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Author Topic: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals  (Read 30324 times)

jman76

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Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« on: July 22, 2015, 09:22:01 AM »
I have always cleaned my bowling balls with rubbing alcohol as I was told that was the best way to clean them. I was told by a proshop employee that it will harm the coverstocks of today's equipment. He told me to use a mixture of 1/3 alcohol, 1/3 degreaser, and 1/3 water. Any thoughts on this?
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milorafferty

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2015, 09:53:42 AM »
Quote from: jman76 on July 22, 2015, 09:22:01 AM
I have always cleaned my bowling balls with rubbing alcohol as I was told that was the best way to clean them. I was told by a proshop employee that it will harm the coverstocks of today's equipment. He told me to use a mixture of 1/3 alcohol, 1/3 degreaser, and 1/3 water. Any thoughts on this?

Degreaser? That's probably not a good idea. If you don't want to buy a commercial bowling ball cleaner, use a mix of Simple Green, alcohol and water.
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Bowler19525

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2015, 10:10:38 AM »
Simple Green is a basic degreaser.

"Natural Orange" cleaner/degreaser has also been recommended by people for cleaning bowling balls.  It is citrus based and harmless.  I bought a bottle of it at Home Depot and have used it on occasion as a backup when out of normal cleaner and it seems to work well (and smells good, too.)  When using the Natural Orange, I always follow up with a damp cloth to remove any residue that might be left from it just to be safe.
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milorafferty

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2015, 10:26:04 AM »
I forgot to add, alcohol doesn't hurt bowling balls. Most commercial cleaners use alcohol in their formula.

It's funny what people will claim though, several years back when I went to the BTM Super School, Andy Parker(USBC Certified Coach) told me that alcohol causes the cover stock to crystallize. Being a somewhat new bowler at the time, I didn't know any better. When I got home, I asked the main guy at Lane Masters about it and he replied "That guy is an idiot"
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jman76

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2015, 10:28:06 AM »
That's kind of what I thought too. I mean, what in alcohol could hurt a ball? It evaporates quickly and takes the oil out. I was just curious because I've never noticed any problems before.
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charlest

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2015, 10:40:35 AM »
Quote from: jman76 on July 22, 2015, 10:28:06 AM
That's kind of what I thought too. I mean, what in alcohol could hurt a ball? It evaporates quickly and takes the oil out. I was just curious because I've never noticed any problems before.

Alcohol doesn't hurt the ball, but it doesn't remove lane oil either. At least household isopropyl alcohol doesn't. Mostly it's a waste of time.
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mechanic81

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2015, 11:23:23 AM »
i agree with charlest on this one alcohol doesnt do much for lane oil but it wont hurt your bowling ball either. I would stick with a cleaner made specifically for cleaning bowling balls my 2 favorite cleaners are lanemasters i tack ball cleaner or valentinos remedy rx and a fair warning the lanemasters cleaner has a strong odor.
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12XSECH

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2015, 04:48:26 PM »
1/3 simple green degreaser, 1/3 alcohol, 1/3 water...Thats all you will ever need.
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J_w73

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2015, 04:56:34 PM »
I heard a while back that isopropyl alcohol dries out the coverstock and makes the ball brittle and more prone to cracking.  I'm not so sure if this wasn't put out by the ball companies so that you would buy whatever brand of cleaner they were pushing.  Also, I feel that some of the USBC approved cleaners might harm the ball surface after repeated use.  I understand that there are different chemical compositions, but my clean and dull ate through the plastic bottle it was in.  You also can't use clean and dull during competition because the USBC has deemed that it does change the ball surface.
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dR3w

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2015, 04:56:54 PM »
Denatured alcohol will take oil off a ball faster than anything I have ever used.  When I run a ball through the revivor and it is covered in oil, a few sprays of denatured alcohol and the ball is dry.  Other cleaners don't seem to work as well for that process, or they take some time.
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J_w73

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2015, 05:19:05 PM »
Quote from: dR3w on July 22, 2015, 04:56:54 PM
Denatured alcohol will take oil off a ball faster than anything I have ever used.  When I run a ball through the revivor and it is covered in oil, a few sprays of denatured alcohol and the ball is dry.  Other cleaners don't seem to work as well for that process, or they take some time.

Yes. Denatured alcohol is very fast drying.  Denatured alcohol is allowed anytime by the USBC, even though it could contain MEK or acetone as a denaturing agent.  Both of which are not allowed at anytime by themselves. Go figure. 
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Brickguy221

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2015, 05:58:52 PM »
Quote from: dR3w on July 22, 2015, 04:56:54 PM
Denatured alcohol will take oil off a ball faster than anything I have ever used.  When I run a ball through the revivor and it is covered in oil, a few sprays of denatured alcohol and the ball is dry.  Other cleaners don't seem to work as well for that process, or they take some time.

Where do you buy denatured alcohol?
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BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2015, 06:19:03 PM »
I think you'll find it at Home Depot or Lowes.  It should be on the aisle with acetone, etc. in the paint department.


« Last Edit: July 22, 2015, 06:29:17 PM by notclay »
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Dave81644

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2015, 07:09:52 PM »
Clean N dull works wonders.
cant go wrong with a product made specifically for this very thing
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xrayjay

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Re: Ball Cleaning/Chemicals
« Reply #14 on: July 22, 2015, 07:32:23 PM »
I would wear the right gloves when using these cleaners and polishes. CnD melts the medical gloves and mechanic gloves that I have at home. And Clean n Tacky (may be the same thing?) does the same thing too. The clear bottles have melted.....

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