Is It Too Late for Ball Maintenance?

[Josch]

It's been a year since I got my first ball and I finally purchased some ball cleaner and a microfiber sponge. Will I be able to revive my balls or will I need to get them resurfaced? I've had my Ebonite Cyclone for about a year and it has at least 500 games on it. I got my Hammer Rhythm just a few months ago and it probably has around 50-75 games on it. I'm not worried about my plastic since I only need it to go straight and I'm replacing it soon. Do you think the cleaner will help revive my balls and at least postpone the need for resurfacing?

[The German Shepherd]

It is never too late to start keeping your equipment clean. I would suggest to you, though, that you clean you bowling balls after every series and wipe your ball down with a micro-fibre towel before every shot. As for your Cyclone, youwill need to give that ball a very thorough deep cleaning. Ask your local alley and/or pro-shop if they have an oil extracting oven and let them extract for you. I would also give the Cylone and the Hammer a good hot water and Dawn dish detergent session. Reactive cover stock acts like a sponge and will absorb oil from the lane surface. The longer you let the oil stay on the ball's surface, the more it gets absorbed.

A case in point, I have a 16lb Hyroad that I was gifted with and had plugged and redrilled. When I threw a shot, you could see the oil rings on the ball, and since a couple rotations crossed over the area where the original thumb-hole was plugged, you could see oil rings crossing the plug, but there would be no oil on either side of the plug! The oil had been absorbed into the cover stock, but not the plug, and this absorption had occurred JUST IN THE TIME IT TOOK TO GO THROUGH THE BALL RETURN!

Point of story? Keep your ball clean.

Jay

[Josch]

The pro shop I go to offers a cleaning for $5. I'm not sure what exactly they do but I'd rather have them clean them than me since my balls are in a locker at the alley anyway. I know they offer a full resurfacing at $30 and I don't know if they have an oven or how much it costs.

[ursus]

The following thread gives details of de-oiling a ball

http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/9517-De-Oiling!

[billf]

The ball with 5oo games on it, I would let the pro shop clean, de-oil and resurface. It's money well spent. The other ball I would try the at home bath method.

[eugene02]

bill! i'm thinking for the ball i just picked up, the Sure Fire. should i resurface it as well? Not sure how many games was on it though..

[billf]

Eugene, it wouldn't hurt to resurface it. I do with any used ball I get just because you don't know the real maintenance history. I've bought balls that people said were dead, de-oil, resurface to factory and watch their jaws drop when they see it hook again. Some I have even sold back to the people, at a profit and started to charge for doing other people's balls.

[Stormed1]

As far as the hot water baths go do NOT add Dawn or any detergent to the water. According to Ron Hickland (ball designer for Ebonite) the detergents interact with the coverstock

[eugene02]

Eugene, it wouldn't hurt to resurface it. I do with any used ball I get just because you don't know the real maintenance history. I've bought balls that people said were dead, de-oil, resurface to factory and watch their jaws drop when they see it hook again. Some I have even sold back to the people, at a profit and started to charge for doing other people's balls.

well.. do you resurface it yourself or get a shop to do it? if i'm not wrong it cost SGD $20 - $25 for full resurfacing..

[billf]

I do them myself but that option is available to all.