many trick shot artist spray silicone on the cloth and cue ball to slicken it for wackier masse action so I think it will definitely help my problem. One of these days I'll have a place with room for a beautiful 9 footer and this will no longer be an issue :) I'll post again with the results after I pick some up.
 
spindoctor9 said:
I have an old 8' in my garage in horrible condition. My garage is small (can't shoot from the rails) and damp. The cloth is apparently 25 years old and VERY slow. This table is definitely not worth putting any money into (maybe if I had room inside the house to set it up). I removed the rails last night and restretched the cloth, it helped a little. The rails actually play ok, due to the humidity I assume. My question is, will a coat of silicone spray help speed it up? I've heard of a little silicone on the cue ball to get better action on old bar tables, so I imagine that some on the cloth itself would better my situation. But I'm also worried that the dampness of the garage would make it play even more sticky with silicone. Does anyone have any experience with this? This is just a middle-of-the-night-just-watched-a-match-need-to-play... table. I do most of my playing at the pool hall so this thing doesn't need to play great, just let me draw the ball! For reference; on good cloth I can get about 12-15 feet of draw from 8' away... on this table it's a stop shot lol.

Thanks in advance.

Also, the balls look as old as they table and have probably never been cleaned. Regular polishing isn't gonna do it... what can I soak them in to break the grime without negatively affecting the finish/play? This table/balls sat in someone's garage under a bunch of junk for 20 years.
Click to expand...

Try a dehumidifier. Or, try putting a lamp or three under the table to warm it up. There are some do-it-yourself instructions around for heating tables. You only have to get the table a few degrees above the room for the heating to be effective.

I don't think silicone will help with the speed.
 
clean the table as well as humanly possible to remove all dust and dirt....

Goto walmart and buy 2 cans of good old fashioned spray starch...


Take a good hot flat iron... starch the table and iron it flat.... Will get the nap layed back down and will get the speed back up...
 
Table

Let me look to make %100 sure, I have used 3030 tour edition cloth that would help the speed.... I will send it to ya for $30... Bed and rail cloth..I don't keep cloth that's junk. I usually don't sell it either.... I use it, installing or working on tables in one way or another' it's fast cloth that only gets faster as it wears....
Deal only stands for you on your table only. I have some new sets of pool balls too.. The pool balls you have are probably no good, those old balls tear up the cloth more than anything..exspecialy if they have bounced off the table on to the concrete floor for years. new balls make a big differance, A set of level best magnum balls will be a good buy for you.
It will all help your game
The most important things about the pool table is the cloth,balls,playing bed ,frame and rails. If your cushions are still bouncing good I wouldn't worry about them.
-what brand of table is it?
-
Rob.M
 
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dontlitethat said:
Let me look to make %100 sure, I have used 3030 tour edition cloth that would help the speed.... I will send it to ya for $30... Bed and rail cloth..I don't keep cloth that's junk. I usually don't sell it either.... I use it, installing or working on tables in one way or another' it's fast cloth that only gets faster as it wears....
Deal only stands for you on your table only. I have some new sets of pool balls too.. The pool balls you have are probably no good, those old balls tear up the cloth more than anything..exspecialy if they have bounced off the table on to the concrete floor for years. new balls make a big differance, A set of level best magnum balls will be a good buy for you.
It will all help your game
The most important things about the pool table is the cloth,balls,playing bed ,frame and rails. If your cushions are still bouncing good I wouldn't worry about them.
-what brand of table is it?
-
Rob.M
Click to expand...

Thank you much for the offer Rob, but I'll try siliconing the balls first, as this table is only used for a few shots here and there (my garage is 10-40 degrees this time of year and therefore the table is currently unusable anyway). I have no idea what brand the table is, it is unmarked. Very light weight frame, plastic pockets, a cheapy. 3 piece 1" slate though. or maybe 3/4".
 
Man if I had a table like that I'd be hitting learning masse till the cloth was gone.

Get some Polishing Compound (not Rubbing Compound) and clean at least the CB if not the whold rack. Work each really good. They'll come up nearly new. From there to keep them as good as possible Aramith Restorer then Polish is real good stuff. Restorer is slightly less abrasive than polishing compound.

I've heard from a masse artist that kerosene is even better than silicone on the CB. Furnature polish works pretty good too and lasts longer than silicone but not as slick.

You're going to see some crazy stuff slicking up the CB.

Renfro has a good idea too. Iron the cloth after cleaning. And old technique.
 
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3kushn said:
Man if I had a table like that I'd be hitting learning masse till the cloth was gone.

Get some Polishing Compound (not Rubbing Compound) and clean at least the CB if not the whold rack. Work each really good. They'll come up nearly new. From there to keep them as good as possible Aramith Restorer then Polish is real good stuff. Restorer is slightly less abrasive than polishing compound.

I've heard from a masse artist that kerosene is even better than silicone on the CB. Furnature polish works pretty good too and lasts longer than silicone but not as slick.

You're going to see some crazy stuff slicking up the CB.

Renfro has a good idea too. Iron the cloth after cleaning. And old technique.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Masse on this cloth? nearly IMPOSSIBLE! I can get some pretty wicked masse action on your typical Valley with shi**y bar cloth, but I can barely get an arc on this stuff. This table is literally like playing on a wool blanket. I'll iron it and clean the balls and try some kerosene or silicone... when it warms up to at least a tolerable 35F out there haha (I live on Mt Hood in NW OR). Thanks again!
 
spindoctor9 said:
I have an old 8' in my garage in horrible condition. My garage is small (can't shoot from the rails) and damp. The cloth is apparently 25 years old and VERY slow. This table is definitely not worth putting any money into (maybe if I had room inside the house to set it up). I removed the rails last night and restretched the cloth, it helped a little. The rails actually play ok, due to the humidity I assume. My question is, will a coat of silicone spray help speed it up? I've heard of a little silicone on the cue ball to get better action on old bar tables, so I imagine that some on the cloth itself would better my situation. But I'm also worried that the dampness of the garage would make it play even more sticky with silicone. Does anyone have any experience with this? This is just a middle-of-the-night-just-watched-a-match-need-to-play... table. I do most of my playing at the pool hall so this thing doesn't need to play great, just let me draw the ball! For reference; on good cloth I can get about 12-15 feet of draw from 8' away... on this table it's a stop shot lol.

Thanks in advance.

Also, the balls look as old as they table and have probably never been cleaned. Regular polishing isn't gonna do it... what can I soak them in to break the grime without negatively affecting the finish/play? This table/balls sat in someone's garage under a bunch of junk for 20 years.
Click to expand...

I have had pool tables in my barn since 2004. My Diamond of late (4 years) survives perfectly in the dampness and summer heat, or winter cold. I heat up the room when I shoot or throw some air conditioner on in the middle of summer. But personally I don't recognize in difference in the way the table plays in differenct weather conditions (maybe if it is really raining outside and damp).

My advice to you, forget all of this mumbo jumbo and just buy new cheap cloth (must cost under $200?). Just bite the bullet and try not to be so cheap.
 
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