Need some advice.  Does it do any good and is it worthwhile to add surface to a plastic ball?  One of my teammates, a lefty, uses a plastic ball (an old "soccer ball", his only ball) in our men's league, and for the last several years has averaged in the mid 190s with it, able to hook the ball with a nice down and in shot.  This year, the shot they put out is now heavier and a little flatter, and he has been struggling, especially the last few weeks because he can't get the ball to turn enough.  Our 3 weeks of roll-offs started last night, and the problem was way worse, as he shot 145, 143, 136.  If the lanes are the same next week, would he see any improvement if we took a scotch-brite to the ball during practice to add surface?

I have done this and taken plastic balls to lower grits, and in the right environment it can actually work. You can get a much earlier movement on oilier conditions without an overreaction on the backend.

Brad

Before urethane and reactive, we used to sand our plastic at 80-240 to get hook out of them.  Yes, it works.

Use the maroon - plastic needs all the help you can give it.  --  JohnP

had the Hammer Taboo spare ball and scuffed it by hand with a 3000 pad every couple weeks for the old dry wood lanes we were on
that thing was a beast

Sanding plastic can work in limited situations.  Certainly I would knock the factory shine off of a plastic ball.  However if you get very aggressive in the sanding you increase the friction too much early.  Also sanding doesn't help with carrydown which is the enemy of all plastic and pure urethane balls.