May be a newb question but I don't use a lot of sweets products. Can someone give me a rundown/description of cushion clear, phase 1, pro clear, etc. I think there are a couple more. But idk what exactly they are. So info. Would be appreciated. Thanks.
Cushion clear: grippy but not sticky. It has a similar feeling to silk, but when you work it in, it gets even grippier than silk does (in my opinion). Phase 1: Sweets in house paint. This is a sticky paint, here is a thread about the phase 1 paint and some thoughts on it from other DS members. Pro Clear: I would say this is a classic Sweets paint. It starts out glossy and kind of slick, but the more you play it, the stickier it gets. And I mean sticky. aTack: Another classic Sweets paint. This starts out pretty chalky but then breaks in to be really sticky once you beat it up. Like sticky enough to stick it to the big cup and hold it upside down. Prime: pretty sure this is factory paint. It is similar to LOL clear or DWI Sticky AF paint. Starts out really grippy out of the box and stays pretty consistent in terms of the grip. There are some other paints that Sweets uses, but they're factory paint as well. Any rubber paint they use is from a factory as well as any 1st gen F3s you can find.
I highly recommend cushion cleared tamas. I enjoy them the most clear over natty. You can't really go wrong with any of their in-house paints.
Solid question! To supplement the discussion, has anyone noticed difference between the Sweets Paints by generation? @goenKendama once told me that the Pro Clear of the F2 generation of Kendamas might be different when compared to the F3 Pro Clear. Anyone have any experience with this? Also, let's also discuss other companies' paints! I personally want to inquire about: -Ozora Premium Paint -Krom Rubber -Krom LOL Clear -DWI Sticky AF -Sourmash Paint -KUSA Super Stick I've only ever played with Ozora Premium Paint and Super Stick, but here are my thoughts on those 2: -Premium Paint: From my experience, the earlier generations play like some would say how Pro Clear performs. It starts out slick with a little bit of grip, but breaks in super well and develops grip quickly. Later Premium Paint kendamas seem to have tack right out of the box, but it wears off eventually. -Super Stick: I would say that these are a bit less sticky than, say, Prime Paint, but they still offer a lot of tack. Highly recommended.
@Sirwillcode Sweets aTack paint is still my favorite especially in the Philippines where humidity really can change the way a paint or even natty perform. I understand that when they paint Cushion Clear over a color that color is aTack. Should be a killer combo since even if the Cushion wears down/off there's still aTack under it. I like aTack because the sticky is in the paint not a coating so I've had them last to the wood. @Emil Apostol From what I understand pretty much everyone tweaks their paints/coatings over time and weather and the paints themselves can change how well they work and hold up. It can be hit or miss sometimes and we've seen bad paint batches from several major brands. It happens but not often. As for rubber coat/paints, most that I've seen cut then peel so I'm not a big fan. Ozora Premium White was a different paint than the current gen Premiums. It didn't feel tacky to the hand but was to the wood. The new ones feel a bit like a "light" version of Prime/SuperStick glossy but tacky paints. I like it because it's gives you a bit of grip but still is easy to adjust. In the humidity here I've had some paints practically seem like glue on the tama and when you shift/adjust the ken just falls. Actually along those lines IIRC one of our players had a full aTack painted setup (ken & tama) and you could crush the tama to one of the cups and it'd stick there.
In connection to the thread topic: Local Dama Shop is on Sale. Two old Sweets Kendamas at virtually the same price (difference of less than a dollar). F2 Pro Clear Marble, or F3 Stained Atack? Can only buy one.
Atack, it is very sticky, but not like other the sticky paints. It is more soft, when other sticky paints are hard, and the soft one is even more sticky in my opinion, but for me it is too sticky and it is not durable.
Not sure how hard you play and over what surfaces but most of the aTack painted kendama I've seen last until the wood. The only 2 exceptions I've seen are one that was heavily played over concrete (user error) and one that looks like the primer didn't hold properly and the surface peeled after about 4 months (factory error). (posted elsewhere on DS too, same batch Rasta aTacks; left is heavily played but still tacky)
It was my first kendama, i glued it, and ofc newbie misses spikes a lot, so it probably helped killing this tama but it is unplayable now because it is ultra sticky on paint, and ultra slippery near the hole.
Is it high humidity where you are? That seems to help the aTack here in the Philippines. Paint and paint application are subject to all sorts of variables so you can get a good one followed by a bad one. The Rastas above were part of the same order as the peeling F3 so you'd expect that they'd be the same but weather, chemicals, and human intervention can dramatically change the results. Personally the good ones far exceed the bad ones when dealing with aTack so I keep playing it. If the balance ever swings the other way it may be time to look for something new. YMMV
OK, you got me there. I have no clue what the weather is like in Poland. However I did have a third generation Polish-American friend who taught me the only word I know in Polish. I know I'm not spelling it correctly but it sounds like "penpak," which supposedly means "bellybutton" in English. I believe his grandmother was trying or had tried to teach him Polish at one time and I think that was the only word he knew/remembered at the time too.
Hi guys! Question, which would you prefer: -Cushion Clear on Beech Ken (Prime Custom), -Prime Clear on Beech Ken, or -Prime Clear on Maple Ken (Prime Pro Mod)?
bumping @Emil Apostol 's thread because I would like to know what people prefer on this as well. I have a prime custom and have tried beech with sticky, and hope to get a pro mod for christmas. From the two I've tried, I actually prefer beech on prime clear because of the grip to slip ratio.
So cushion clear is like a silk/rubber paint clear that is already grippy out of the box, but it stays pretty grippy until the actual clear fully peels off. (Natties are a different story because you're applying it directly to the wood, so it takes a little more time to wear off. If you're talking about the Rustic HGs, then it might peel off. I'm not sure.) Pro clear on the other hand is just straight-up gloss when you first start to play it. I don't know how, but when it starts to break in just a little bit, it gets this little bit of stickiness that just feels amazing. Once you break it in fully, it gets to the point where it could even be considered tackier than aTack (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Personally, I do prefer pro clear as I'm not a huge fan of rubber/silk/cushion nowadays, but it's really just your opinion on which one to use/buy.