Simonis Pool Table Cloth: A Cost-Conscious Buying and Installation Checklist

Maybe you found this page while researching something completely different. Maybe a family entertainment center owner is also checking the garbage card game rules for a side tournament, or looking at a new enchanted island amusement park expansion. That's fine. This checklist is not about those, but it will help you avoid the same kind of hidden surprises: the ones that show up when you buy and install Simonis pool table cloth.

I've spent nine years managing supplies for a dealership and game room service company. I've priced cloth, ordered cloth, and watched installers rip off perfectly good cloth because the base table was wrong. This is the checklist I wish I had in my first year. It works for dealers, repair shops, and table owners who want to stop making expensive mistakes.

Step 1: Confirm the Table Is a Slate Pool Table

People ask me: what is slate pool table? It matters because Simonis cloth is engineered to work on a flat, rigid bed. Slate is the material that gives you that bed. A typical slate pool table uses natural stone, usually three pieces, with seams leveled, waxed, and sanded smooth. If the table has a particle board or MDF bed, you can still install cloth, but it will not perform the same way, and the customer may blame the cloth.

Before you quote a cloth replacement, check the old cloth for clues. If you see a curved seam line under the felt, that's slate. If the bed flexes when you press on it, that's not slate. And if the table is sitting on an uneven floor, the frame may be twisted. The new cloth cannot fix that.

When in doubt, ask the customer if the table has a slate bed. If they don't know, tell them to look for the slate seam. The usual pattern is three sections on an 8-foot table. That simple question will save you from returning to a job that was never going to work.

Step 2: Pick the Right Simonis Grade, Not Just the Famous One

The term pool table felt simonis is often treated as a single product. In reality, Simonis has different grades for different uses. The two you will order most are:

• Simonis 860—the tournament-grade workhorse. It has a heavier, tight weave and is the cloth most people mean when they say Tournament Blue.
• Simonis 760—a lighter weave. Some players prefer its feel, and some dealers stock it for residential tables.

Then there is Simonis X1 cleaner, which is not a cloth at all. It is the maintenance product you should sell alongside every installation. A customer who buys X1 with the cloth is less likely to ruin it with spray cleaners picked up at the grocery store.

This is where miscommunication causes real costs. I remember telling a sales rep that I needed "Tournament Blue." He heard "the blue Simonis." Result: the wrong shade of 860 and a rush freight bill that destroyed the job's margin. Now I always write the full phrase: Simonis 860 Tournament Blue. And I check the label when the box arrives.

Per Simonis product information (accessed January 2025), 860 is a worsted wool and nylon blend designed for tournament play. The exact composition doesn't change the installation steps, but it should affect how you price replacement frequency.

Step 3: Measure the Actual Table, Then Order the Correct Roll

Simonis cloth comes in kits matched to table sizes: 6-foot, 7-foot, 8-foot, and 9-foot. The mistake is assuming the table's advertised size matches the real measurement. An 8-foot table from one manufacturer may have different rail widths than another. If the cloth is too narrow, the install stops. If it's too wide, you waste time trimming and sometimes throwing away excess.

Measure the play surface: across the bed and along the longest bed length. Also measure rails if you are recovering them. Add about two inches on each side for stretch and clamping. That is not a guess; it is the same buffer I use on every order.

As of January 2025, distributor list prices for Simonis 860 in the U.S. ranged roughly between $260 and $350 per 7-foot kit depending on color, current inventory, and freight. Public dealer ads and your distributor quote will be more accurate. Use that number as a sanity check, not as a promise.

Step 4: Installation Is Where You Earn (or Lose) the Margin

Simonis cloth looks easy to install. It is not. The bed has to be smooth, the cloth tension has to be even, and the staple pattern around the edge has to be consistent. If you pull one rail too tight, the pocket opening can shift by an eighth of an inch. That is enough to make a table play wrong.

Follow Simonis instructions including any grain or nap markings on the backing. I have seen installers ignore the direction arrow and install half a room one way, the other half the other way. The cloth looked identical. The angles were not.

This is also the step where the hidden costs start appearing. If the old cloth removal takes longer than expected, if existing staples won't come out of the rail, if the foam under the rails is cracked—welcome to the real cost of the job. Quote a contingency or state that the quote includes normal conditions. Otherwise you will be the one eating the extra hour.

Step 5: Protect the Cloth so the Job Lasts

Customers don't remember the cloth brand. They remember the first stain. That's why aftercare has to be part of the deal.

Use Simonis X1 cleaner in the maintenance plan. Add a lint-free brush to the package. Explain that brushing after heavy play is better than vacuuming because a vacuum can pull the cloth fibers if misused. If a venue also has an enchanted island amusement park area nearby, dust from that area will settle on the tables. It's not harmful, but it slows the cloth down, so brushing matters.

And if the venue hosts card game nights alongside pool, keep the rules simple: no food or drink directly on the rails. The garbage card game rules are flexible, but cloth care should not be. Or, to put it another way: cards will not hurt Simonis cloth. Crumbs and spilled soda will.

Step 6: Price with Total Cost of Ownership, Not Unit Price

This is the most skipped step. A $300 roll of Simonis cloth can become a $700 job once you include labor, slate seam repair, freight, and disposal. If you quote only the cloth, you are making a promise the invoice can't keep.

Let me walk through a comparison I ran for a quarterly service quote. Vendor A quoted $4,200 for a package that included labor and cleaning products. Vendor B quoted $3,600 but charged per-job freight and a thinner cloth. After adding freight and the cost of one callback, Vendor B came to about $4,350. The numbers were close, but Vendor A was predictable. Predictability matters more than the sticker.

Price your Simonis work this way:

• Cloth kit cost
• Labor (including removal and slate prep)
• Freight or shipping
• Maintenance products (X1 cleaner, brush)
• Contingency for old staples, seams, or delayed access

Then present it as one number. If the customer picks it apart, fine. But at least the number reflects reality.

Final Checklist

Before you sign the work order, run through this list. It takes two minutes and prevents the most common callbacks:

1. Is the slate flat and the seam level?
2. Is the Simonis product name and shade written on the purchase order?
3. Does the cloth kit match the actual measured table, not the advertised table size?
4. Is installation time realistic for the work required?
5. Are maintenance products part of the delivery or at least recommended in writing?
6. Does the quote include labor, freight, and a real contingency?

The industry has changed. In 2020, many dealers under-quoted felt because customers didn't ask questions. In 2025, customers search. They read about what is slate pool table, compare pool table felt simonis reviews, and ask about maintenance before signing. That's a good thing. It pushes the whole market toward professionalism.

The fundamentals haven't changed: install the right Simonis cloth on a solid slate table, price the full job, and teach the customer to take care of it. Do that, and you'll spend less time fixing problems and more time booking profitable work.