You may notice that the ball doesn’t bounce off the rails like they used to. You may hear a sound when the ball hits the rail instead of springing off the rubber.

To check your rubber for bad spots you can squeeze the tip (where the ball hits the rail) in several spots on all rails. If the rubber feels hard like wood, they have gone bad. Spongey is a less common issue and a little harder to diagnose. If the table still has bounce but the point of the bumper doesn’t seem to bounce back as fast they may have gone spongey.

Another issue that may come up and need repair is if the rubber is coming loose from the rail. You can tell by gently pushing on the top part of the rubber to see if it moves away from the rail. In some cases we will recommend new rubber depending on age and condition, compared to the cost of reinstalling the existing rubber.

If your rail rubber has been replaced before, and you notice that when the ball hits the rail it will “jump”, this happens when the rubber was not installed properly, or the wrong rubber was used. Every table is meant to use a specific rubber with specific dimensions. If your rubber is not the right one, or is cut wrong, you can have problems with the ball jumping instead of bouncing back as intended.

You may also be having a problem due to the facings (the harder black material on each end of the bumper). This could be due to improper installation, or environmental. These facings are always replaced during a rail rubber replacement.

We replace rubber as a set, not individual rails.

Replacing the rubber always means new cloth on at least the rails.