I have a question about cleaning up a Columbia yellow dot........

[Hammer]

Is it possible to do this. It was cherry red and turned black. The guy at our house pro shop asked me if I had a yellow dot because he said he might be able to take it back to the red color. The reason for this is because my urethane Blue Hammer hooks too much for my no approach speed which is about 8.5 mph. I told him that I need something that hooks less then the Blue hammer but a little more then my plastic Columbia Lava ball. So he asked me if I have a Columbia yellow dot and I said yes. He said to bring it in so he can see what he can do with it. The yellow dot was my first fingertip bowling ball that I bought in 1978 when my wife and I and our friends joined a mixed league. My release is way better now then it was in 1978 so it will be interesting if the pro shop guy can bring it back to the cherry red color and I can put my release I have on it now and see what it will do.

[bowl1820]

Is it possible to do this. It was cherry red and turned black. The guy at our house pro shop asked me if I had a yellow dot because he said he might be able to take it back to the red color. The reason for this is because my urethane Blue Hammer hooks too much for my no approach speed which is about 8.5 mph. I told him that I need something that hooks less then the Blue hammer but a little more then my plastic Columbia Lava ball. So he asked me if I have a Columbia yellow dot and I said yes. He said to bring it in so he can see what he can do with it. The yellow dot was my first fingertip bowling ball that I bought in 1978 when my wife and I and our friends joined a mixed league. My release is way better now then it was in 1978 so it will be interesting if the pro shop guy can bring it back to the cherry red color and I can put my release I have on it now and see what it will do.

If the ball was originally a red pearl color and it turned black/dark burgundy then that's most likely a Yellow Dot Bleeder, It used to be a highly sought after ball and some places it still is. It bled resins as it aged which let it hooked more compared to other polyester balls of day, Trying to change it back would be a waste. You'd lose what little extra value it still has being a bleeder and would be most likely be a waste if time.

Oh and if I remember right, A lot of the bleeders (if not all) would get brittle and could crack etc.

[Hammer]

If the ball was originally a red pearl color and it turned black/dark burgundy then that's most likely a Yellow Dot Bleeder, It used to be a highly sought after ball and some places it still is. It bled resins as it aged which let it hooked more compared to other polyester balls of day, Trying to change it back would be a waste. You'd lose what little extra value it still has being a bleeder and would be most likely be a waste if time.

Oh and if I remember right, A lot of the bleeders (if not all) would get brittle and could crack etc.

If my yellow dot is a bleeder and turned black or dark burgundy why would it still be sought after? The guy in my pro shop called it a bleeder also when I told him that it turned black. I will take it to him and see what he thinks. I far as I can tell it didn't crack.

[bowl1820]

If my yellow dot is a bleeder and turned black or dark burgundy why would it still be sought after?

Because it would hook more than a typical plastic ball , But not as much as a Urethane. There are bowlers today that find that useful for the conditions they face and would want one.

The resins that bled out and changed the color was what gave the ball a stronger reaction than a non-bleeder ball (Though there is still a debate about this depending on who to talk to.).

So if you were able to remove the discoloration (Which I doubt, it's going to be through out the coverstock most likely.) It would remove one of the identifiers of it being a "Bleeder" and it might could affect the reaction which would lessen the extra value it had.


I far as I can tell it didn't crack.

Well didn't say it would, just that it could.

If it was me and I wanted to use the ball, If it was nicked up I'd surface it and polish it and not worry about the color.


Also unless the Proshop was going to do all this for free, You be sinking money into a 40-50 year old plastic ball.

[bowl1820]

Not too many videos of a "Bleeder", But you can see one in action here in this one at about the 2:30 mark


Watch your volume, this guy plays some god awful music loud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7trr3j6kgak

[bowl1820]

Here's another one posted by Nord (He posts on other site), he's a full roller and doesn't have squat on the ball, but he's pretty consistent. So he's laying it down the far outside.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVNcMGj9m_4

[Hammer]

Here's another one posted by Nord (He posts on other site), he's a full roller and doesn't have squat on the ball, but he's pretty consistent. So he's laying it down the far outside.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVNcMGj9m_4

Not a bad score for a guy that lets the ball go with his hand on top of the ball. It compares to a plane dropping bombs out of the bomb bay doors under the plane.

[Hammer]

The part number on my yellow dot is 8N54258. I am probably wrong about the pro shop guy bringing it back to it's original color. It more then likely will be a resurfacing and a cleaning. It is going to need new finger grips and the thumb hole made a touch bigger. I am a little heavier now then I was in 1978. LOL. It will be interesting to see what it does with my better release I have now then back in the day as they say.

[Stormed1]

8 series Yellow Dots were bleeders and very sought after back in the day

[Phonetek]

Were the 9 series? Just curious, that's the one that got cracked while breaking wifey's foot which that was still NIB.

[Stormed1]

9's were also bleeders. I had a 9Q which as black t bled so much

[Phonetek]

Mine was a 9P, I guess yours came right after mine.