As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, purchasing a quality dartboard is one of the biggest investments (aside from putting in the hours to improve your game) that you will make with your darts hobby. Given you have made this monetary investment you want to make sure that your dartboard stays in pristine playing shape for as long as possible. We’ve previously discussed the types of dartboards available here and in this article we will be focusing on tips to maintaining your quality bristle (sisal) dartboard.
1. Keep your dartboard dry
Older wooden dart board used to be soaked in order to maintain the board for as long as possible. In the case of a bristle (sisal) dartboard this is not the case. The sisal fibres do not react well with liquid.
Where possible your dartboard should be in a cool, dry room and you should never wash or spray the board with liquid. Don’t even wipe your board down with a wet rag. This will prematurely age your board and the watering of your dartboard will put it on a fast track to ruin!
Whilst you can use a wet rag to wipe down your chalk scores on your dartboard cabinet make sure this rag isn’t used on your board. Be careful if you have your dartboard in an outdoor environment or non temperature controlled location (such as your garage). This may expose your dartboard to unexpected humidity and moisture.
2. Limit or keep your board away from direct light or sunlight
Regarding dartboard environment also look to keep your dartboard away from direct light or sunlight as this can prematurely age your dartboard. Not only will direct light or sunlight affect your dartboard’s ability to repair itself you will find that the colours will fade a lot quicker.
When using lighting at or around your board look to use lights that generate little to no heat and if your dartboard is located outdoors or near a window make sure it isn’t exposed to direct sunlight. LED and fluorescent globes are recommending lighting options at or around your board. A cabinet may also be a good option to keep out of the light/sunlight when the dartboard isn’t in use.
A point to keep in mind when lighting your dartboard, make sure the lighting system that you have chosen for your board doesn’t put too much stress on the fixings of your board or cabinet. Excess force on these fixtures will also lead to a shorter shelf life for your dartboard.
3. Keep your dartboard clean and tidy
This points goes with the above point. Make sure you dartboard remain free of dust, chalk, dirt or grime. A clean dartboard will age better than one that is constantly dusty or dirty. If you haven’t used your dartboard for a while it might be covered in dust so give the dartboard a quick wipe down with a clean dry rag (make sure no water or liquid is involved) before you break out the darts. Again if your dartboard is located outdoors or in your garage, it may be exposed to dust, dirt and grime and may need a regular wipe down from a dry clean cloth.
4. Always use sharp darts
Using sharp darts will not only help the longevity of your board, it will also help maintain your darts. Your darts should be of reasonable sharpness though not sharp enough at the point to draw blood if you poked your finger with your dart. Your darts should also be regularly sharpened and occasionally may need to be sharpened in game (particularly if your darts have regularly hit the wire or floor blunting the tip). Too sharp darts will be as bad to the board as too blunt darts.
To sharpen your darts use a darts sharpener We always recommend you have a darts sharpener with you either a simple stand alone stone version or a stone sharpener attached to a keyring (should you want to carry this with you). Depending on how dull your darts are will determine how long you will need to sharpen them for. Usually a 10-15 second period of sharpening should be sufficient.
5. Always twist thrown darts out of your dartboard
This point goes in lockstep with the use of sharp darts above. Remove your darts from the dartboard with a gentle pull-twist rather then trying to yank the darts out of the dartboard with force. Continuous hard forceful pulls or yanks from the dartboard will severely affect the sisal fibres and ruin your board very quickly.
Also don’t leave thrown darts in the dartboard. Once you have thrown your darts remove them in a timely manner as to not permanently affect the sisal fibre of your dartboard. Store your darts correctly in a case, wallet, holder or in your cabinet rather than in the board.
6. Regularly rotate your board
Last but not least, regularly rotate your board. Every couple of months you should look to remove the number ring from the board and rotate the board about 45 degrees or a couple of numbered segments. Once you have rotated the dartboard add the number ring back to the board and get back to playing (make sure that the correct colours match the numbers).
For most serious darts players (depending on the game) the main number targeted on the board will be 20 (if playing the game 501, triple 20 will be the most targeted area) so it makes sense to rotate this area to allow it to repair and to
reduce the wear and tear of your dartboard. Bear in mind that there isn’t a lot you can do with the bullseye section regarding rotation, particularly the inner bull so avoid games that have a large focus on the green or red bull.
Just as you would rotate your mattress to extend it’s life, do the same with your dartboard.
A well looked after dartboard should give you years of service and help you improve your darts game. Follow these tips above and you should have your dartboard for many years to come.