I finally made the leap this week and replaced the ~6g of lead in the butt caps of my frames with silicone. It was scary, especially after reading some threads here on TT. But it was well worth it!
SILICONE CHOICE
After much serious research (5 minutes perusing the Home Depot silicone isle while my wife shopped next door at Costco) I chose GE's Supreme Silicone. The package said it didn't shrink or crack with age and was intended for exterior use. It also said this formulation was extra flexible which seemed like a good thing for a racquet.
MEASURING SILICONE
I knew I'd need about 6g of silicone in each frame. I squeezed some onto my scale using the tare function and a napkin. I could immediately see 5-6g would fit perfectly in the void right under the cap and just into the void where the staples and rough graphite are. Woohoo!
TO DAM OR NOT TO DAM? DAMN, I DUNNO!
Some folks recommended cotton ball dams to prevent the silicone from sliding deeper into the frame. I stuck a wooden dowel down my frame's handle and it just kept going and going and going. Cotton and paper napkins actually weight more than you think en masse so I decided to skip the dam after reading that several members here don't use dams.
The void in the Pure Storm GT's handle has staples and rough graphite surfaces so I decided to hope for the best. One member posted an angry rant about not having dammed but I decided he probably hit with his frame before the silicone dried.
DAM THE COTTON BALLS, FULL SPEED AHEAD
I took each frame in turn and measured it sans butt cap and sans lead. I then squeezed silicone into the void using the staples and rough graphite as a backstop. I would squeeze a little and then weigh the frame until I was up about 6g. This part of the process was much easier than I had anticipated. Using a plastic knife I then smoothed out the surface very gently, replaced the butt caps, and leaned the frames butt-end down against the wall. Sleep tight little frames...
VIRGIN RACQUETS ONCE AGAIN
The next morning, after 9 hours of drying time with butt caps on, I removed the caps. Obviously the end with the cap was still creamy soft. I inserted a toothpick into the silicone and penetrated until I bumped up a soft membrane on the other side of the silicone. The air in the handle had allowed that hidden side of the silicone to dry. Others had reported this happening to their frames and it's true.
SUN DRIED SILICONE...Mmm...
I then left the frames to stand butt-end UP facing the sun on our deck with the caps OFF and shielded the stringbeds from the sun with towels. After several hours the exposed end had cured. I again pierced the silicone with a toothpick. The core was still soft but the two ends were clearly cured.
IT'S ALIVE!!!
I took my least favorite of the three frames (least like the other two in stock form specs), replaced the butt cap, and went to the courts to hit with a friend. SUCCESS! The frame felt great and after an hour of hitting in this afternoon's fairly warm Atlanta sun the silicone didn't move. It was perfectly intact.
THE FEEL OF SILICONE
Pure Storm GT's aren't exactly stiff but they're not Volkl PB 10 Mids to be sure. The silicone seems to be acting like a "noise reduction" system found in electronic and audio systems. I'm feeling the ball on the string bed better and feeling the flex of the neck more as I no longer feel vibrations at other frequencies. The lead tape felt just as "solid" as the silicone but the silicone feels "cleaner" with fewer jittery vibrations, especially on less than perfect hits.
SUGGESTION: KNOW YOUR TARGET SPECS BEFORE TRYING THIS
I can see how this process might be reversible but also a complete PITA. Don't even think about trying this before feeling really certain about your final specs. Also, you must be prepared to accept a little imprecision or add a little less silicone that target spec and then fine tune with a little lead tape.
One benefit to silicone: once you do this you'll definitely stop screwing around with your frames and just go an play!
I only tried this because I'm loving my setup and don't forsee tweaking it. Use lead to experiment with weight, balance, and SW and only then replace the lead with silicone.
Most of all, be patient. I did take one frame on a test spin but will now let all three cure over the rest of the weekend sans butt caps. Best way to enforce this discipline: do this right before a period of rain. It just started raining as I type this and it looks like I won't be able to play anyway until Tuesday or so.
SILICONE CHOICE
After much serious research (5 minutes perusing the Home Depot silicone isle while my wife shopped next door at Costco) I chose GE's Supreme Silicone. The package said it didn't shrink or crack with age and was intended for exterior use. It also said this formulation was extra flexible which seemed like a good thing for a racquet.
MEASURING SILICONE
I knew I'd need about 6g of silicone in each frame. I squeezed some onto my scale using the tare function and a napkin. I could immediately see 5-6g would fit perfectly in the void right under the cap and just into the void where the staples and rough graphite are. Woohoo!
TO DAM OR NOT TO DAM? DAMN, I DUNNO!
Some folks recommended cotton ball dams to prevent the silicone from sliding deeper into the frame. I stuck a wooden dowel down my frame's handle and it just kept going and going and going. Cotton and paper napkins actually weight more than you think en masse so I decided to skip the dam after reading that several members here don't use dams.
The void in the Pure Storm GT's handle has staples and rough graphite surfaces so I decided to hope for the best. One member posted an angry rant about not having dammed but I decided he probably hit with his frame before the silicone dried.
DAM THE COTTON BALLS, FULL SPEED AHEAD
I took each frame in turn and measured it sans butt cap and sans lead. I then squeezed silicone into the void using the staples and rough graphite as a backstop. I would squeeze a little and then weigh the frame until I was up about 6g. This part of the process was much easier than I had anticipated. Using a plastic knife I then smoothed out the surface very gently, replaced the butt caps, and leaned the frames butt-end down against the wall. Sleep tight little frames...
VIRGIN RACQUETS ONCE AGAIN
The next morning, after 9 hours of drying time with butt caps on, I removed the caps. Obviously the end with the cap was still creamy soft. I inserted a toothpick into the silicone and penetrated until I bumped up a soft membrane on the other side of the silicone. The air in the handle had allowed that hidden side of the silicone to dry. Others had reported this happening to their frames and it's true.
SUN DRIED SILICONE...Mmm...
I then left the frames to stand butt-end UP facing the sun on our deck with the caps OFF and shielded the stringbeds from the sun with towels. After several hours the exposed end had cured. I again pierced the silicone with a toothpick. The core was still soft but the two ends were clearly cured.
IT'S ALIVE!!!
I took my least favorite of the three frames (least like the other two in stock form specs), replaced the butt cap, and went to the courts to hit with a friend. SUCCESS! The frame felt great and after an hour of hitting in this afternoon's fairly warm Atlanta sun the silicone didn't move. It was perfectly intact.
THE FEEL OF SILICONE
Pure Storm GT's aren't exactly stiff but they're not Volkl PB 10 Mids to be sure. The silicone seems to be acting like a "noise reduction" system found in electronic and audio systems. I'm feeling the ball on the string bed better and feeling the flex of the neck more as I no longer feel vibrations at other frequencies. The lead tape felt just as "solid" as the silicone but the silicone feels "cleaner" with fewer jittery vibrations, especially on less than perfect hits.
SUGGESTION: KNOW YOUR TARGET SPECS BEFORE TRYING THIS
I can see how this process might be reversible but also a complete PITA. Don't even think about trying this before feeling really certain about your final specs. Also, you must be prepared to accept a little imprecision or add a little less silicone that target spec and then fine tune with a little lead tape.
One benefit to silicone: once you do this you'll definitely stop screwing around with your frames and just go an play!
I only tried this because I'm loving my setup and don't forsee tweaking it. Use lead to experiment with weight, balance, and SW and only then replace the lead with silicone.Most of all, be patient. I did take one frame on a test spin but will now let all three cure over the rest of the weekend sans butt caps. Best way to enforce this discipline: do this right before a period of rain. It just started raining as I type this and it looks like I won't be able to play anyway until Tuesday or so.
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