Bowling ball oven done!

[Timmyb]

Wow! That's quite a bit of oil. Sweater came out looking nice. What temp were you using? Was that ball cleaned after each set? I haven't had much of any come out of mine yet.

I always clean the ball weekly, but rarely right after the set. Hell, sometimes I'm cleaning the ball right before I head to bowling! I'm guessing that the extended period I waited to cook the ball had a lot to do with this. My PSO said 20 games is recommended. I tried to keep the temp right around 140°. Turns out that keeping the temp setting at just under 135° on the controller held 140° on the temp monitor. Not saying that my $16 monitor is all that accurate.....but I'm guessing it should be within reason.

Interesting note--I set the temp unit on top of the cover during startup. When I plugged the oven in, the temp unit started vibrating like crazy. Moving it away stopped that. Apparently there must be some kind of RF disagreement between the temp unit and the blower motor on the oven. Just be aware of that if you build one of your own!

[bowl1820]

My understanding is you should sand down your ball to 500 or so grit before extracting oil. Is this still true?

Sanding the ball before a oil extraction was one of the original steps from the "Hot water & Dawn" oil extraction method. After they came up with the "Revivor" type ovens, it was still recommended to sand the ball first.

This was supposed to unblock the pores that may have been plugged up by impacted dirt and grime or polishes etc.

There are some that think it is a unnecessary step, that pores don't get blocked like that. But some feel your usually resurfacing at the time of a oil extraction, so why not.

IMO Sure sand it first, I'm usually resurfacing anyway. if there is anything blocking the pores cutting the top layer off would make it even easier for the oil to come out.

Does it need to be 500 grit? hard to say. But I would doing the sanding first (whatever grit you use) and de-oil it before applying any polishes.

[Timmyb]

Sanding the ball before a oil extraction was one of the original steps from the "Hot water & Dawn" oil extraction method. After they came up with the "Revivor" type ovens, it was still recommended to sand the ball first.

This was supposed to unblock the pores that may have been plugged up by impacted dirt and grime or polishes etc.

There are some that think it is a unnecessary step, that pores don't get blocked like that. But some feel your usually resurfacing at the time of a oil extraction, so why not.

IMO Sure sand it first, I'm usually resurfacing anyway. if there is anything blocking the pores cutting the top layer off would make it even easier for the oil to come out.

Does it need to be 500 grit? hard to say. But I would doing the sanding first (whatever grit you use) and de-oil it before applying any polishes.

I did bake, clean with LMB Extreme High Perfomance Cleaner, wet-sanded with 1500 Siaair, water rinse (just to knock the gunk off), and then a final cleaning with Motiv Power gel. Weekly cleaning is not this rigorous, usually one of the three cleaners I have around, depending on my mood. That being said, I don't see how sanding first would hurt.

[Timmyb]

The Dark Legend drank oil when I first got it. The Hy-Road likes to drink oil, too, but it keeps on working anyway. My first attempt in using my ball oven the Hy-Road sweated oil for over an hour. The Dark Legend sweated for a pretty long time as well. My Storm Byte and Reign On don't seem to hold on to oil ever.

That was the first time my Dark Legend had been done. My house is usually pretty greasy the night I bowl, so I see where this will have to be done a bit more often.

[got_a_300]

My understanding is you should sand down your ball to 500 or so grit before extracting oil. Is this still true?

That is more of a personal preference whether to sand the ball before or not
but I always sand the ball(s) down to either 180 or 360 grit right before I start
baking the ball(s) as it seems to help with the oil extraction.

Sanding the ball(s) down to 180 or 360 grit before baking also helps with getting
most if not all of the little scratches and dings out of the ball also.

[LOUVIT]

ahhh just use some Gunk engine degreaser or bury it in cat litter...lol...J/K

[KYDave]

bury it in cat litter...

I tried that once. Only problem is I couldn't figure out how to get the ball out of the litter. Every time I tried to get it out it just kept breaking the litter scoop.

About the thermometer/thermostat. I believe they had the same issue with the NuBall. Some inconsistencies led them to testing each one before it left and some even required a new sticker to reflect actual temperature. This is what led me to get the external one with alarm, just in case. Sounds like yours is pretty close. I guess making jerky doesn't have to be that accurate haha.

[bowl1820]

About the sanding I went back through the records and found this from Morich Bowling (Mo Pinel's old company)

THE BEST METHOD

One of the more recent undertakings was to revisit the art of "baking" a bowling ball. The following was published in Bowling This Month and now becomes the official position of MoRich:

"The best way to effectively clean a MoRich Ball is by having the ball baked by a QUALIFIED professional using a special baking machine that utilizes a thermostatic control. The Revivor Oven, which continuously rotates and wipes the oil from ball’s surface as it is extracted, is also designed to accurately control the temperature at which the ball is heated (which we feel should never be higher than 130 degrees).

We have also found that if you have the cover sanded to 360 grit prior to having it PROFESSIONALLY baked, it will allow the oil to escape more efficiently because the pores of the ball have been opened. After the baking process has been completed, have the ball finished to the desired surface texture by the Pro Shop Operator.

If you choose not to seek the help of a qualified professional, we strongly advise that no other method of heating a bowling ball be used in order to extract oil from the cover, because controlling the rate at which the ball heats up cannot be controlled and cracking damage and/or core separation will result.

MoRich will not warranty any ball that has been damaged because it was baked or heated by any other device other than those specifically designed for this purpose and used by QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS."

Note: The 360 US grit above would be 500 in Abralon.

As stated earlier though there are those that think sanding it first isn't needed, so it's ultimately it's up to the user to decide.

[bowl1820]

Here's the "Hot water & Dawn" method from Morich also, as you can see they suggested sanding with 400 grit.

A GOOD METHOD

In the event your Pro Shop does not have a Revivor Oven, your next best approach is to simply give it a "Hot Water Bath." Though the process is easy, don't rush the steps! So here we go...

1. Have the ball wet sanded to about 400-grit to open the cover's pores.
2. Fill a tub or bucket with hot tap water so that it just covers the submerged ball.
3. Dip the ball in the water and when you remove it notice how the water is being repelled by the oil.
4. Squirt about 2-3 teaspoons of Dawn dish detergent (the foamy version lathers and extracts dirt and grime the best) on the ball cover and literally massage it into the coverstock.
5. Place the ball back in the water and let it set for a few minutes.
6. Rub the surface while under water with a clean towel.
7. Remove the ball from the soapy water and rinse it with hot water.
8. Rinse the tub (or bucket) clean and refill it with hot water (no soap).
9. Place the ball back in the water and rub it again with a clean cloth. You will probably notice that a soapy film will appear in the water. This is residue that was trapped in the coverstock (much like the oil and dirt was) and the cloth is helping to remove it from the surface.
10. Repeat steps 5 through 9 until no soapy residue remains, This make 2 or 3 times to achieve, depending upon the amount of soap that was used. You don't want to use too much soap, but you need enough to cut through the oil and dirt.
11. After the soap has been completely removed from the coverstock, towel dry it, and allow the ball to further air dry at room temperature.
12. Have the ball wet sanded with 400-grit paper and then follow the steps to bring it back to its factory finish as described in our resurfacing section.

POST #5000!

[bowl1820]

ahhh just use some Gunk engine degreaser or bury it in cat litter...lol...J/K

Burying a ball in Cat Litter or Oil Dry, can work! I've done it long ago.

It's a very slow method, But it does draw some oil out.

In a way it has some similarities to Ebonites Hook Again system, Which uses a combination of:

a) fine soft pine wood dust;
b) silica gel; and
c) dried sphagnum peat moss.

as the absorbent material.