ball cleaning stuff....lol

[boatman37]

So what should I be using to clean my Black Rhino Gold (Hammer) and Black Rhino Pearl? Looking for something to wipe them down with after each night. I used to use alcohol on my old urethane ball but heard somewhere that alcohol isn't good for these new balls?

EDIT: oops...Black Widow Gold

[bowl1820]

So what should I be using to clean my Black Rhino Gold (Hammer) and Black Rhino Pearl? Looking for something to wipe them down with after each night. I used to use alcohol on my old urethane ball but heard somewhere that alcohol isn't good for these new balls?

Alcohol is okay, it won't hurt the ball.

Bowlingball.com's Monster Tac is a good cleaner and doesn't have a particularly bad smell.

TAC-UP is a good cleaner

Motiv Power Gel Clean is a good cleaner and has virtually no odor. (Good bang for a buck you get a 16oz bottle for about the same price as others that come in smaller sizes)

Ole Roy's Front 9 is good, it's smell's like vinegar.

That Purple Stuff is a good cleaner, But kind of pricey and the smell everyone is referring to is Lavender which is potent and lingers.

Reacta Clean is good, smell is about the average of most cleaners

Simple Green/alcohol works, but I don't particularly like the smell and others work better.

Plain Alcohol cleans, But smells like alcohol.

You can check my video reviews of several cleaners here:

That Purple Stuff
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...wdown-Video-01

Leather Shammy
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...wdown-video-02

Simple Green Aclohol mix
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...r-Showdown-v03

Ball Cleaner Showdown #04 Ole Roy's Front 9
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...-Roy-s-Front-9

Powerhouses cleaners are good:
PH Clean'N Dull is top of the line for getting oil out of the surface, but is best used at home.
PH Energizer is okay.
PH Power Wash okay but theres better.

NeoTac Hook-IT is top of the line spray and gets oil out of the surface also. (DV8 Damn Good Ball Cleaner ranks in here)

I recommend the Leather Shammy for wiping during bowling.

[boatman37]

Thanks 1820. Awesome stuff. I'm going to see what my pro shop has but if he doesn't have anything I will be putting an order into bowlingball.com (probably be putting an order in anyway for other stuff). My Black Widow Gold now has about 25-30 games on it now. When I first got it it rolled pretty straight until about 3/4 of the way down then turned hard right. After about 20 games on it we thought it had cracks in it so the PSO resurfaced it (turned out to be scratches). Didn't seem to have an effect on it as far as roll. Lately it has more of an earlier read and a slight arc with less backend than it used to. Could be lane conditions but figured I need to start being better with ball maintenance. I'll be the first to admit I am pretty poor about taking care of my ball. I thing I have only wiped it down 2 or 3 times since I got it.

Also want to buy a couple of ball cups. Many of the guys in our league keep multiple balls at the return and we run out of room (about 20 balls up there normally). Some teams there are more than that and they keep a few under the return on ball cups. We have a 2 level rack where the top is where they return to and the bottom is where most guys keep their spare ball.

Ok...going to watch all those video reviews! Thanks for the response and for all the work on the videos for us to watch!

[jamoke]

Another popular option is the very convenient per-moistened ball wipes.

There are many options from Storm, Turbo Grips, Motiv, and Vise.
I use the Vise wipes and love em. Great price at Buddies...

[Phonetek]

I just started using the Simple Green / Alcohol combo the last couple days. Bowl is right, it doesn't exactly smell wonderful but it seems to work better than just alcohol. I just put it in a small spray bottle and put some on my towel and wiped it between frames. I noticed a 4-5 board difference after I started it using it and I wasn't leaving corner pins, I was carrying much better.

Simple Green was only $2 and alcohol was less than that. I have enough to last a year if not longer sharing it with my son. Gets the crud off the bottom of bowling shoes (heels and rubber sole right shoe NOT the left slide sole) when you're done bowling too.

[vdubtx]

Simple green and alcohol is what I have used for years.

Sometimes I will splurge and get some That Purple Stuff. Get a very slight discount on it being regional staff with them.

One product that has worked very well for me and isnt necessarily a cleaner, but works in conjunction with cleaners like That Purple Stuff is a product called So Fresh and So Clean. It is made by Creating The Difference same as That Purple Stuff.

What So Fresh and So Clean does is penetrates the ball surface and it keeps the ball tacky for 3 to 5 games. Makes it easier to clean belt marks etc off of it as well. I use a leather shammy and wipe my ball after every shot and that helps keep marks and oil off the ball as well.

Having used the product for a few weeks now, I can say it works very well and does keep my ball tacky longer.

So Fresh and So Clean is approved for use before and after competition, not approved during competition.

[boatman37]

I just started using the Simple Green / Alcohol combo the last couple days. Bowl is right, it doesn't exactly smell wonderful but it seems to work better than just alcohol. I just put it in a small spray bottle and put some on my towel and wiped it between frames. I noticed a 4-5 board difference after I started it using it and I wasn't leaving corner pins, I was carrying much better.

Simple Green was only $2 and alcohol was less than that. I have enough to last a year if not longer sharing it with my son. Gets the crud off the bottom of bowling shoes (heels and rubber sole right shoe NOT the left slide sole) when you're done bowling too.

I thought he said the straight alcohol cleaned it better?

We have so many balls and towels laying up there I just got lazy about wiping mine down since I don't even keep my towel up there. Since they put the auto scoring in there is less room now. Seems the ball return is smaller and now there is no table like there used to be and no chairs near the lanes so not really anywhere to set anything down. Just gotta quit making excuses and start doing it....lol

If my PSO had That Purple Stuff I will get a bottle Tuesday and try it out.

[Phonetek]

I thought he said the straight alcohol cleaned it better?

Nope, he said "Simple Green/alcohol works, but I don't particularly like the smell and others work better.

Plain Alcohol cleans, But smells like alcohol."

[bowl1820]

I thought he said the straight alcohol cleaned it better?

We have so many balls and towels laying up there I just got lazy about wiping mine down since I don't even keep my towel up there. Since they put the auto scoring in there is less room now. Seems the ball return is smaller and now there is no table like there used to be and no chairs near the lanes so not really anywhere to set anything down. Just gotta quit making excuses and start doing it....lol

If my PSO had That Purple Stuff I will get a bottle Tuesday and try it out.

From what I've seen alcohol is just as good as the sg/alcohol mix, but a lot of people use the mix and have for years. One thing to note technically the mix is illegal to use, but nobody is going say anything (except that one time out of a million when it will really matter).

That Purple stuff is a good cleaner, but its high priced compared to most of the others. If you get some get the foaming bottle, you won't waste as much and it will last longer.

[JerseyJim]

I've always been partial to Valentino's Remedy RX. I have to find the original bottle, but there was a cleaner that Sherwin Williams recommended for their walls that is pretty decent in a dilute solution. LaneMasters (the original company) put out a ball cleaner that was great. You could only use it before and after competition.