ball cleaning

[tracy]

with the reactive resin balls, i have read so much about sanding, cleaning,soaking,polishing,baking,etc.etc. how do most of you clean your bowling balls? i usually soak mine in hot tap water and dawn for 30 min. to get the oil out of the pores and then buff it with a polish. just wondering if i am the right maintenance and other than that,what would a pro shop do different?

[mrbill]

I do mine the same way you do tracy< about every 3 or 4 months

[Stormed1]

Normal rule of thumb for the water bath per Ron Hickland of Ebonite is 40-50 games. You should clean your ball after every set (before you put it in your bag) with a good cleaner (power wash/energizer/reacta clean/remedyrx and many others i can't think of off the top of my head. The finishes on some of the newer stuff (VG,Jigsaws,cells etc) require refreshing the surface every so often as the surface will smooth out creating a loss in reaction. Polished balls need to be repolished every so often too as the friction of the lane surface will dull the finish and cause the ball to grip the lane sooner

[Stormed1]

Watching your ball reaction and noting changes in it's reaction will tell you when you need to touch things up

[JAnderson]

Between Shots
Wipe excess conditioner/oil from ball surface using a microfiber towel. Try not to allow a ball to sit for a prolonged period of time.

Between Sessions
Before the balls go back into the bag, they're doused heavily via spray bottle with ball cleaner - for me a solution of Simple Green and Rubbing Alchohol - and wiped clean with "elbow grease" and a microfiber towel. Putting greasy balls into your bag over and over is not only counter-productive, it's gross.

Every 60 games as needed**
Resurface using ball spinner. Start at 320 grit on all four "sides" of ball and gradually work up to the intended ball surface. Can get costly if you bowl a bunch and don't have a ball spinner.

** - I say "as needed" because for whatever reason, I don't see ball performance degrade/decline as much as other bowlers claim. Other times, ball reaction is better for me once some conditioner is in the shell.

[Maine Man]

I have written in my blog, an in-depth analysis and guideline(s) for bowlers to follow for weekly, semi-annual, and annual maintenance of their bowling equipment. Here is the link to the info:

http://bowler2bowler.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/keeping-equipment-clean-one-key-to-success-by-james-goulding-iii/

If you have any questions on things I discussed in the blog, feel free to pm me and I will get back to you, thanks!!