Polish question

[bubba809]

So I understand you put polish on the ball to make the ball go longer and promote a more aggressive backend. But how long does this polish last (in terms of no polish again)? I polished my ball. First game ball skids longer and snaps. Second more of the same. By the third game ball starts breaking sooner and visually, it looks as though I never polished it. I just thought someone could please explain what the typical time frame for when polish she be reapplied. And yes, I am applying the proper amount with a ball spinner.

Its funny because some of my best nights have been a week or two AFTER I have applied the polish. The first night is a bit too over/under.

Also, is there advantages to polishing your ball then hitting it briefly with abralon to represent wear. I read someone doing that and thought, wouldn't this defeat the purpose?

[Amyers]

The reason your ball hooks sooner/harder in the third game is transition of the oil not the polish on the ball wearing off. I usually have my best nights equipment a week or so after resurfacing also. I think it takes a little while to round the edges off a little bit. How long the polish lasts depends on the ball and what surface you are using underneath the polish and where you like it. You might find you like 500 plus polish 2 weeks after you resurface and it will last for months. You nay need 3000 plus polish and only for 6-10 games after you apply it. everyone is different. Generally coarser grits will last longer than higher grits but the high edges can wear off those course grits quickly too if you find you like a course grit right after you first resurface. There are nor rules I would suggest keeping a log of games and when and what you apply so you can determine what works best for you.

[djp1080]

Storm recommends that their 1500 grit polished balls be cleaned with their Reacta Shine after each session of bowling. I tend to use it only when I begin to see tracking marks on the ball surface instead and use regular ball cleaner most times. Some alleys are not as clean as others I've noticed.
Have used Reacta Shine on a couple of sanded/matte finished balls to see what difference it made. Didn't like the reaction I got either time; however, when I took the polish off with an Abralon pad, each ball seemed to have more reaction than before. Haven't figured that one out. Maybe I got it just right...
The Reacta Shine I think has some grit in it which helps to clean up the ball a bit and better than just using a spray liquid cleaner. Hope this helps...

[RobLV1]

AMeyers is spot on when he says that the difference you are seeing in the third game has nothing to do with the polish wearing off the ball, but with the oil being absorbed off of the lane by all the balls thrown in games one and two. Polish on a ball does not insure that it always goes the same distance down the lane, but only that a polished ball will get further down the lane than an unpolished ball. Once the oil starts going away, the thing that gets the ball further down the lane is to play further in to find more oil. The polish skids on the oil. Less oil = less skid. Personally, when I use polished balls, I resurface and repolish about every four months. Other than that I simply clean the ball after each outing.

[bowl1820]

Storm recommends that their 1500 grit polished balls be cleaned with their Reacta Shine after each session of bowling. I tend to use it only when I begin to see tracking marks on the ball surface instead and use regular ball cleaner most times. Some alleys are not as clean as others I've noticed.

Have used Reacta Shine on a couple of sanded/matte finished balls to see what difference it made. Didn't like the reaction I got either time; however, when I took the polish off with an Abralon pad, each ball seemed to have more reaction than before. Haven't figured that one out. Maybe I got it just right...
The Reacta Shine I think has some grit in it which helps to clean up the ball a bit and better than just using a spray liquid cleaner. Hope this helps...

Reacta Shine is what is called a "polish cleaner / cleaner polish" which means it cleans and polishes at the same time. When you used it on your sanded/matte ball, you were polishing it to a finer surface grit.

So of course your ball reacted differently, then when you used the abralon pad you just redulled it to a fresh sanded/matte surface. (Note: Polish isn't like a coat of paint that you can take off. Most polishes are just liquid abrasives)

Reacta Shine you need to treat it more like a polish, not a cleaner. If your just wanting to clean, use a liquid cleaner.

[djp1080]

I suppose when I tried the polish on those sanded/matte finished balls I should have taken them down to a lower grit first. Neither ball would make much of a turn. I was hoping to get a stronger backend on them. For now I'll not play around with those particular balls and leave them like they are for now. I've got others that work well for a strong backend which seems to work fairly well. I've not been using all that much Reacta Shine lately and have relied more on ball cleaner instead. On the matte/sanded balls I tend to use cleaner with those as well; however, when I see some track marks, I'll take a 2000 or 3000 grit Abralon pad to it or take some Reacta Skuff to it...

[Aslan]

Am I the only one that keeps seeing this thread and thinking it's a thread about a stupid question? (i.e. Polish…Poland…Pollach…or however you spell it…)

[fortheloveofbowling]

Am I the only one that keeps seeing this thread and thinking it's a thread about a stupid question? (i.e. Polish…Poland…Pollach…or however you spell it…)

I thought the same thing.

[NewToBowling]

I thought the same thing.

Yep...

[fokai73]

There's too many variables when it comes to how long a polish last on the surface of a bowling ball. The type of polish, how it is applied, what grit is under the polish, lane surface, and even the bowlers style or rev rate.

A 3K plus polish might last me 6 to 9 games, but someone on the same pair with the same ball with the same ball surface might last 3-4 games or more. it all depends. also, at times, there is a "break in period" every time a ball surface is changed. Likewise, there are times there is no break in period that takes one week....

I have experienced a ball fresh off the spinner come a live right away and punching in a 787 for that night. Then another ball fresh off the balls spinner, polished and cleaned bang'n right away for another 7 series a week laters.

On the flip side, I have put down the wrong under grit and polish and go 550, after 2 sets, it matched up.... Also, working on the ball surface is pretty much a guessing game until you get used to it or bowl at one house for the last 5 years like I have....

Then there's the newpaper way of surfacing the ball to alter the backend reaction......