# How to "sand" your cube?



## *LukeMayn* (Apr 12, 2008)

I have heard about it but never seen or heard of what is does. Does it significanly improve you cube or just slightly. (by slightly I mean reeeeeeaaaly slightly)
Thanks in advance


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## itdemo (Apr 12, 2008)

Well i have lubed and sanded my cube and even though it's store bought it moves like hell. it is mad fast! i would also recommend if it is store bought that you do whats called "breaking-in" if you haven't already.

check out this vid for breaking in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xQ0ywP-bbU

And yes i would recommend sanding also as it (well i think so anyway) does make a big difference.
but maybe do the sanding first

this vid is good (but people say you shud you sand paper instead of a file)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPC17CMPDTU

I-T-Demo


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## MistArts (Apr 12, 2008)

Is sanding it better that petroleum jelly? Becxause I've been using petroleum from the start to now and still using it.


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## itdemo (Apr 12, 2008)

Well you shud probably not use petroleum jelly you shud probably use silcone spray but it is too late now as people say that you shud never use petroleum jelly and silcone as it makes it like glue. lol. and sanding and lubricating it is good. what you shud do is sand it, break in and then lube it.
I-T-Demo


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## MistArts (Apr 12, 2008)

itdemo said:


> Well you shud probably not use petroleum jelly you shud probably use silcone spray but it is too late now as people say that you shud never use petroleum jelly and silcone as it makes it like glue. lol. and sanding and lubricating it is good. what you shud do is sand it, break in and then lube it.
> I-T-Demo




I just got confused there


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## fanwuq (Apr 12, 2008)

Don't sand and lube immediately! I did that and the pieces expanded. The cube became stiff as hell. Top speed of 0.3 tps. Then the centers broke after a few turns. That was on a bad store cube. On diys, it is just unnecessary.


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## pcwiz (Apr 12, 2008)

I sanded my cube, broke it in, and lubricated it, and I can turn one side of the cube ins circles with my finger! I'll explain the steps.

I have a Rubik's Brand Cube bought from Toys R Us.


First, solve/scramble your cube for 1+ weeks, so the pieces naturally grind together and become a little softer.
Then, go to this YouTube video, and sand your cube. Your pieces will become very smooth and your cube will probably move a little faster.
Then, play with it for another 1+ weeks, and then watch this YouTube video on how to break in your cube. It will move a little faster, and you will be able to cut corners.
Then, after another 1+ weeks (I'm sorry about the wating), finally watch this YouTube video on how to lubricate your cube. Make sure you use silicone, and do the long way where it you spray each piece. It will feel a little sticky at first but after a couple of days your store bought cube will be AMAZINGLY fast, and it will be able to cut corners!!!

I know this process is a little long, but just be patient, and it will be worth it. (Or just get a DIY cube) It's not that bad as your life is not going to depend on it, and in the process, your cube will slowly become better and better until it moves really fast!


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## itdemo (Apr 12, 2008)

pcwiz said:


> I sanded my cube, broke it in, and lubricated it, and I can turn one side of the cube ins circles with my finger! I'll explain the steps.
> 
> I have a Rubik's Brand Cube bought from Toys R Us.
> 
> ...



Yeah he explained it much better then me. lol do what he said.
I-T-Demo


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## Dene (Apr 13, 2008)

I see no particular reason to sand the cube, any natural friction should do all the wearing that you need. You'd be better to spend the time that you would have spent sanding on doing 100 solves.


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## *LukeMayn* (Apr 13, 2008)

Dene said:


> I see no particular reason to sand the cube, any natural friction should do all the wearing that you need. You'd be better to spend the time that you would have spent sanding on doing 100 solves.



Thas what I thought. Anyway thank you for your contributions.


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## pcwiz (Apr 13, 2008)

*LukeMayn* said:


> Dene said:
> 
> 
> > I see no particular reason to sand the cube, any natural friction should do all the wearing that you need. You'd be better to spend the time that you would have spent sanding on doing 100 solves.
> ...



You don't HAVE to sand your cube, and you can just break your cube in and then lubricate it. I'm *GUESSING* breaking your cube, then lubricating it, vs. sand, break in, lubricate, will get you the same results, but without sanding, breaking in will take longer. Breaking in with a sanded cube will PROBABLY be faster than just breaking it in, as some of the wearing down has already been done for you. Same for just solving the cube and the inside wearing down naturally - I think sanding it and then doing that will be faster. Remember, this is a logical guess, but it worked for me. First, I just lubricated my cube, and it wasn't really fast. Then I sanded, broke in, and then lubricated, and my results were MUCH better. I can now cut corners and spin the a face of the cube really fast around and around with one finger! My point is, that you don't have to sand your cube, but I THINK it will make your cube faster in a shorter period of time.


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## Dene (Apr 13, 2008)

The point is, sanding your cube won't make you faster, practise will. There is absolutely NO need to do any modification other than lubricating until you are sub12. Absolutely none.


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## *LukeMayn* (Apr 13, 2008)

Dene said:


> The point is, sanding your cube won't make you faster, practise will. There is absolutely NO need to do any modification other than lubricating until you are sub12. Absolutely none.



Funny that. I seem to practise A LOT to get sub 25 with LBL


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## Lucas Garron (Apr 13, 2008)

itdemo said:


> Well you shud probably not use petroleum jelly you shud probably use silcone spray but it is too late now as people say that you shud never use petroleum jelly and silcone as it makes it like glue. lol. and sanding and lubricating it is good. what you shud do is sand it, break in and then lube it.
> I-T-Demo


Which people? Please link to at least two posts on this forum with reliable evidence about this (people who claim that experience count).
I don't see why cleaning the jelly thoroughly and then spraying silicone shouldn't work...



pcwiz said:


> I sanded my cube, broke it in, and lubricated it, and I can turn one side of the cube ins circles with my finger! I'll explain the steps.


Those are a lot of steps that aren't really necessary.
This is only what you tried, from which it doesn't follow that any of it is even necessary.
And how come you never mention your times or tell otherwise how you're an authority on this (or else emphasize that this only worked for you in particular)?



*LukeMayn* said:


> Dene said:
> 
> 
> > The point is, sanding your cube won't make you faster, practise will. There is absolutely NO need to do any modification other than lubricating until you are sub12. Absolutely none.
> ...


Yeah, I also had to practice a while to get sub-20 with LBL.

He was talking about modifications to your cube. You definitely need to learn something beyond LBL to get sub-12.



I'll note that I have taken a Rubik's store-bought cube (from Walgreens), lubed it once (spraying silicone into the cube via straw), and then set a 16 second average on it without warmup.


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## pcwiz (Apr 13, 2008)

Lucas Garron said:


> pcwiz said:
> 
> 
> > I sanded my cube, broke it in, and lubricated it, and I can turn one side of the cube ins circles with my finger! I'll explain the steps.
> ...



I know those steps aren't necessary, but the reason I'm explaining, is because the person is asking how to sand their cube. I'm just telling them some ways *I* think are good, and it worked for me. I'm not saying he/she has to follow it, I'm just telling them that it worked for me.

I don't mention my times because one, they stink (I don't want to get embarrassed), and two, I don't think it's necessary for people to know. Why do you want to know my times? Does it matter? Making your cube go faster won't necessarily improve your times, practice will. Besides, this thread is about how to sand your cube, not telling your times.


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## pcharles93 (Apr 13, 2008)

For cube maintenance, you should check out youtube videos. Pestvic's videos are pretty good when it comes to maintenance. He also explains things very well, and he knows exactly what he's talking about. You might want to check out Thrawst's or Badmephisto's videos. Those are the ones that will teach you concepts to get faster.


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## *LukeMayn* (Apr 15, 2008)

Lucas Garron said:


> itdemo said:
> 
> 
> > Well you shud probably not use petroleum jelly you shud probably use silcone spray but it is too late now as people say that you shud never use petroleum jelly and silcone as it makes it like glue. lol. and sanding and lubricating it is good. what you shud do is sand it, break in and then lube it.
> ...



LOL I am learning intuitive F2L now anyway! I have got all cases goodish and 12/21 PLL's done!


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## fanwuq (Apr 15, 2008)

I have so much experience on trying to make a better cube. Nothing works or is even necessary until you are faster than me, at least sub-20 average.
Spray you cube with pure silicone spray once is the best way. Sanding does nothing except aging your cube. I can solve just as fast on pretty much any cube. I would actually suggest to practice on bad cube to improve look ahead and reduce move count. Practice is the key.


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## itdemo (Apr 15, 2008)

Lucas Garron said:


> itdemo said:
> 
> 
> > Well you shud probably not use petroleum jelly you shud probably use silcone spray but it is too late now as people say that you shud never use petroleum jelly and silcone as it makes it like glue. lol. and sanding and lubricating it is good. what you shud do is sand it, break in and then lube it.
> ...



Yeah i see what you mean... i will try that with my cube that i jellied up lol. but the good thing about petroleum jelly is that it makes it cut corners really well (well it did for me) but i suppose wiping it off first would work. Sorry if i am giving false advice and i do not mean too. I am kinda new...
I-T-Demo


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## *LukeMayn* (Apr 17, 2008)

and the bad thing is it KILLS YOUR CUBE!!!!


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## mrCage (Apr 17, 2008)

Hi 

IMHO sanding and lubrication server 2 entirely different purposes.

Sanding is to remove molding/mechanical deficencies of the puzzle pieces (cubies). Sure this may wear out naturally over a prolonged time. Who is really interested in waiting 2 yrs for a 5x5x5 to wear down naturally? 

Lubrication is when the pieces are already in (almost) perfect shape and you want to lessen the friction (between natural contact surfaces).

Obviously cutting with a knife may replace sanding, when being careful. Cutting with a knife may NEVER replace lubrication.

What action is taken on the puzzle to make it better is by and large determined by how much time you are willing to spend. Some purists say that natural wear and tear is always best (natural dust lubrication etc ...), while others simply prefer something more drastic measures that "cures" the cube faster 

Hope this clarifies some confusion(s).

- Per


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## pcwiz (Apr 17, 2008)

fanwuq said:


> I have so much experience on trying to make a better cube. Nothing works or is even necessary until you are faster than me, at least sub-20 average.
> Spray you cube with pure silicone spray once is the best way. Sanding does nothing except aging your cube. I can solve just as fast on pretty much any cube. I would actually suggest to practice on bad cube to improve look ahead and reduce move count. Practice is the key.



Aging your cube? What do you mean by that? It has never happened to me before, but does a cube ever die? Meaning does it like break all of a sudden and it's not usable?

I disagree with you. I'm trying to make my friends brand new Rubik's Brand cube from Toys R Us faster, and I tried breaking it in. I did it for 30 minutes on one side, and I can only see a small change. I don't think just lubricating it with silicone spray will do a lot of good either, because you won't be able to cut corners (Rubik's Brand), and it won't be SUPER fast like DIYs. So I'm going to sand it today (I've already sanded my own cube). The reason why breaking in doesn't work, is that the Rubik's Brand has this weird waxy plastic film thing on the the surface of every single piece of the cube (inside part). It'll probably take you A LOT of solves to get that away, and breaking it in won't get it away really fast away either. That weird coating adds A LOT of friction to the cube, and it hurts my fingers when I try to do my finger tricks. Actually, I can't even do finger tricks, let alone trying to turn the cube. So sanding that will probably make that go away, and all you have left is a super smooth piece. Then, after you get that friction causing coating away, then you lubricate it. Otherwise, if you just lubricate it, you'll still have that coating which slows the cube down. I've only found this for Rubik's Brand cubes, but I don't know about other cubes, and sanding it, breaking it, and then lubricating it has made my cube much faster than just lubricating it with silicone.

Aging your cube? That's funny

EDIT: Okay I finished sanding my cube, and now I can do finger tricks!!! It's much faster now, as the coating is removed.  Obviously, it's still not as fast if you would lubricate it, but all I did was sanded it.


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## Crzyazn (Apr 17, 2008)

Good jebus that's a really long miniblog above me....

Sanding is just a preference. There are numerous ways to wear down cubes faster.

I used Liquid Wrench to wear down my store-bought cube. Applied it just like silicone spray lubricant, but waited for about 3 days to let the thin coat of petroluem junk do its work.

It turns fast and "kinda" cuts corners. Risky process but worked well for me


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## coopersacatfilms (Apr 18, 2008)

If you sand it with a nail file of one of the metal ones I don't think it helps at all but I have not tried the actual sand.


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## pcwiz (Apr 18, 2008)

coopersacatfilms said:


> If you sand it with a nail file of one of the metal ones I don't think it helps at all but I have not tried the actual sand.



It works if you sand it correctly. I just sand it with a file, then I sand it with steel wool. Steel wool digs into all the rugged spots and scratches, resulting in a SUPER smooth surface (on plastic.) If you just use a file and think it makes it worse.


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## Doradus (Mar 14, 2018)

I tried petroleum jelly. Great for the first day, and then it was like glue. I took it all off with rubbing alcohol and now it's much better (back where it started).


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## shadowslice e (Mar 14, 2018)

Wew almost 10 year bump


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