Words of wisdom from Charlest,
“How did you de-oil it?
These balls soak up an incredible amount of oil.
If you used the hot water bath, you might have needed to do this 3 or 4 times or more. The dishwasher method is probably better & safer, but the best AND SAFEST is the Revivor oven that some pro shops have.
“When I use a 4000 abralon pad, it looks matte or dull, never shined, UNLESS the pad is used and too much used. Then using it will put a light shine on the ball.â€
“Like you, I have used a 4000 pad and got a shiny result using a pad I THOUGHT was still good. The results say otherwise, so I throw the pad away or use the back as an applicator.â€
“Never use more pressure or more spinning time than absolutely necessary. You can always do more. You can't go backwards. You always have to start from scratch if it's wrong. A 4000 grit Abralon pad producing a shine is wrong.â€
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I throw all Hammer and Ebonite balls. Both of the leagues I bowl in are sport shot leagues with balls that wick oil like a sea sponge. Because of the cost of abralon abrasive pads I have been guilty of using them past the optimum grit life.
After reading Charlest posts about a 4000 abralon finish being dull and a dishwasher bath being in order, I took my No Mercy and Black Widow Bite down to 500 grit for a trip to the spa. After the dishwasher treatment I brought them back up to 4000 Grit with a much lighter hand pressure on the spinner. Low and behold I was able to achieve a 4000 grit surface without the shine I normally end up with.
The house I bowl at lays down a sport shot Tuesdays and Fridays for pre and makeup bowling along with bowlers interested in testing out a more challenging shot. This week was the Viper. I rolled the No Mercy for 3 games 637 and the Bite for one game 213. I had been averaging in the 190’s so I was very happy with the results.
Lesson learned: Dishwasher or Revivor treatments. Light hand pressure and less spin time when surfacing balls. When in doubt about the condition of an Abralon pad, use a new one.
Like many of you I have been resurfacing balls and bowling for years and years. It’s funny how complacent one can become and over look the accentual processes in maintaining the new high tec bowling equipment. My wife is low maintenance compared to these darn high tec balls.
Charlest, thanks for the reality check!!!
