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Thread: Surface changes...

  1. #1
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    Default Surface changes...

    Is it counterproductive to change the surface on a reactive ball if you have used it for say 30 games and not put it through a ball oven?

    I surmise the surface change will still work and will just not last as long or be less effective but it won't hurt anything? Or is it just a bad idea all together?

  2. #2

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    "Lane shine" happens in 3 games. You should freshen the surface after each 3 game set, and resurface from the bottom up every 50-75 games. I've never put a ball in the oven, though I used to put them out in the summer sun for an hour or so.

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    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    I was referring to the ball oven that the pro shop has, not the one in my kitchen. For what balls cost I wouldn't attempt it myself. When it gets warmer I could give it a try. Although I am extremely pleased with my new PSO he's a bit of a drive. I don't really feel like running back and forth to get balls baked if I don't have to. LOL

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    Quote Originally Posted by Phonetek View Post
    I was referring to the ball oven that the pro shop has, not the one in my kitchen. For what balls cost I wouldn't attempt it myself. When it gets warmer I could give it a try. Although I am extremely pleased with my new PSO he's a bit of a drive. I don't really feel like running back and forth to get balls baked if I don't have to. LOL
    I used to drive out to Long Island once a year to bowl with my friend Jeff. By the time I would get there every ball except for my spare ball would be covered with a sheen of oil.

    If you look around on this site you should be able to find a number of threads on diy de-oiling. Everything from giving the ball a nice warm bath to making your own personal ball ‘oven’. There are enough comments to get an idea of what you can do yourself without spending a lot of money or wasting an hour to drive to the pro shop to drop the ball off and another hour to go pick it up.

    I think Rob M has actually recommended that one should resurface a brand new ball before throwing it. There is nothing sacred about the factory finish and none of us own the equipment that would allow us to duplicate it. By putting your own finish on it, you will have a standard that you can always get back to, whether you’re a constant experimenter or just want to keep the ball reacting the same as much as possible.
    John

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    I usually surface mine as soon as I get them so I have a repeatable baseline. Lately I have been 'freshening' mine up every 8-10 games on my spinner and every 25-30 games I take them back down to 500 then work back up to where I want it at. I have a spreadsheet I keep track of every game and have them color coded to track how many games on each 'surface'. I also keep notes on the surface, whether I skipped a grit or how worn the pad was that I used.

    What was really surprising to me relating to surfacing was that my Kingpin and Conspiracy had about identical reactions as far as I could remember but I hadn't used the Kingpin in about 2 years. This past week the lanes were soaked and nothing I had was biting at all so just for the heck of it I grabbed my Kingpin from the back room and it was working pretty good. I had thought that ball being at 1000. When I got home I went back to my spreadsheet and saw the last time I surfaced it I used a 500. The Conspiracy was 1500. I was pretty surprised at the difference between the 500 and 1500. When I go from 2000-3000 I don't see much difference but 500-1500 was noticeable, at least under the conditions we were on. Now I'm wishing I had that ball at that tournament a couple weeks ago...lol
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  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Phonetek View Post
    I was referring to the ball oven that the pro shop has, not the one in my kitchen. For what balls cost I wouldn't attempt it myself. When it gets warmer I could give it a try. Although I am extremely pleased with my new PSO he's a bit of a drive. I don't really feel like running back and forth to get balls baked if I don't have to. LOL
    I was referring to the oven in the pro shop, not the one in your kitchen. I've never used either! Frankly, I think it's a waste of time and a desperate move to try to get the ball to hook, rather than learning to just let it hook.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by boatman37 View Post
    I usually surface mine as soon as I get them so I have a repeatable baseline.l
    Smart!

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    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    Yeah I play around with changing the surface. We have a ball spinner at work. The new ball I brought down to 4000 grit before it hit the lane as the OOB finish was 5500. I wanted to give it a little more oomph but not anything crazy.

    I just wanted to make sure de-oiling wasn't absolutely NEEDED. Moreso with my son's stuff because he bowls daily and packs the games on his stuff. He also has access to the spinner and he cleans and he knows how to use the sanding pads. When he's done bowling he does his ritual on the spinner before putting his stuff away in my office. I want to insure he gets the best results and longevity out of his bowling balls. I can't exactly afford to get him new ones every few months.

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    Phonetek, I built a ball oven from a food dehydrator, from the instructions on this site. It works well. Only use it for a ball that has more than 100 games or more on it. Looks like your son may qualify for this. Other important factors are to slowly heat up and cool down the ball. It will crack if not careful. Find the correct temp to bake it. Control it . Rotate and wipe the ball every 10-15 minutes. Practice the first time with a ball from the pro shop that is being thrown into the dumpster. Most times you will not see a lot of oil being baked out.

    Best of luck!
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    I built my own oven but only used it once or twice. I got a big cardboard box (about the size of 3 balls) then but a small hole in one end for my heat gun to set in then a plastic 'diffuser' to direct heat around the box so it doesn't blow directly on the ball then a small hole for a thermometer. I open the lid as needed to control heat. Stays around 125-130* pretty well.

    Arsenal "15# Global Eternity Pi-45x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Xponent-60x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Zen Soul-60x4.5x40" "15# Roto Grip Idol Helios-90 x 2.25 x 45" "15# 900 Global Altered Reality-50x3.625x30" "15# Brunswick Uppercut-80x3.625x35" "15# Brunswick Igniter-70x5.5x35" "15# Raw Hammer Pearl 45x5.75x40" "15# Brunswick T-Zone"
    Rev Rate about 270 @ about 15.5 MPH at the pins* High Game: 290 - High Series: 733. PAP: 5 1/8"x1" up; tilt 20*, rotation 75*. YTD highs - 290-733
    Oh, and LEFTY!!!

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