Can You Wax an Air Hockey Table? How to Make it Slippery
Speed and skill are the name of the game when it comes to air hockey. The faster you move the puck, the more your skill can outwit your opponent. But speed without skill, may have you losing the game as well.
Can you wax an air hockey table? Yes you can. In fact, waxing an air hockey table is acceptable and wanted. The faster the puck travels the better your odds at scoring.
To find out how to wax your table correctly, and which wax to use, continue to read our article, It has the information you need to know
Waxing Air Hockey Table 101
What Wax to Use on Air Hockey Table
To cut the friction you may want to use any wax to make your air hockey table more slippery. The best wax to use is a table top wax. You do not need a lot to get the table nice and slippery.
If you can’t find a good table top wax, you may want to turn to a furniture polish like Pledge. It will do the trick as well. Some people have had success with Turtle Wax products.
Car Wax on Air Hockey Table
Car wax may make your air hockey table surface nice and slippery. The experts do not recommend its use because the wax can clog up the little air holes. Those air holes provide the air cushion your puck needs to slide around the surface.
Once you plug those holes up the puck won’t slide as well. It has no cushion to ride on. After the holes get plugged, you will have a time consuming job of unplugging them. That is not a fun task to do.
Air Hockey Spray Wax
Air hockey table’s surfaces are made with laminate materials. This material is already a little slick. To make the puck slide a little faster on this surface you may use air hockey spray wax.
You do not want to spray a lot of the wax on the surface as you will run the risk of clogging up the air holes and ruining your air hockey game. In this case, less is more.
Best Wax for Air Hockey Table
If you are looking for a good table wax to use on your air hockey table, then you may want to try Wildcat 125. Just a little will do it. If you cannot find this brand of wax, yo may want to use Pledge or some other furniture polish.
What you don't want to use is surfboard wax. This type of wax is designed to add friction or traction so you do not lip off your surfboard. The last thing you need is more friction on your air hockey game.
How to Wax Air Hockey Table
There are a few good steps to follow in order to wax your air hockey table correctly:
1- First, turn on your air blower. The air flow will block any dirt or wax from falling into the holes and clog them up
2- Next, use a lightly damp cloth. You can mix a very little amount of soap into the cloth and gently wipe the surface of your air hockey table. Abrasive cleaners can damage the table surface
3- Wipe the table’s surface taking care of to get all the blobs of dirt off without over wetting the surface
4- Then, re-wipe with a slightly damp cloth that has no soap on it. You want to remove any soap that stuck from the first round of wiping
5- Let the table’s surface dry. Then use very little spray wax and a cloth to spread the wax over the surface. Be gentle and do not get the wax into the air holes
6- Now, let the wax dry. After that just buff it to a nice shine and turn off the air blower.
7- Do not clean the side walls of your game where the puck hits.
How to Make an Air Hockey Table Slick
It is not hard to make an air table slick. Just follow the upcoming simple steps:
- Clean your table regularly
- Vacuum your table
- Clean the air holes
- Change the size and weight of the puck
- Change a worn out puck
- Polish the table
- Spray silicone on top of the surface
Air Hockey Table Slippery Again
One of the main ways to make your air hockey table slippery again is to check the blower. It may be too old and needs replacing. When the air blower gets old it may not put out enough air to keep the game slippery enough to have fun.
The next item to check would be the air holes. You may have kept your game nice and clean but dirt or wax may have found their way inside. A good cleaning of the air holes takes time but the results are worth it.
To prevent your air hockey from losing its slippery nature, you should cover it. When not in use, a good blanket or tarp will keep dirt, grime and other elements off the surface and keep it slippery.
Air Hockey Approved Table Top Cleaner Polish
There is no one approved air hockey table top cleaner. You can use a variety of mild soaps and detergents including Windex to get the dirt of your air hockey game. Liquid soap is the most recommended detergent to use.
One manufacturer has recommended that rubbing alcohol is the best cleaner to use on a laminated air hockey surface.
Answering your questions
#1. Can I use laundry detergent to clean my air hockey table?
Maybe on the outside of the game but not on the laminated surface. Laundry detergent may be too abrasive and may harm the surface.
#2. Where can I find a good wax for my air hockey game?
You might want to try a sporting good store that sells air hockey equipment and replacement parts. Or go to your local grocery store and pick up some furniture polish
Some Final Words
Keeping your air hockey game is not that difficult. The key is to be gentle and not plug the air holes. Once you do that, you will spend more time unplugging the air holes than playing the game.
Then to make it slippery just needs a little common sense. A lot of wax may make dirt slide off cars and furniture, but it won’t help make your air hockey game slippery again.
When you go and clean your game just be careful and do a good job. Then you know the surface will be slick and you will have more fun.
