Glue is used to attach rubber to a blade. Booster is a non-glue that enhances the performance of your rubber. Until recently, there were two kinds of glue: regular glue and speed glue.
Health Effects
Until a few years ago, all table tennis glues contained harmful volatile compounds. Glues or boosters containing such compounds should be used in a well-ventilated area. Long-term use of such products could have adverse health effects. For each glue or booster that we sell, the product page notes whether it contains harmful volatile compounds.
Harmful volatile compounds are also called volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Speed-Glue Ban
Players who use speed glue glue their rackets frequently, so the health effects of speed glue were a particular concern. Effective September 1, 2008, all glue used in ITTF and USATT events must be free of harmful volatile compounds. In addition to banning glues containing harmful volatile compounds, the ITTF also changed the rules on September 1, 2008, to prohibit anything that changes the playing properties of the rubber, thus banning speed glue and booster.
Some tournaments use a device called “Enez” to test rackets for the presence of harmful volatile compounds. Since the adhesives used in manufacturing may contain such compounds, the ITTF recommends that blades and rubber be removed from their packaging and aired out for seventy-two hours before assembling a racket. Even if you use a glue containing harmful volatile compounds, if you air out your racket for a week after using the glue, all the volatile compounds should evaporate and it should pass the Enez.
Regular Glue
Regular glue is similar to rubber cement but is thinner (rubber cement is too thick to spread evenly). Regular glue comes in either liquid form or as simple-to-use mess-free adhesive sheets.
Speed Glue
Speed glue was developed in the 1980s. It soaked into the sponge. While it was still wet, it changed the playing characteristics of the sponge, making it much easier to drive the ball into the sponge; at the same time, the sponge/glue combination retained enough resiliency so that you did not lose power. Generally, speed glue felt nice if you took a swing at the ball, but it made the rubber much harder to control on shots where you did not take a swing, e.g., returning a short serve or blocking. World-class players swing at just about everything, so they all used speed glue.
How Long the Effect Lasted
The speed-glue effect only lasted three to four hours, so players who used speed glue generally re-glued each time they played. After speed glue dried, it played just like regular glue.
Sound
The sound of the ball being hit with speed-glued rubber was noticeably different from the sound when using regular glue, that is to say, a kind of a “thock” sound. The louder the sound, the greater the speed-glue effect (or so most people thought).
Booster
Booster is a non-glue that enhances the performance of rubber. Some boosters rejuvenated your rubber and restored its spin, while others produced a speed-glue-like effect. Many boosters were introduced in response to the ITTF’s planned ban of glue containing harmful volatile compounds before the ITTF decided to ban speed glue and booster entirely.