Black Widow problem

[ae_guy30]

Hey, first of all I have been reading over the forums for a long time and thought that I should finally register. Secondly, I'll get right down to my problem...recently my black widow hasn't been hooking the way it used to. I've talked it over with a lot of my friends and a couple of pro shop guys and there giving me some mixed answers. The guy down at my pro shop told me to throw the ball in the dishwasher for a cycle becuz there was a lot of oil in it (although i have read a lot of messages on this forum saying that that was not good). A couple of my buddies said that I should get it resurfaced...and I think thats what I might end up doing.

Any thoughts or opinions would be helpful...Thanks guys

[dw800seeker]

Look for one of the threads discussing giving your ball a bath. Tenpinsniper has a couple of really good descriptions of how to do it.

Basically fill bucket or sink with hot tap water. Let ball soak for a few minutes. Rinse and repeat. Rub ball down with clean microfiber towel afterward. Don't worry about water in the holes, it will dry.

There is some dispute as to whether a teaspoon of grease eating dishsoap is helpful to put in the water.

Using the dishwasher probably will get the ball too hot. If you are considering the dishwasher I would recommend having the proshop resurface instead.

Other versions involve rubbing the ball with a 360-500 abralon pad during the process. I have not tried that. If you do, you probably will want to take the ball to the proshop afterward and have the ball spun back to 4000 or whatever you like.

Do not soak too long. A few minutes is plenty.

I have found that a couple of rinses and some soap really make the ball come back to the OOB feel. Good Luck.

[aigaios]

I'd refrain from putting in the dish washer, but you can get the oil out by giving it hot water baths. The following is copied from an email sent to me by Brian Graham after I asked him the same question about my BW not hooking:

For your Black Widow, I recommend soaking the ball in a bucket of hot tap water for 15 minutes and repeating the process until the oil stops pooling on the surface of the water. For some balls, this may take 4-5 sessions. Just make sure that you use clean water for each session and wipe the ball off between the sessions. This process will remove the oil from the ball and will open the pores. Let the ball sit overnight, and it will be good as new.

Getting the ball resurfaced might help a little bit, but it won't get the ball to absorb oil like it did before.

Cheers,

-M

[Blackwidow-Mac]

I'd refrain from putting in the dish washer, but you can get the oil out by giving it hot water baths. The following is copied from an email sent to me by Brian Graham after I asked him the same question about my BW not hooking:

For your Black Widow, I recommend soaking the ball in a bucket of hot tap water for 15 minutes and repeating the process until the oil stops pooling on the surface of the water. For some balls, this may take 4-5 sessions. Just make sure that you use clean water for each session and wipe the ball off between the sessions. This process will remove the oil from the ball and will open the pores. Let the ball sit overnight, and it will be good as new.

Getting the ball resurfaced might help a little bit, but it won't get the ball to absorb oil like it did before.

Cheers,

-M

I do this every couple of weeks and it works great, I bowl 3-4 times a week.

[BlackWidow95]

I loved my Widow after I got it changed to 1000-Grit.. It really brought my ball back to life and I couldn't be happier with it!!

[slap]

Wow a BW @ 1000, that ball must hook. How much earlier does it start to turn compared to 4000?

I just changed mine to 2000 over the weekend. There as been a lot of carry down the past few league nights. I practiced with it at 2000 yesterday morning and the difference is easy to see. League tonight is tonight so I get to test this experiment.

[can-ham]

I would get it resurfaced to 1000 or 2000 and then give it a bath. You will get more oil out in the bath when it's sanded...

Do not use the dishwasher!

[Thepainscoming]

NO DISHWASHER:mad:

[Thepainscoming]

No DISHWASHER

[PebblTossr]

if you have ever thrown a ONE (big, infinite, etc.) you know they suck a lot of oil.... heres what i do, i have an old rack from like a 80's bowling bag (wire frame) i set the ball, whichever i am "treating" on the rack and put in frone of a lil electric heater like 110-120 degrees, change the side facing the ball every 15 mins or so, watch the oil just drain out like changing the oil in your car. I have never had any negative results, just make sure you dont leave it sit on one side for too long and you'll be golden.

(by the way, if you soak your ball, DO NOT use grease cutting detergent, it WILL screw up the coverstock)

[TenPinSniper]

http://forums.hammerbowling.com/showthread.php?t=1380

I like to chnage the water often, rarely do I reuse water. Being meaning to try my new tub.