JUIC ECOLO EXPANDER II
This is NOT a glue. It is an AMAZING Revolutionary high-tech alternative to speed glue! Lasts for the life of the rubber! Non-toxic! ITTF Legal! OK to send on an airplane! This is a super-effective sponge preparation that expands your sponge like speed glue, but without the glue and toxicity, plus there is no need to re-apply. Imagine an expanding speed-glue effect that lasts almost forever!"
Comments:
This is quite a unique product, offering improved performance out of virtually every type of rubber sheet, and the effect is almost permanent!
Although over the last year or so, many new product have come onto the market that treat the rubber to improve it's performance, none of them so far give such a long term effect that the Ecolo Expander II offers. An article in a blog about whether the Ecolo Expander II is still worthwhile? should be read to highlight how it differs from other products.
There have been a few comments online about this products no being superceeded, but we don't belive this is the case... This is often due to (1) players having different expectation than what the products was designed for, or (2) improper use of the product making it much less effective.
Directions:
Many people have come up with different methods on how to use this product with very good results, so I don't believe there is a single proven method that works. Below is a method that has worked well for us... The Ecolo Exapnder II is abbreviated as EEII.
 1. Take the plastic protection sheet off the rubber (if there is one). Put the rubber face down (sponge up) onto a clean surface that the topsheet won't stick too, and that won't damage the top surface. You can put a bit of carton underneath as an option, just make sure there is no ink on there as this could stick to the rubber surface. This allows the sheet to stretch a little more freely.
2. Tape the edges down with masking tape. This helps keep the sheet down, because it will dome a little as the sponge streches with the EEII. Since the EEII is very thin and oily, it will easily run off the edges and can harm the topsheet. The masking tape will stop the liquid from running off the edges as well.
 3. Apply the EEII with the brush (on the lid), with enough liquid to cover the whole surface and give it a shiny look (as pictured although without the masking tape). Leave it for long enough till the liquid has absorbed into the sponge. At this point another layer can be added for more effect. Note however that too much EEII will weaken the bond between the topsheet and sponge, and if there is enough strain it can come loose. We have found that most chinese rubbers can safely take 2 layers (some can take more), and most japanese rubbers can take 3.
 4. After the last layer has completely absorbed into the sponge you can remove the masking tape from the edges, taking care that no EEII that may still be on the tape come in contact with the rubber. You will find that the rubber sheet already has quite a dome. Pictured (right) is a sheet with 2 layers of EEII, 6 hours after after the 2nd layer.
The closeup (left) shows that the liquid has almost completely absorbed into sponge, only a slight oily residue remains, which is normal.
5. At this point it is highly recommended to leave the rubber for at least 24h, preferable 48h. This allows the liquid to work in the sponge uniformly, and will stabilise any stretching.
6. Now the rubber should be ready to be applied to the blade. This sheet should still have a bit of a dome, feel more flexible, and the sponge would feel a little softer. Use a paper towel to wipe off any oily residue from the surface, which will allow it to stick much better to the blade. Use you normal gluing procedure to glue the rubber to your blade, although a little more glue may be required since the dome in the sheet can cause it to lift off at the edges.
Review (by Alex):
Well I followed (roughtly) the procedure above, and tested a black Globe 999 national version. This rubber has quite a hard sponge, so it's a tough test for the EEII. This review was done when I first started using the EEII, and have since learned quite a bit from other users on how to improve the performance, in particular the waiting period as recommended above in 5. should be followed!
Review of Globe 999 National Version black:
First thing I noticed is that you really need to glue it down properly...(I must have ignored all warnings  ). After about an hour it started to come loose slightly... not a big deal.
Playing with the rubber I'm convinced that it makes a good improvement to the rubber, but it's not like a glue effect that you get with several layers of speed glue. There is a definite sound, but it sounds different to speed glue... there is a definite increase in speed, but less than a few layers of speed glue. The spin increase seemed more significant than the speed, and the overal feel of the rubber was a lot better.
The rubber 'feels' a lot better, not the hard feel that rubbers have especailly the first few times you use them. This stuff will work great to soften up and break in stiffer rubbers such as many chinese ones...
The rubber feel more springy and responsive, which is probably why I seem to get more spin. I'm not convinced that it can replace speed glue, but it sure is a lot better than unglued...
Update:
After experimenting with several other rubbers, and talking to other players that use the EEII, I've learned more about where the EEII is most effective, and what it's main strengths are.
The EEII is more effective on softer sponged rubber, and gives a greater effect. The 'speed glue' effect compares to a lightly glued rubber. The effect is greatest for at least a month, and then very slowly tapers down... but it remains to have better performance compared to an untreated rubber, seemingly for the lifetime of the rubber.
NOTE: The JUIC Shenron rubber is specifically optimised to be used with EEII, and will likely offer the greatest speed glue effect. Reviews on this will follow shortly.
Conclusions:
- The main uses and advantages of the EEII are listed below:
- The EEII is VOC-free so will be perfectly legal to use after ITTF VOC based Glue ban
- The effect is virtually permanent, so it does not need to be redone, unlike speed glue or alternatives
- A single bottle will do MANY many rubbers, and is likely to last for years
- The EEII is great for breaking in or loosening up a new and stiff rubber, and will greatly improve the feel.
- For those that like a light speed glue effect, this stuff works very well, and will only need to be done once.
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