which polish?

[boatman37]

Thinking of ordering a spinner and polish but looking at the different polishes I have no idea which to order. What is commonly used? Any to avoid? What do you guys prefer? Will only be doing my own stuff and probably would only polish 1 or maybe 2 of mine and possibly for others but I don't plan to advertise for that.

Right now I use Motiv ball cleaner and used Ultra Clean before this bottle. I see the Motiv polish on the PSO shelf and think he uses that.

[JasonNJ]

Thinking of ordering a spinner and polish but looking at the different polishes I have no idea which to order. What is commonly used? Any to avoid? What do you guys prefer? Will only be doing my own stuff and probably would only polish 1 or maybe 2 of mine and possibly for others but I don't plan to advertise for that.

Right now I use Motiv ball cleaner and used Ultra Clean before this bottle. I see the Motiv polish on the PSO shelf and think he uses that.

I think most brands of polish are fine, see if they list what grit the polish is. I've used Storm Reacta Shine which is a cleaner and polish and I believe is 1500 grit. But if you have a spinner, you can just use higher grit sanding pads to get a similar reaction without polish. Like if you apply a 3000 or 4000 grit pad to a dull ball, you'll see the ball will shine up and give you a reaction similar to polish.

[vdubtx]

You might want to check out Creating the Difference's new polish that is not needed to be used on a spinner. It is meant to be applied by hand and they partnered with Turtle Wax.

https://www.ctdbowling.com/blogs/news/creating-the-difference-partners-with-turtle-wax-to-launch-bowling-ball-specific-polish

[djp1080]

Since most of the equipment I have is from Storm/Roto Grip, I've gone with their recommendations for polish (Reacta Shine), scuff and cleaners. I've experimented with the Ebonite Clean n'Sheen and Extender Polish and most recently the Motiv Power Gel Polish.
Reacta Shine is supposed to give you around 5000 grit finish to give you what Storm calls 1500 grit polished finish. Right on the bottle of the Motiv Power Gel Polish it has a label saying it's 5000 grit and it seems to give a very nice polished appearance. The reaction of the Reacta Shine or Power Gel is just about the same. So my recommendation for you to go with the Motive polish and it's less expensive than the Storm polish. I do everything by hand and tend to use damp old T shirts to get a nice shiny finish. Hope this helps...

[boatman37]

You might want to check out Creating the Difference's new polish that is not needed to be used on a spinner. It is meant to be applied by hand and they partnered with Turtle Wax.

https://www.ctdbowling.com/blogs/news/creating-the-difference-partners-with-turtle-wax-to-launch-bowling-ball-specific-polish

hmmmm. interesting. I have all of the CTD pads now but one day I did all 4 balls by hand and my shoulder was pretty sore for a few days. Maybe if I only did one at a time....lol. I have shoulder issues but luckily they don't seem to affect my game other than being sore the next day.

As for my current arsenal my PSO hit my Conspiracy with a new 3000 Abralon before he handed it over to me for a nice baseline and I love the shape of it on our THS. He used a spinner wet (no polish on it). The Kingpin is currently 1000 CTD dry no polish and seems good as is but the Black Widow Gold is currently at 3000 CTD dry no polish and it hooks hard, about 2-3 boards more than any other ball I have. That one would probably go back to 1000 polished to get back to OOB, maybe 2000 but I'd have to try it first. That ball rarely comes out of the bag since it hooks so hard. Thought about just trying the 4000 dry with no polish on it to see what that does. My Rhino is at 500 dry unpolished right now. It was polished but it slid a little too much for me so I took the shine off and only use it for the 7 pin and the last 2 weeks I'm 8/9 on 7's so don't want to mess with it. So the only ball I would be polishing would be the BWG.
I have heard there is a difference between dry sanding and wet sanding. I know the reason my PSO did mine was that he had another Conspiracy on th shelf that was much more dull than mine that was OOB. He said he has been noticing this lately so he hit mine before giving it to me. They were supposed to be the same finish but mine was much more shiny that the one on the shelf. Both were brand new untouched.

Hate the thought of spending $$$ on a spinner but I'm a DIY'er and hate having to rely on (or pay somebody) to do a job I can do myself.

[Timmyb]

I use Motiv polish for the IQ, and Ruff Buff on the SureLock. Both work well. The Motiv stuff is very messy....

[bowl1820]

Just some things to note.

For the most part no one polish/compound is better than the other, their just different and will produce differing results. Which one is best for you, will depend on what your trying to achieve. All the ones mentioned above are good polishes, I've used several of them. (I'm currently using Brunswick Royal Shine:5000 grit and Royal compound:2500 grit.

The final surface a ball has is going to depend on what the base grit (surface texture) was to start with, what compound was used (Because their not all the same) and how it was applied (By hand, spinner, time, pressure used)

All polishes can be used by "hand" (by "hand" meaning you didn't use a spinner to apply it), it's just that the final surface could/will be different than what you could achieve using a spinner. Plus it might take a little longer and/or might not be as consistent etc. as it would if done on a spinner.

If a spinner is too expensive at the moment, you might look at one of the Polish Your Balls "Smart tools" they offer kits for less than a $100.

https://www.polishyourball.com/


As for wet and dry sanding:

https://i.postimg.cc/fLrFPnKV/1wetvsdry.jpg

This ball was sanded with the same grit, left-dry sanded, right-wet sanded.

Wet sanding produces a more sheen like finish, water acts as a lubricant to a point so the cutting isn't as aggressive.

Also wet sanding helps keep the dust and friction heat down, the water also helps reduce buildup of the cuttings in your pad/paper which let's them cut better and last longer.

Wet sanding is pretty much the standard when using a home spinner.

Dry sanding is a bit more aggressive and will give you a duller surface. But you get more friction which generates more heat and the pad can load up which can reduce the effectiveness of the cutting.

A option is to wet sand first, then take it off (the spinner if used) and then take a dry pad and hand sand it to give it the slightly more aggressive , duller looking surface if that's what you want.

[boatman37]

So ordered a spinner yesterday from innovative. its the 1/2 HP version. so we will see...lol

[SRB57]

So ordered a spinner yesterday from innovative. its the 1/2 HP version. so we will see...lol

If it's the same spinner I have its a nice piece. It makes keeping my equipment the finish I prefer easy and cleaning is easy too. Steve

[Timmyb]

If a spinner is too expensive at the moment, you might look at one of the Polish Your Balls "Smart tools" they offer kits for less than a $100.


I have the "Polish your Ball" kit now. Very handy, but comes with a caveat. This takes a LOT of practice to get it right. I wouldn't start with your best piece. Find an old ball and try it out first. I was also not fond of the bearing "spinner" that comes with it. Only about a 4" diameter where the ball rests. Very easy to knock the ball right off if you get a little aggressive. I'm a machinist, so mine went through much modification, and now you'd have to try hard to get a ball to jump out. And to echo Bowl, big difference between wet and dry sanding. I was told never to go at a ball with wetting the pad first. Just my .02.

[boatman37]

Hope it is worth it...lol. The one I ordered was about $260. Also picked up a bottle of Motiv polish. I have about 26 games on my Conspiracy and will be in my first money tournament on the 10th so thinking of hitting it on the spinner to get it back to OOB again. It still is OOB and I have no issues with it but have heard 30 is about the limit? The spinner is supposed to be here Tuesday so I could spin it up then try it out Tuesday night but part of me says 'if it ain't broke'....lol.

I went out today for some practice and used all 3 balls. The Conspiracy and Kingpin were about the same, meaning I stood with my right toe on 17 and targeted 7 at the arrows with both balls. The Black Widow Gold was slightly stronger by about 1/2 board. Couldn't tell much of a difference in the shape. I was going to record a bunch today but my battery was about dead so got no video. The BWG is at 2000 dry unpolished but OOB is 1000 polished so might go back to that. The other 2 are OOB.

[boatman37]

So how messy are these spinners when wet sanding? Mine is supposed to be here Tuesday according to the tracking number and trying to decide where to put it. Ideally I'd put it in my basement office but it has nice painted walls, etc. Otherwise it will go in my garage on the workbench

[SRB57]

So how messy are these spinners when wet sanding? Mine is supposed to be here Tuesday according to the tracking number and trying to decide where to put it. Ideally I'd put it in my basement office but it has nice painted walls, etc. Otherwise it will go in my garage on the workbench

I ordered a shield with mine. it is like a flowerpot that is clipped to the base. keeps stuff from flying around. Steve

[boatman37]

I ordered a shield with mine. it is like a flowerpot that is clipped to the base. keeps stuff from flying around. Steve

Saw that but figured I'd try without first before spending the $70 on it

[Timmyb]

So how messy are these spinners when wet sanding? Mine is supposed to be here Tuesday according to the tracking number and trying to decide where to put it. Ideally I'd put it in my basement office but it has nice painted walls, etc. Otherwise it will go in my garage on the workbench

I make sure I'm wearing crappy clothes when I sand or polish. One ball I did actually stained a shirt from the sanding splatter.

[JerseyJim]

I'm using one of the kits from Polish Your ball on a regular basis. After the first time using it, I did notice the spatter on the wall in my basement. It took a while to clean up. :) I didn't want to hear my wife's complaining. I now do all of my finishing work in the utility sink. It's a much easier cleanup.

[boatman37]

So the spinner should be here tomorrow. I have league tomorrow night then the tournament Sunday. The plan is/was to hit the Conspiracy with 3000 dry which should restore it to OOB then hit the Rhino with 500 and polish then the BWG with 1000 and polish. The Motiv polish says 5000 grit on the bottle. Will probably hit the Kingpin with 1000 unpolished to get it back to OOB. These will all be wet sanded.

If I am not able to spin these tomorrow then I doubt I will do them before the tournament as I wouldn't have a chance to try the new surfaces before Sunday. Part of me also says to leave the Conspiracy alone so I at least have that ball and am comfortable with it and only do the BWG (use when the lanes dry up or should I go 2000 and polished?). I would also polish the Rhino. Right now it is 500 unpolished because it was too straight for me on 7 pins.

Thoughts? I have never used a spinner so with the tournament Sunday I'm a little nervous.

[Timmyb]

Thoughts? I have never used a spinner so with the tournament Sunday I'm a little nervous.

Just remember that things works a lot faster with a motorized spinner. You may need as little as 20-30 seconds per section to get what you need.

[boatman37]

Got the spinner today. It was all assembled when it got here so was plug & play. Started with the Rhino. Hit it with the 500 CTD wet then used cleaner then the polish. Definitely not as shiny as it was OOB but close enough that I should be good with it. Next was the BWG. Hit it with 1000 CTD wet then cleaner then the polish. Looks close to new, maybe slightly shinier but that's good cause I need something for my 3rd game when lanes dry up. Next was the Conspiracy. My favorite...lol. Did all 6 sides with 500 then straight to 3000 as per Mo's skip a grit. Also, CTD says with their pads you don't need to ramp up in grit but I'd rather try to replicate the factory. But after reading the Radical instructions it says to do 4 sides with 500 then 2 with 3000. I did 6 then 2. Oh well. No polish on this one and it looks like it did the day I got it. Then I hit the Kingpin with 500 on 4 sides and then 1000 on 2 sides. The only ones I used polish on were the Rhino and BWG. Spinner was very nice and easy to use. Balls look great, let's just hope they play great tonight. As per usual, will start with the Conspiracy then go from there.

Will update after tonight.

[JasonNJ]

Good job, I love my spinner and it really does make a difference with the ball reactions. When you refresh the surface it just seems to ball comes alive again and you start carrying those corner pins more.

[boatman37]

Well wasn't thrilled with it tonight. All 3 balls look slightly shinier than they did new so wondering if the CTD pads might be a little less aggressive than the Abralon or Saair? None of the balls would hook tonight but the lanes did seem a little slicker. I was about 2 boards further left with my feet than usual while still targeting the same spot as usual. All in all the Kingpin (1000 unpolished) had the most hook by about 1 board over the Conspiracy and the BWG was about 2 boards lighter than the Conspiracy. The problem was none of them were strong enough tonight. I used the Kingpin in the 1st game but just wasn't getting the carrys. The end of game 1 I switched to the Conspiracy and stuck with it the rest of the night but more or less took a straight line to the pocket with pretty high speed. Missed too many stupid spares too. Had 16 strikes tonight so that was good. Ended with 179, 166 and 203 (548).

Thinking of taking the Kingpin down to 500 unpolished? Right now it's 1000. Or maybe do 1000 dry (no water)? Just need something a little stronger for nights like tonight. Might even take the Conspiracy to 2000 unpolished but think I will leave it for this weekend since I'm supposed to bowl in a tournament Sunday and hear they can get pretty dry by the end of the day. Thinking the progression would be to start with the Kingpin when the lanes are fresh then the Conspiracy and if they get dry enough then the BWG. If they get extremely dry I have the Rhino for emergencies....lol (use that for 7's now).

But all in all love the spinner but think I might need to take 2 of them down a notch in friction levels.

https://i.postimg.cc/SRmnx89x/2019-03-05.png (https://postimages.org/)

[boatman37]

So I might have figured out what happened. I used the spinner for the surfacing but also for the Motiv cleaning compound. Thinking that may have added a little polishing effect? Today I redid them with the same pads but used the cleaner by hand afterwards and you can see a little difference.

Thoughts?

[JasonNJ]

So I might have figured out what happened. I used the spinner for the surfacing but also for the Motiv cleaning compound. Thinking that may have added a little polishing effect? Today I redid them with the same pads but used the cleaner by hand afterwards and you can see a little difference.

Thoughts?

Unless you got a lot of the polish in the cup of the spinner, I don't think that would have an affect. I always use the spinner if I'm using polish. That way the polish burns on and you get that really shiny look. It's never affected the sanding of the ball.

[boatman37]

Unless you got a lot of the polish in the cup of the spinner, I don't think that would have an affect. I always use the spinner if I'm using polish. That way the polish burns on and you get that really shiny look. It's never affected the sanding of the ball.

I didn't polish these ones. Just wet sanded with the CTD pads. But when I used the cleaner I did it on the spinner. Not sure but all 3 reacted alot different Tuesday night and looked a little shinier than I remembered them being OOB. I couldn't get any of them to hook Tuesday. The PSO did my Conspiracy with a brand new 3000 Abralon on the spinner before he gave it to me and it was great from day 1. Tuesday it was reacting more like a house ball after I used the 3000 CTD on my spinner. The only thing different was CTD vs Abralon and that I used the cleaner while on the spinner. Other than that the only difference would have been technique. Also not ruling out that the lanes were just more oily than usual.

[JasonNJ]

I didn't polish these ones. Just wet sanded with the CTD pads. But when I used the cleaner I did it on the spinner. Not sure but all 3 reacted alot different Tuesday night and looked a little shinier than I remembered them being OOB. I couldn't get any of them to hook Tuesday. The PSO did my Conspiracy with a brand new 3000 Abralon on the spinner before he gave it to me and it was great from day 1. Tuesday it was reacting more like a house ball after I used the 3000 CTD on my spinner. The only thing different was CTD vs Abralon and that I used the cleaner while on the spinner. Other than that the only difference would have been technique. Also not ruling out that the lanes were just more oily than usual.

Ok I thought the cleaner was a polish and cleaner in one. If it just ball cleaner then I would definitely say it won't affect the ball reaction. 3000 will shine up a ball, I use 3000 abralon on my Intel and it shines it up nice, almost looks like a polish is on it.

I will say it's tough to exactly replicate OOB, you can come close but it may take some experimenting before you find what works for you.

[JohnN]

Remember, you do not need a lot of pressure. I find I get a different reaction between compound and polish. Compound is smoother and polish is snappier. If you don't have a laundry tub to put it for wet sanding try one of those plastic tubs that are about 2' long 1' wide and about 18" high.

[boatman37]

I have a plastic bowl beside me that I dip the pad in every once in awhile to keep it wet.

The ball is shiny and was shiny when I got it. When I did it the other day I couldn't see any sanding marks in the Conspiracy at all when I was done. After today I can barely see sanding marks. If it reacts like Tuesday then it should be a good ball for later in the day and then maybe I'll try a 2000 on it for the following week.

[Eddy]

PowerHouse Factory Finish Polish is pretty much considered the go to polish, and what many manufacturers use. I get spectacular results with it. PowerHouse Ultra Shine will give you a up to a 2500 grit shine if you want less skid thru the heads.

Remember to have a spray bottle of water handy to occasionally spray during polishing. And also, the harder you press, the more smoother it will be. I can get a true glass-like finish on any ball, if I want. Polishing and sanding is part art and part science. Only time and experience will help you get the results you want.

I use a folded microfiber cloth for polishing, because it is smooth and won't add too much abrasiveness on its own.

I went with the 2/3 HP motor simply because I didn't want any chance of stressing the motor during a heavy polishing session. Plus, it was only $240 shipped. Sounds like you paid a bit too much for yours.