Comercial ball polishers

[Lancerdad34]

If a reactive resin ball needs to be polished up to delay the back end do the ball polishers in the bowling centers do the same thing as the pro shops? Or should we just do it ourselves with those (2000?) sanding pads?

Thanks,

Brian in MI

[bowl1820]

If a reactive resin ball needs to be polished up to delay the back end do the ball polishers in the bowling centers do the same thing as the pro shops? Or should we just do it ourselves with those (2000?) sanding pads?

Thanks,

Brian in MI

The ball polishing machines use a compound block to polish the ball, if over used they can plug up the pores on the ball. Which in the long run would be detrimental to the balls reaction. But for a occasional use they could be used in a pinch.

The Pro-shop would better and minor surface changes usually are low cost.

Doing it yourself is a option.

Abralon sanding pads are just that sanding pads, not polishing pads. Now using them properly and taking the surface to a smoother can delay reaction to a extent depending on conditions.

To delay it more you can use a liquid ball polish, these are fine liquid abrasives (Though some also contain a slip agent which will cause a ball to slide even farther) which are used to make a ball surface even smoother..

[Amyers]

If it's one of the old school just ball polishers I wouldn't use it for anything but my plastic spare ball. If it's one of the newer Storm surface factories or something like that I might be willing to try it. What is the current surface of the ball your using? How many games since it was last resurfaced?

[Lancerdad34]

The ball is a Matrix Tri Max 11 which was given to me by a friend who quit because of back issues. It had only a handful of games on it. I have only used it for a maybe 3 because it snaps so much in the back end. Thanks for all the replies!


If it's one of the old school just ball polishers I wouldn't use it for anything but my plastic spare ball. If it's one of the newer Storm surface factories or something like that I might be willing to try it. What is the current surface of the ball your using? How many games since it was last resurfaced?

[Timmyb]

The ball is a Matrix Tri Max 11 which was given to me by a friend who quit because of back issues. It had only a handful of games on it. I have only used it for a maybe 3 because it snaps so much in the back end. Thanks for all the replies!

Polishing a ball isn't necessarily going to make it snap less. I polish my IQ Nano, and it snaps more, just a bit later.

[Amyers]

The ball is a Matrix Tri Max 11 which was given to me by a friend who quit because of back issues. It had only a handful of games on it. I have only used it for a maybe 3 because it snaps so much in the back end. Thanks for all the replies!

Timmy is correct polishing will only make the ball go longer and snap back even harder. The more surface you have the less it hooks on the backend the less surface you have the more the ball hooks on the backend. Try adding surface. I looked that ball up it came polished from the factory try taking it down to 3000 surface and see how that works for you. It will make the ball hook sooner but it will have less reaction on the backend. If that doesn't fix the problem you can go down to 2000. If that doesn't fix the problem your going to change where you line up or buy a less aggressive ball. I've never seen that ball roll but it looks like it came out around 2000 and was rated as being a medium heavy oil ball. I would think that would translate to medium to medium light today.

[foreverincamo]

I put my LT-48 rubber ball in a ball polisher back in the 80's. Smelled like it was melting! Never did that again.
For you, the others have it right. So many different grits you can try, or if you have the money, get a ball spinner and some pass and do it yourself. I'm going to get one this summer after I get my money from our league ending. There are different polished out there too. Some can really make a ball not hook at all.

[Lancerdad34]

Thanks again for all the replies and advice. Just to clarify should I just get the ball sanded or a complete resurface?

Brian

[Amyers]

Until you discover what surface you like I would just have it sanded to that surface. The next time you have it done you may want to opt for a complete resurfacing.

[Lancerdad34]

Thanks will do and will let you know how it works.

[Lancerdad34]

Just an update I decided to not mess with the other ball and bought an MVP2. Threw a test game with last night and shot a 215. That ball has a hits a lot harder than the matrix. Thanks for the advice on here.

Brian