Surface changes...

[Phonetek]

Is it counterproductive to change the surface on a reactive ball if you have used it for say 30 games and not put it through a ball oven?

I surmise the surface change will still work and will just not last as long or be less effective but it won't hurt anything? Or is it just a bad idea all together?

[RobLV1]

"Lane shine" happens in 3 games. You should freshen the surface after each 3 game set, and resurface from the bottom up every 50-75 games. I've never put a ball in the oven, though I used to put them out in the summer sun for an hour or so.

[Phonetek]

I was referring to the ball oven that the pro shop has, not the one in my kitchen. For what balls cost I wouldn't attempt it myself. When it gets warmer I could give it a try. Although I am extremely pleased with my new PSO he's a bit of a drive. I don't really feel like running back and forth to get balls baked if I don't have to. LOL

[J Anderson]

I was referring to the ball oven that the pro shop has, not the one in my kitchen. For what balls cost I wouldn't attempt it myself. When it gets warmer I could give it a try. Although I am extremely pleased with my new PSO he's a bit of a drive. I don't really feel like running back and forth to get balls baked if I don't have to. LOL

I used to drive out to Long Island once a year to bowl with my friend Jeff. By the time I would get there every ball except for my spare ball would be covered with a sheen of oil.

If you look around on this site you should be able to find a number of threads on diy de-oiling. Everything from giving the ball a nice warm bath to making your own personal ball ‘oven’. There are enough comments to get an idea of what you can do yourself without spending a lot of money or wasting an hour to drive to the pro shop to drop the ball off and another hour to go pick it up.

I think Rob M has actually recommended that one should resurface a brand new ball before throwing it. There is nothing sacred about the factory finish and none of us own the equipment that would allow us to duplicate it. By putting your own finish on it, you will have a standard that you can always get back to, whether you’re a constant experimenter or just want to keep the ball reacting the same as much as possible.

[boatman37]

I usually surface mine as soon as I get them so I have a repeatable baseline. Lately I have been 'freshening' mine up every 8-10 games on my spinner and every 25-30 games I take them back down to 500 then work back up to where I want it at. I have a spreadsheet I keep track of every game and have them color coded to track how many games on each 'surface'. I also keep notes on the surface, whether I skipped a grit or how worn the pad was that I used.

What was really surprising to me relating to surfacing was that my Kingpin and Conspiracy had about identical reactions as far as I could remember but I hadn't used the Kingpin in about 2 years. This past week the lanes were soaked and nothing I had was biting at all so just for the heck of it I grabbed my Kingpin from the back room and it was working pretty good. I had thought that ball being at 1000. When I got home I went back to my spreadsheet and saw the last time I surfaced it I used a 500. The Conspiracy was 1500. I was pretty surprised at the difference between the 500 and 1500. When I go from 2000-3000 I don't see much difference but 500-1500 was noticeable, at least under the conditions we were on. Now I'm wishing I had that ball at that tournament a couple weeks ago...lol

[RobLV1]

I was referring to the ball oven that the pro shop has, not the one in my kitchen. For what balls cost I wouldn't attempt it myself. When it gets warmer I could give it a try. Although I am extremely pleased with my new PSO he's a bit of a drive. I don't really feel like running back and forth to get balls baked if I don't have to. LOL

I was referring to the oven in the pro shop, not the one in your kitchen. I've never used either! Frankly, I think it's a waste of time and a desperate move to try to get the ball to hook, rather than learning to just let it hook.

[RobLV1]

I usually surface mine as soon as I get them so I have a repeatable baseline.l

Smart!

[Phonetek]

Yeah I play around with changing the surface. We have a ball spinner at work. The new ball I brought down to 4000 grit before it hit the lane as the OOB finish was 5500. I wanted to give it a little more oomph but not anything crazy.

I just wanted to make sure de-oiling wasn't absolutely NEEDED. Moreso with my son's stuff because he bowls daily and packs the games on his stuff. He also has access to the spinner and he cleans and he knows how to use the sanding pads. When he's done bowling he does his ritual on the spinner before putting his stuff away in my office. I want to insure he gets the best results and longevity out of his bowling balls. I can't exactly afford to get him new ones every few months.

[Blacksox1]

Phonetek, I built a ball oven from a food dehydrator, from the instructions on this site. It works well. Only use it for a ball that has more than 100 games or more on it. Looks like your son may qualify for this. Other important factors are to slowly heat up and cool down the ball. It will crack if not careful. Find the correct temp to bake it. Control it . Rotate and wipe the ball every 10-15 minutes. Practice the first time with a ball from the pro shop that is being thrown into the dumpster. Most times you will not see a lot of oil being baked out.

Best of luck!

[boatman37]

I built my own oven but only used it once or twice. I got a big cardboard box (about the size of 3 balls) then but a small hole in one end for my heat gun to set in then a plastic 'diffuser' to direct heat around the box so it doesn't blow directly on the ball then a small hole for a thermometer. I open the lid as needed to control heat. Stays around 125-130* pretty well.

https://i.postimg.cc/GmJphKDq/IMG_4643.jpg (https://postimg.cc/4YyGWzB9)

[Aslan]

I built my own dehydrator from a food dehydrator. Instructions are somewhere (http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/17339-Aslan-s-Ball-Dehydrator-(with-pics)?highlight=food+dehydrator) on the site. Does it work better than my previous method of a bathtub full of hot, soapy water? I don't know.

Honestly, I don't see a lot of oil coming out of my ball like I used to. But, I also used to wait long periods between de-oiling...and now I put the balls in the de-hydrator every time I re-surface...which is routine. So, I don't think I ever give them time to accumulate oil like I used to.

Does the dehydrator 'work'? Hard to say. I don't think it works as well as the professional gizmo in the pro shop. I mean, the biggest drawback is that my homemade model doesn't rotate the ball and constantly wipe the oil away. It simply applies the heat and draws the oil out. You then need to wipe the oil away when the heating is done. That tends to de-oil in a less uniform manner. But, I can't afford the $2,000+ Storm Rejuvinator or even the occasional complete de-oil/re-surfaces at the pro-shop.

It's the same thing with surface management. People are encouraged to keep their surfaces fresh every few games. Well, if you don't have a ball spinner...you can't really do that without a serious pro-shop bill. Some people just get themselves some pads and try to do it by hand. That is highly ineffective. Some people try to save money on the pads (which are NOT cheap) and just get sandpaper...also not a great idea.

Thats always the "trick" with bowling ball surface management. How much can you do yourself versus how much do you need the pro shop for? The more you need the pro shop for, the more costly it'll be, and the less often you'll be able to realistically do it. The good news is, some companies have come out with some low-cost ball spinners and ball dehydrators recently. I don't know how good the quality is...but if a person can get a ball spinner and rejuvenator for $80 each...that suddenly makes DIY ball maintenance a reality for a lot of people. At least until they find out how expensive the pads, compounds, and polishes are!