BubbaRay
09-10-2007, 04:44 AM
Everyone needs a ball-maintenance program in order to keep your equipment
performing at an optimal level. I'll offer a few tips on how to clean your ball and maintain its finish.
The cover is the most dominant variable in ball reaction. Because it's in contact with the lane, the ball surface will pick up oil. With some of the newer equipment, there's a lot of oil that gets absorbed into the ball, which soaks both the surface and the inside of the ball. As the ball rolls down the lane, only a very small portion is in contact with the lane at any given moment, but you will notice oil rings on your ball in some instances. This oil ring indicates your ball's track (where it has rolled on the lane). Sometimes, for different reasons, you may not see an oil ring, but your ball still will have rolled on its track as it went down the lane. Every ball develops an oil track; obviously, the faster your ball tracks up, the more often you'll need to clean it.
There are two main considerations when you are organizing your cleaning schedule. The first one is where you bowl. Some bowling centers are very srictly maintained. For instance, the lanes may be stripped and oiled twice a day. Other centers may not clean as often. The cleaner the lane surface, the longer it takes your ball to track up.
Where you live also makes a difference. For instance, if you bowl in an area near the beach, where a lot of sand gets dragged into the center, you will have more particles on the lane surface. The same goes for a bowling center near an airport or railroad tracks: Constant vibrations will force particles out of the ceiling and onto the lane surface. How much oil the center you bowl in applies and what type of oil is used in the dressing of the lanes will affect your maintenance program as well.
The second consideration is how often you bowl. If you bowl once a week in a three-game league, your maintenance will be less than that of someone who bowls five times a week in league, tournament, and practice play.
You can do a lot on your own to keep your equipment in shape, and every once in a while you can visit your pro shop for some extra-special treatment. If you like your ball's hook, you need to be diligent with your ball maintenance. For your aggressive hook ball, use three-game blocks as your cleaning schedule, if possible. To keep the same reaction on every roll during games, you need to wipe your ball clean with a towel. The next level of ball-cleaning, polishing, dulling, and maintenance resides in your pro shop. The pro shop has materials that are stronger and are applied using a high-speed spinner. This specialized machine is made just for working on bowling balls. Your pro shop operator can manipulate this machine and a range of products to do just what needs to be done to your bowling ball. If your ball needs special attention, this is where to go. You'll quickly see that the results are more dramatic than what you can accomplish by hand. In fact, pro shop operators can make an old ball look new, a shiny ball look dull, or a dull ball look shiny. The magic they perform is amazing.
These changes can make a significant difference in the reaction of your bowling ball. Some of the procedures take quite a bit of time, effort, and product, but the cost is well worth the result. If, for instance, you have a particle ball that is not reacting as well as it used to, you can go to the pro shop and have the surface refreshed. The particle material is throughout the ball--not just on a thin layer of the coverstock--so you won't lose its distinct reaction by having the pro shop work on it. In fact, for some particle technology, there is a specialized system the pro shop utilizes on them.
Using heat to clean
There is a product in the marketplace called The Rejuvenator, a machine that heats a bowling ball to draw the oil out. It heats a ball at a very low temperature--on the order of a child's easy bake oven. Drawing out oil will give you a ball that hooks more.
When I hear of people putting bowling balls in their ovens at home, however, it makes me nervous. Bowling balls, especially reactive and particle technology balls, are sensitive to heat. If you put one of these balls in the oven at 150 degrees for an hour, don't be surprised if it splits into two pieces as it cools. Thermal stress is not good for bowling balls. If the ball gets too hot it can crack, and even if it does not appear to have a crack on the outside surface the heat can cause many small, unseen stress fractures in the material that weaken it.
Another concern stems from the materials bowling balls are made of. There are all sorts of chemicals in the balls, and many of them are not fit for human consumption. Putting a ball into an oven that is used to prepare food is a bad idea. In fact, you shouldn't even leave your balls in a hot trunk for very long--high temperatures in the trunk can damage a ball.
A safer and effective way to get the oil out of your ball is to get a five-gallon bucket of hot water and a detergent and scrub your ball with a soft nylon brush, rag, or sponge. This will draw the oil out of the ball and restore some of its hooking power. When you're cleaning your ball this way, be sure to cover all of the holes with some type of tape (electric tape usually works well) to keep water from seeping in.
Why spend hundreds of dollars on a topnotch ball if you're not going to maintain it for optimal performance? That's like buying an expensive sports car and waiting 10,000 miles to change the oil, or leaving the body exposed to the elements and letting it rust away. By knowing what to do, where to go, and how often to maintain your ball properly, you can raise the efficiency of your game. Just as important is avoiding anything that may harm your precious ball--bowling balls are most definitely not fit for Shake 'n. Bake.
Ball reaction is about surface to surface contact. If you don't create friction you will get skid, if you create lots of friction you get hook. You must have the right friction level for each lane condition to be effective on that lane condition. Dull balls tend to hook earlier and shined balls tend to hook later. Adjust your surface before you change your style. Keep it simple and you will score higher. Too many changes are too confusing and cause difficulty staying consistent. Experiment with changing your ball surface to change the reaction. Find out what your balls can do.
Bowl with well maintained balls and you will have more success. Higher scores with less work and your average will go up. Your confidence will build and who knows where your average will end up at. Take advantage of the tools available to you and you will be glad you did.
I hope this serves as a good ball-maintenance primer. Remember, when in doubt, stop in your pro shop and ask for advice; you won't be steered wrong.
performing at an optimal level. I'll offer a few tips on how to clean your ball and maintain its finish.
The cover is the most dominant variable in ball reaction. Because it's in contact with the lane, the ball surface will pick up oil. With some of the newer equipment, there's a lot of oil that gets absorbed into the ball, which soaks both the surface and the inside of the ball. As the ball rolls down the lane, only a very small portion is in contact with the lane at any given moment, but you will notice oil rings on your ball in some instances. This oil ring indicates your ball's track (where it has rolled on the lane). Sometimes, for different reasons, you may not see an oil ring, but your ball still will have rolled on its track as it went down the lane. Every ball develops an oil track; obviously, the faster your ball tracks up, the more often you'll need to clean it.
There are two main considerations when you are organizing your cleaning schedule. The first one is where you bowl. Some bowling centers are very srictly maintained. For instance, the lanes may be stripped and oiled twice a day. Other centers may not clean as often. The cleaner the lane surface, the longer it takes your ball to track up.
Where you live also makes a difference. For instance, if you bowl in an area near the beach, where a lot of sand gets dragged into the center, you will have more particles on the lane surface. The same goes for a bowling center near an airport or railroad tracks: Constant vibrations will force particles out of the ceiling and onto the lane surface. How much oil the center you bowl in applies and what type of oil is used in the dressing of the lanes will affect your maintenance program as well.
The second consideration is how often you bowl. If you bowl once a week in a three-game league, your maintenance will be less than that of someone who bowls five times a week in league, tournament, and practice play.
You can do a lot on your own to keep your equipment in shape, and every once in a while you can visit your pro shop for some extra-special treatment. If you like your ball's hook, you need to be diligent with your ball maintenance. For your aggressive hook ball, use three-game blocks as your cleaning schedule, if possible. To keep the same reaction on every roll during games, you need to wipe your ball clean with a towel. The next level of ball-cleaning, polishing, dulling, and maintenance resides in your pro shop. The pro shop has materials that are stronger and are applied using a high-speed spinner. This specialized machine is made just for working on bowling balls. Your pro shop operator can manipulate this machine and a range of products to do just what needs to be done to your bowling ball. If your ball needs special attention, this is where to go. You'll quickly see that the results are more dramatic than what you can accomplish by hand. In fact, pro shop operators can make an old ball look new, a shiny ball look dull, or a dull ball look shiny. The magic they perform is amazing.
These changes can make a significant difference in the reaction of your bowling ball. Some of the procedures take quite a bit of time, effort, and product, but the cost is well worth the result. If, for instance, you have a particle ball that is not reacting as well as it used to, you can go to the pro shop and have the surface refreshed. The particle material is throughout the ball--not just on a thin layer of the coverstock--so you won't lose its distinct reaction by having the pro shop work on it. In fact, for some particle technology, there is a specialized system the pro shop utilizes on them.
Using heat to clean
There is a product in the marketplace called The Rejuvenator, a machine that heats a bowling ball to draw the oil out. It heats a ball at a very low temperature--on the order of a child's easy bake oven. Drawing out oil will give you a ball that hooks more.
When I hear of people putting bowling balls in their ovens at home, however, it makes me nervous. Bowling balls, especially reactive and particle technology balls, are sensitive to heat. If you put one of these balls in the oven at 150 degrees for an hour, don't be surprised if it splits into two pieces as it cools. Thermal stress is not good for bowling balls. If the ball gets too hot it can crack, and even if it does not appear to have a crack on the outside surface the heat can cause many small, unseen stress fractures in the material that weaken it.
Another concern stems from the materials bowling balls are made of. There are all sorts of chemicals in the balls, and many of them are not fit for human consumption. Putting a ball into an oven that is used to prepare food is a bad idea. In fact, you shouldn't even leave your balls in a hot trunk for very long--high temperatures in the trunk can damage a ball.
A safer and effective way to get the oil out of your ball is to get a five-gallon bucket of hot water and a detergent and scrub your ball with a soft nylon brush, rag, or sponge. This will draw the oil out of the ball and restore some of its hooking power. When you're cleaning your ball this way, be sure to cover all of the holes with some type of tape (electric tape usually works well) to keep water from seeping in.
Why spend hundreds of dollars on a topnotch ball if you're not going to maintain it for optimal performance? That's like buying an expensive sports car and waiting 10,000 miles to change the oil, or leaving the body exposed to the elements and letting it rust away. By knowing what to do, where to go, and how often to maintain your ball properly, you can raise the efficiency of your game. Just as important is avoiding anything that may harm your precious ball--bowling balls are most definitely not fit for Shake 'n. Bake.
Ball reaction is about surface to surface contact. If you don't create friction you will get skid, if you create lots of friction you get hook. You must have the right friction level for each lane condition to be effective on that lane condition. Dull balls tend to hook earlier and shined balls tend to hook later. Adjust your surface before you change your style. Keep it simple and you will score higher. Too many changes are too confusing and cause difficulty staying consistent. Experiment with changing your ball surface to change the reaction. Find out what your balls can do.
Bowl with well maintained balls and you will have more success. Higher scores with less work and your average will go up. Your confidence will build and who knows where your average will end up at. Take advantage of the tools available to you and you will be glad you did.
I hope this serves as a good ball-maintenance primer. Remember, when in doubt, stop in your pro shop and ask for advice; you won't be steered wrong.