This article I write from personal experience and is by no means a definitive guide as to how to protect your paddle- but these tricks have worked for me and with conscientious application, I’m sure they’ll work for you.

Paddle Maintenance and Care  

• Crack Repair

• Whattagrip Thin Overgrip installation

 Back in da day about 10 years ago, maintaining our paddles was about as easy as breaking out a rasp or some sandpaper, removing the loose splinters or metal burrs on the paddle’s edges and putting a layer of duct tape- Done!

Ok, one could get further into it by adding gauze or moleskin to the handle and perhaps a coat of varnish or laquer to keep the wood from absorbing moisture but that was about it. Everyday scrapes and even hits on the court floor were not immediately fatal to the paddle. If anything, many players continued using the paddle as the scraping edge wore away and 2/3’rds of the paddle was left. Life was good.

Then along came composite and graphite paddles. By today’s standards, what was available back then was crude. Punched out of sheets of laminated fiberglass, glass or graphite reinforced plastics, some of these paddles were not much of an improvement over the woods they were trying to replace. Power was about the same, rigidity varied from batch to batch and for many, the benefits did not outweigh their added expense. Still, their popularity grew. They were here to stay.

 Construction methods pioneered by such manufacturers as Wilson and The Paddle Company (TPC), created a paddle with a rubber core of surrounded by an outside shell of fiberglass or composites some containing titanium, aluminum or woven graphite reinforcements. By varying the rubber densities, paddle face thicknesses and materials, manufacturers have managed to create paddles that are light yet powerful! Paddles of this type of construction provide a stronger bounce off the face of the paddle and absorb the shock of the ball hitting the ball instead of transferring it to the player’s wrist arm and shoulder, thus providing longer playing. No wonder the popularity of composite paddles has taken off!

Add to that the influx of padel equipment into our game from manufacturers such as Sidespin, Vairo and in my case, Targa and Ur-ich. Similar in the TPC and Wilson paddles in construction, these paddles bring a user a lot more power than wood and all allow them to play more games, more often.

It sounds like paddle paradise but there are drawbacks to these  composite paddles. First off, they’re more expensive. One can almost buy 3 of Wally’s woods for the price of just one composite paddle. Clash your expensive paddle with your partner’s and you may very well crack his or yours depending on the hit. Get too enthusiastic on getting that short-hop shot and you may hit the court floor thus causing damage to your paddle. Some things just can’t be avoided- such as that clash. You can’t protect against that! But that paddle edge- that can be protected. 

How to protect it? Immediately upon purchase, Wally puts a layer of duct tape on the paddles he sells. On first look, one would think it’s to protect the painted finish graphites come with. But once you start playing, you’re gonna be going for those low shots, grazing the court floor with your paddle. Enough such scraping gets and you can wear right through the ‘glass on the edge of the paddle. This does not necessarily kill it immediately, but you’re already weakening it. The problem of such paddle edge-scrapes is easily solved by applying not only one layer of duct tape but various. To minimize the weight, take notice of your playing style and apply the tape only on the areas needed on the paddle. You can also vary the width of the first layers of tape applied to cover just the edge of the paddle and the last to overlap over the paddle face. These multiple layers will protect from scrapes and cushion the edge in case of a more direct hit with the court floor.  I’ve used duct tape but much prefer “Gamma” tape found at your local Sports Authority store. I’ve found that it’s easier to remove when needed and it leaves much less tape glue residue than duct tape on the paddle. I’ve also taken to using athletic cloth tape; the kind used to tape joint injuries. It comes in a variety of colors, it’s cheaper than the Gamma tape and goes a long way.

Another option, if you don’t feel like going thru the trouble of doing all of the above is using TPC’s new edge protection tape, better suited for the thinner paddles out there. It’s a tough tape, a bit tricky to keep it from sticking to itself when removing the backing but worth the effort and it looks cool! I’d suggest 2 layers of the stuff- 2 do come per package.

 Another way I’ve found to protect the edges of my some of my paddles involves the cutting of a thin strip of rubber (I used a bicycle tube) and using Gamma or athletic tape to affix it to the edge of the paddle. This works best with the thinner paddles such as the TPC Odonata or Falcon. 

For my thicker paddles, on one, I’ve used the rubber strip but folded over and affixed like I described above and on another, a piece of Wilson Cushion Pro grip covered by a layer of athletic tape. No doubt such protection adds a bit of weight to the paddles but it’s worth it. The cushioning effect of the grip works great to protect the paddle!
I've lately affixed a rubber strip to my son's  Diamond Edition paddle and also to my own TPC Mariposa using Goop. In the case of the DE, my kid's style puts his paddle on the ground often on the backhand, which wears away any tape or even the Cushion Pro grip as described above and exposes the edge of the paddle to damage. The DE's never to be seen again and I thought it worth protecting. 
This time, I cut the rubber strip so it overlaps the edge of the paddle slightly, then laid a bead of Goop to both hold the bead in place and help cushion the edge in case of impacts with the floor. Finally, I covered the rubber strip with black athletic tape. We played recently and the "fix" held up well and worked like a charm! I also did it the same way on the Mariposa and will be doing this on other paddles I own or will own as a preventive measure.

My Electra and my Targa- well, I confess to not having protected them enough prior to the above edge-treatment and having caused damage to them off hits to the floor. Cracks developed on both paddles and I was hesitant to use them to avoid causing further damage.

I had tried epoxies previously on my Neo Hollywood Beach model, but found that due to its rigidity the epoxy would lose adhesion to the paddle's face and fall off. Thereafter, damage at every hit was inevitable.

Some flexible adhesive would do the trick. What I found at my local Wal-Mart was this stuff called “Automotive Goop.” If you don’t know about Goop, think of silicone sealant- only much tougher. Here’s stuff that can be used to patch holes in sneakers because it cures to a very tough, rubber-like material.

I removed the edge tape, cleaned the loose shavings around both paddles’ “injuries,” roughed the surface up surrounding them with the egde of a blade for better adhesion and deposited a good, thick glob of the Goop on the cracks, spreading it with a piece of cardboard. So far the stuff’s held up and I haven’t notice the cracks spreading any further from where they started.  

 Protect your  paddle and get all your money’s worth out of it!

Many times, paddles will come with what at first feels like the perfect grip but you'll soon come to find that it's either not sticky or durable enough or the grip's either too thin or thick.  Eventually or right out of the store, you're going to have to re-grip your paddle.
There are different options and many brands out there as far as grips and overgrips go- so which brand you select is really a matter of personal preference. Whether it's for paddleball, tennis, or a racquetball racquet,  most grips are made of synthetic materials but all attach the same way- you wrap them around in a spiral starting from the butt of the grip to the top, cut off excess, if any and tape it down at the top.. 
Newest grips out now don't attach the same way; these are seamless rubber-covered polyester sleeves that slide over the handle of your paddle. Please note that to gain additional grip thickness and comfort, one can slip the Whattagrip Thin Overgrip right over the existing grip as I did below. They also make a thicker model- a grip; both which are available at local Sports Authority or Wal-Mart stores.
Follow along below as I attached a Whattagrip Thin Overgrip to my Neo Hollywood Beach paddle. The thicker grip attaches the same way but it's a bit harder to install due to its additional wall-thickness.

My Hollywood Beach paddle above: Notice the Wilson overgrip on the handle. Good stuff but it'd lost its stickiness.

Tie your lanyard loosely and place the included plastic bag over the lanyard and butt of the paddle.

Above you see the paddle handle with the bag over it and the tubular Whattagrip Thin Overgrip, ready to be installed.

With your fingers, spread one end of the overgrip, being careful not to overdo it and rip it.

Place the Whattagrip over the butt of the paddle and pull it slowly and firmly down over the handle. Take care not to pull too forcefully or quickly as you may rip the overgrip.

Continue sliding the overgrip down towards the face of the paddle.

Now, roll the end closest to the butt of the handle back to towards the face of the paddle and remove the plastic bag previously placed over the butt.

This is the Whattagrip Thin Overgrip finally over the handle. One can either trim the extra length off or fold it up under the overgrip. With the included tape, fasten the overgrip at the top of the paddle and you're done! You're gonna like how these feel- cushioned and with no slip at all!