Knowledge Primer: What Is Oil Boosting?
Welcome to this joint issue of Mushroom Shares and the Mushroom Field Guide. Mushroom Shares passes along the experience and knowledge I’ve gathered as an equipment enthusiast, as a reference for fellow players. This issue’s topic: quality goods — the Pinyi quick-dry expansion oil!
Topic 1: A Primer on Expansion Oil
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What is oil boosting? “Oil boosting,” like speed gluing, means brushing several coats of oil or glue onto the rubber’s sponge so the liquid soaks in — that’s what “boosting” means!
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Expansion oil, also called a “rubber energizer,” works — taking Haishang Mingyue oil as an example — by sacrificing the rubber’s lifespan to let the oil penetrate the sponge and make it swell, achieving effects like softening the sponge, increasing elasticity, and raising the power and spin ceilings. The boosting effect diminishes over time until it fully evaporates away.
Topic 2: Quality Goods — Pinyi Quick-Dry Oil
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I recently came across a product, the Pinyi quick-dry oil. Its main selling points are energizing, plus fast drying and ease of use.
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Before I review anything, I always try it myself before recommending it. So before writing this article, I’d already run four experiments, listed below:
- Pinyi Zhenhai, cake sponge, boosted twice. Surface quick-dried in about ten minutes; sponge swelled.
- 729 National Battle, no-boost high-density sponge, boosted twice. Quick-dried in about ten minutes, sponge swelled. After waiting two hours I mounted it and played — it had the trembling feel you get after boosting with Haishang Mingyue, an obvious added-spring effect.
- NEO Provincial Hurricane, boosted twice, quick-dried. The customer waited half a day before mounting it and reported it played well.
- NEO Regular Hurricane, boosted twice, quick-dried. I waited a day before mounting it on a Hayata H2 and played for two days straight. There was an obvious clear/through feel and an added-spring effect, and the sponge grabbed the ball well.
(The day before I played the Hayata H2, I played a friend’s 40-degree Regular Hurricane boosted with Haishang Mingyue. The feel was indeed similar to the Pinyi oil, but the Pinyi oil’s swelling intensity wasn’t as strong as the sea oil, and it didn’t produce much grain texture.)
In summary, here are the characteristics of the Pinyi quick-dry oil as I see them:
- No base coat needed — you can boost directly.
- It dries in under ten minutes. Generally brush 2-4 coats and wait half a day, then you can mount and use it — more efficient and less hassle.
- You squeeze the sponge-tip applicator, which makes it easy to control the amount and keeps it off your hands.
- The energizing effect meets reasonable expectations — it can make a Hurricane play well, and the process is simple. Quite good, really.
Additional notes:
- The grain texture and swelling aren’t as strong as sea oil (you only get grain texture with many coats).
- It does less damage to the sponge.
- It can adapt to cake sponge to a degree.
- In my testing, 2 coats last 6-8 days. I generally suggest using 3-4 coats for longer-lasting energizing.
As an excellent budget substitute for sea oil, one bottle lasts a long time, and it’s worth recommending.