Author Topic: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers? (Read 2157 times)

LaneHammer20 · « **on:** November 13, 2006, 09:01:47 AM »

I Just want to hear from you Lane/Legends People how you rguys coverstocks has held up over time, i have heard they last longer than many other companies.
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"Nothing Hits the way my Hammers HIT", but then again "Nothing Rules Like my ROBO RULE"

charlest · « **Reply #1 on:** November 13, 2006, 05:25:44 PM »

Well, there's two items in the contest of how-well-they-hold-up-over-time.
One is tracking out of the cover, and
Two is how long they last until they lose performance.

I have been fortunate in both circumstances.
On item #1, tracking out: I have 2 - 3 balls with 200 - 400 games on them. None of them show the degree of tracking they should. One of them has many scratches on other parts of the ball, other than the track.
(To counter-balance this and to be 100% honest, I also have, for me, a very special Brunswick ball, the Riot Zone, which has over 1000 games on it and still has very little track.)

On item #2, I have one Lanemasters ball that is currently suffering from lost performance, my 15 lb Absolute Power. It is the one above that has 400 odd games on it. I fear my 15 lb New Standard is also in this problem area, but I haven't used it in a while, having migrated to 16 lb balls. This NS has 3 - 400 games on it.

That said, on the other side of the coin, I have a friend who has an NS and a Big Bang, both of which suffered lost performance quite rapidly. Since he lives far away from me, it was not readily apparent, TO ME, what his eaxct problem was or what the cause was. He talked to Galen and they worked out a solution to both balls. One part of the solution was the hot water bath to extract oil.

That's as balanced an approach as I can offer. I feel the positive situations regarding both aspect of longevity far outweigh the negative situation(s).

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"None are so blind as those who will not see."

LaneHammer20 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 13, 2006, 05:48:07 PM »

Thanks for the explanation charlest, i see where you are coming from, and The BIG BANG is the ball i am going to purchase from LAnemasters and i am a bit worried after hearing your friend has lost reaction rather quickly, i don't know if this is because he wasn't cleaning on a regular basis.

But anyways for the people who own a big bang that reads this post give me some feedback on how it is holding up. Thanxs
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"Nothing Hits the way my Hammers HIT", but then again "Nothing Rules Like my ROBO RULE"

charlest · « **Reply #3 on:** November 13, 2006, 05:59:57 PM »

Big Bang won't or shouldn't be any different from any of their other balls. As said before, I'd lean more toward the positive because there are more of them.

9,999 balls out of 10,000 can be rejuvenated several times. That's counting all manufacturers!
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"None are so blind as those who will not see."

LaneHammer20 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 13, 2006, 06:09:39 PM »

CHarlest where can i find the instructions on giving a ball a proper Hot water bath i know the basics but can't find a real good one to go by? If yopu could point me toward a post you have seen that is accuate or how you do it.
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"Nothing Hits the way my Hammers HIT", but then again "Nothing Rules Like my ROBO RULE"

charlest · « **Reply #5 on:** November 13, 2006, 07:10:29 PM »

quote:
CHarlest where can i find the instructions on giving a ball a proper Hot water bath i know the basics but can't find a real good one to go by? If yopu could point me toward a post you have seen that is accuate or how you do it.
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"Nothing Hits the way my Hammers HIT", but then again "Nothing Rules Like my ROBO RULE"

Actually I don't do the hot water method. I use Columbia's CPR stuff.

Whatever method you use, first -
Sand ball down to 220 - 320 grit range. This sort of opens up the surface pores of the resin and helps the oil escape more easily. It's probably not essential, but every little bit helps.

Hot water is easy though. Hottest tap water is 140-160 degrees Fahrenheit which is safe. Put ball in a bucket, filled with hot tap water; put in a few squirts of Dawn or other kitchen sink/dishsoap degreaser soap. Don't use too much or it will create suds all over the place. Putting the soap in after the bucket is filled is probably safest' swirl to mix. Put in ball with holes up; plug up holes, if at all possible, with water-proof tape or similar stuff. Safest not to let the ball into the holes; might get into the core; might not. Play it safe. Something called Blue Tack might work for plugging the holes and preventing water from getting in. Never tried it, though.

The hot water brings the oil to the surface; the soap breaks up the oil, like it breaks up food grease. Its job is to prevent the ball from re-absorbing the oil.

when the water gets cooler, NOT cool, maybe luke warm. I assume 15-30 minutes is the right interval. (Original water should be hot enough that you can barely stand it for a second or so; like bath or shower water, if you run all hot, you can't take that bath or shower. When you can leave your hand in there with no problem, that's probably past the point where the hot water is forcing the oil to the surface. )

Wipe the ball off with clean towels. Resurface to desired or previous level.

----------------------------------
The CPR method is much easier. I sand to 320 grit using Track's Clean and DUll as a lubricant. It helps remove some oil from just below the surface of the ball. I put that ball in the bag that comes with the CPR powder. Place the powder into the bag; close the bag with the twist tie. Manipulate the powder so it covers the entire ball, trying to get as much powder on the ball as possible. Leave it there for 24 hours. (INstructions say 1 or 2 hours.)

Try not to breathe in the powder; I doubt if that would be a good thing.

Remove the ball and wipe it off with damp paper towels. Clean with a 2nd paper towel with bowling ball cleaner. Re-surface as desired.

This seems to work for me.
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"None are so blind as those who will not see."

Edited on 11/13/2006 8:03 PM

Elite_Digger · « **Reply #6 on:** November 13, 2006, 07:51:00 PM »

Sorry to butt in, but here's a copy and paste from one manufacturers site on hot water bath:

1. Have the ball wet sanded to about 400-grit to open the cover's pores.
2. Fill a tub or bucket (5 gallon buckets work well) with hot tap water and about 2-3 teaspoons of Dawn dish detergent.
3. Wash the ball using a wash cloth or a scotch brite pad (burgundy or green) for a few minutes.
4. Remove the ball from the soapy water and rinse the tub (or bucket) clean and refill it with hot water (no soap).
5. Place the ball in the water and wash it clean with a clean cloth or new scotch brite pad. You will probably notice that a soapy film will appear in the water. This is residue that was trapped in the coverstock (much like the oil and dirt was).
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until no soapy residue remains, This make 2 or 3 times to achieve, depending upon the amount of soap that was used. You don't want to use too much soap, but you need enough to cut through the oil and dirt.
7. After the soap has been completely removed from the coverstock, allow the ball to air dry at room temperature.
8. Have the ball wet sanded with 400-grit paper and then follow the steps to bring it back to its factory finish as described in our resurfacing section.

Once this procedure has been completed, make every attempt to clean the ball after each session of use.

The ONE cleaning method that we strongly oppose is "baking" (or using heat of any kind) a ball. Most of the methods that use "heat" as a cleaning method suggest that this is a way to "revive" the ball after it has lost an obvious amount of hook. For reviving a ball, we recommend checking into Ebonite's "Hook Again" system.

I myself have used the hot water method on several of my balls and it definately works. I don't do the sanding down to 400 grit, but the rest is pretty straight forward. I have a Thing Returns with 300-400 games on it and it still works great... of course it's a soaker coverstock though...

Anyway, good luck!
Digs
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Never argue with an idiot....They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!

Edited on 11/13/2006 8:43 PM

Blindstag · « **Reply #7 on:** November 14, 2006, 12:31:56 AM »

All this information is great....one more question...how often - ie: after how many games ?
--------------------
Dale Stewart
Visionary Test Staff
Team Bowling Balls Australia Member.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Imagination is more important than knowledge - Knowledge is limited,
Imagination encircles the world ~ Albert Einstein

charlest · « **Reply #8 on:** November 14, 2006, 06:05:51 AM »

quote:
All this information is great....one more question...how often - ie: after how many games ?
--------------------
Dale Stewart
Visionary Test Staff
Team Bowling Balls Australia Member.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Imagination is more important than knowledge - Knowledge is limited,
Imagination encircles the world ~ Albert Einstein

When it loses significant performance. Make sure it's just not a change in the oil pattern.
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"None are so blind as those who will not see."

lsf_21 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 15, 2006, 04:58:11 PM »

ive had my new standard for every bit of a year and a half and it still hits as hard as the day i got it... and thast with bowling 2 leagues and all the tournaments i go to and practice i do and its my go to ball.
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legends/lane masters.....what more do you need?

Xfest · « **Reply #10 on:** November 15, 2006, 05:02:32 PM »

To relate to what Charlest said,

If my ball gets 400+ games on it, It's had a damn good life.
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ÃˆĻ ArsenÃ¨l

- Do I need anymore?

Track Mean Machine

Lane #1 Solid Cobalt Bomb

Storm Paradigm

Lane #1 Dirty Bomb

Track Machine

Track Equation

Lanemasters The Buzz

Columbia Wicked B/R/T

Track Desert Heat

Brunswick Spiral Viz-a-Ball

charlest · « **Reply #11 on:** November 15, 2006, 06:12:47 PM »

quote:
To relate to what Charlest said,

If my ball gets 400+ games on it, It's had a damn good life.
--------------------
ÃˆĻ ArsenÃ¨l - Do I need anymore?
Track Mean Machine Lane #1 Solid Cobalt Bomb
Storm Paradigm Lane #1 Dirty Bomb
Track Machine Track Equation
Lanemasters The Buzz Columbia Wicked B/R/T
Track Desert Heat Brunswick Spiral Viz-a-Ball

Yup, 300-500 games is good (value for money spent) and, with rejuvenation, should be expected even with today's "oil suckers".
--------------------
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

Author Topic: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers? (Read 2157 times)

LaneHammer20

Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

charlest

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

LaneHammer20

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

charlest

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

LaneHammer20

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

charlest

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

Elite_Digger

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

Blindstag

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

charlest

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

lsf_21

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

Xfest

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?

charlest

Re: Whats the real SAY on Longevity of Lane/Legends Covers?