The worst thing during a game of table tennis is when someone hits the ball a little too hard and it gets a dent. Especially if that’s your only one… But, there is hope as it is sometimes possible to repair it and get it back to its former glory.
In this post, we’ll walk you through step by step how to fix a ping pong ball if it’s dented. Sadly though, these methods won’t work if your ball is cracked. These are irreparable. Check out our post on the best table tennis balls.
The Hot Water Method
The hot water method is the easiest way of getting a dent out of a ping pong ball. It’s also the way thats used to get dents out of other things like cars.
The ping pong ball works by heating up the air inside, which causes the ball to expand. The only thing you need is some boiling water and a cup. Pressure and temperature are the key factors.
Instructions
Step 1 – Boil some water in a kettle until bubbles appear and pour it into a medium-sized cup.
Step 2 – Drop your ping pong ball inside the cup make sure to avoid putting it directly in the boiling water as it may get damaged.
Step 3 – Get a spoon and push the ball down slightly below the water. This will increase the pressure and cause the air inside to heat quicker, hopefully removing the dent faster.
Step 4 – Now use the spoon to take the ball out of the water but make sure you don’t try to take it out with your own hands as the water will still be hot and can scald your hand.
Step 5 – The last step is to let it dry. For a few minutes, you can either wrap the ball in a towel or place it inside a tissue. Don’t let it dry on a hard table as the heat can cause the dent to form again.
The Results
If you’ve done it right and the ball wasn’t too dented you should now have your ping pong back to being able to bounce. It’s worth noting though the ball will not be as good as a new one as the heating may affect its roundness.
You might find that it won’t bounce as much as it used to either but it should last a bit longer and give you a few more good rallies.
- Fixed table tennis ball
The science behind It
If you’ve tried the above method it can feel a bit like magic as the dent magically pops out and disappears. Sadly, no sorcery is at work though and it’s just some simple physics.
The ball’s air particles expand when they heat up. This causes the ball to expand and changes its pressure. The pressure then puts pressure on the dent, causing it to pop back in place.
The hairdryer method
We recommend the above method but if it doesn’t work for you you could also try the hairdryer method. To dry the hair, you will need a towel and a hairdryer.
Be careful with this method though as you can burn your hand if you don’t use a towel.
Just place the pingpong ball in a towel and heat the hairdryer to high heat. The same effect is to heat up the air particles in the ball, causing the pressure change and popping the dent out.
It’s also possible to do it with the ball in your hand.
If the ball becomes too hot or deformed, you can turn off the dryer for a while and let it cool down before you try again.
After you’ve finished and the ball is fixed, you may need to suspend it in a tissue, as mentioned in the boiling water method if it’s too hot.
The thumb method
If the above methods don’t work there’s one more chance to save your ping pong ball which is the thumb method. It’s not very glamorous and just involves using your thumb to push the area around the dent to try to pop it back into place.
This won’t work every time and sometimes you can actually cause the dent to get bigger so this is more of a last resort method. Still, it’s worth a shot.
How does heating the ball work?
Although it may seem like a difficult subject to learn in school, it can be very interesting especially when used in table tennis. The heating methods have to do with science, and the equation between temperature, pressure, and volume.
This article will explain how the equation pressure x volume is proportional temperature and how it can be used to fix our ping-pong ball.
When This Won’t Work
Again, as we covered earlier, these methods won’t work every time. If your ball has a crack in it you will not be able to repair it and will have to buy a new one. We can’t change the air pressure inside the ball if it has a crack as it will just leak out.
The second case where you’ll need a new ball is if it has a deep dent. If it’s too deep you can have a go at the above methods but sometimes it will be impossible to repair.
Summing Up:
We hope that one of the methods above works for you and you can get back to playing. We recommend the boiling water method as it’s the fastest and has had the best success rate for us. Post any ideas below for ways to un-dent a Pingpong ball.
