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Author Topic: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner  (Read 14827 times)

lsf_21

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Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« on: February 03, 2011, 12:59:34 PM »
Im suffering from bowling in a house that apparently cant clean anything... My whole ball is getting covered in what is either belt marks or gunk from the backstop and I cannot get it off the ball for the life of me. 
 
Things I have tried
Ebonite powerhouse
Alcohol
Acetone
Storm Reacta-shine? I think is what it is.


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mrfish

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #31 on: April 30, 2011, 09:57:59 PM »
Lanemasters seems to work the best. It removes the belt marks easily without having to scrub. I even kind of like the smell. I don't know what everyone is complaining about regarding the smell.
 
You can't go wrong with the Lanemasters cleaner. It's the best.
 
Scott


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TheFreeAgent

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #32 on: April 30, 2011, 11:03:42 PM »
Still in the old urethane days I see. My dad has had a black and gold messenger since the day it came out and cleans it 3 times a week with acetone and no damage. Acetone softened urethane, Ive always cleaned everything with acetone and it has never softened or warped a ball.

 


vadertyme03 wrote on 4/30/2011 6:21 PM:For the record, acetone is NOT approved. It also can severely disturb the coverstock by softening it and even warping it with use.



Moosin' ain't easy!



REFS: MrEddie(BBE), notsohotshot(BR), akanayte(UTA), Tywithay(BBE), BKloss(BR), therealdeal24(BR), lsf_21(BR), 308d76d (BR)



Formerly RotoStorm2008
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Ryan "Junk" Pitman
Ebonite amateur staff
Indianapolis IN.

brett_dubbin

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #33 on: April 30, 2011, 11:33:57 PM »
I bowl in a notoriously bad house for dirt and I just use Black Magic Rejuvenator and a hand towel. I got a nice big bottle on eBay for a really fair price and it does a really nice job, occasionally need a little elbow grease for thicker spots but usually once over each third of the ball and its perfect without much effort.

Just Keeping it Real!
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HiiiRolla

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #34 on: May 24, 2011, 05:29:08 PM »
I ran out of Tac-Up and had recently moved to SW Georgia.  There are 2 centers in the area, one pro shop here doesnt have it yet and the other was sold out but I was able to find it at bowlingball.com


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DON DRAPER

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #35 on: May 25, 2011, 04:12:45 AM »
Rather than pay $8-11 for an 8oz. bottle of bowling ball cleaner I buy a gallon of Simple Green for $8 and  dilute it with water. I've used this for 10 years and it's worked great for pennies per use.

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HiiiRolla

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #36 on: May 25, 2011, 06:16:07 AM »
Ive have also tryed Simple Green and you have to use more of it to get anywhere near the same result as far as clean goes and it doesnt come close to the tackiness. The pro shop guy who sold me the 8oz Tac Up the first time explained that you could get a minimum of 1200 pump sprays out of the bottle. All you need is 3 or 4 sprays on each side to have the desired results. Thats over 100 cleanings I get out of 1 bottle.  . So I think as a bowler id rather buy something that costs 7-10 cents per cleaning and make sure its done the right way for the longevity of my coverstock. Also the pro shop guys use the quart bottles and they clean balls at $3-$6 a pop. That means they can clean upwards of 400 bowling balls with 1 quart bottle that they paid 20 something dollars for. With Tac Up they can clean a ball in under 20 seconds with their spinners. So if you were a pro shop owner thats gonna make possibly over $2,000 profit cleaning balls from one quart bottle, would you want something that costs equivalent to a few bucks per quart that works half ass, or something that costs 20 something thats gonna work siginficantly better and use much less time and effort? I enjoy math and I do believe the answer is obvious. 


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MK

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #37 on: May 25, 2011, 08:18:57 AM »
Be sure to read the article posted in this site.   About halfway down is a good discussion on ball cleaners.

 

MK

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Monster Pike

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #38 on: May 25, 2011, 08:35:01 AM »
A little soapy water & my wifes soft hands...  Works wonders...

Monster Pike is in the House!
Army Strong & Army Proud

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themagician

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #39 on: May 25, 2011, 08:51:09 AM »
A mix of Simple Green, Isopropyl Alcohol and then diluted with water makes a great ball cleaner for dirt cheap. 
 
For actual bowling ball cleaners though, the Motiv gel like stuff and Clean n Dull are fantastic for getting that really stuck on gunk off.  


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-Mike
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TKelly

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #40 on: May 25, 2011, 09:07:42 AM »
I also use the Simple Green/Isopropyl Alcohol mix... It has been an excellent cleaner. I also use Clean and Dull another great cleaner when th gear is gunk'd up


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MK

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #41 on: May 25, 2011, 09:22:54 AM »
 
OK.  Help me out here.   What are the pros and cons for diluting Simple Green with Alcohol versus water?   The FAQ link I posted earlier recommends diluting with water (see inserted text below) but every other post I have seen says to dilute with alcohol.   Which is better and why?

 

MK


CLEANING
I recommend cleaning after every session with any of the ABC approved cleaners and giving the ball a deep cleansing once a month using the soaking technique. I use Simple Green, Orange Clean, Purple Power, etc (diluted 4 parts water to 1 part cleaner) for deep cleansing. I prefer these cleaners over regular dish soap due to their increased degreasing properties.

 
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themagician

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #42 on: May 25, 2011, 09:31:13 AM »
I mix the simple green with the alcohol and then dilute it. The reason I use the alcohol is because it makes the ball cleaner want to evaporate a little bit when you clean the ball, you don't end up with a lot of excess on the ball that needs to be wiped off and it makes it more effective to gunk on the ball to an extent.
 
MK wrote on 5/25/2011 9:22 AM:
 
OK.  Help me out here.   What are the pros and cons for diluting Simple Green with Alcohol versus water?   The FAQ link I posted earlier recommends diluting with water (see inserted text below) but every other post I have seen says to dilute with alcohol.   Which is better and why?

 

MK


CLEANING
I recommend cleaning after every session with any of the ABC approved cleaners and giving the ball a deep cleansing once a month using the soaking technique. I use Simple Green, Orange Clean, Purple Power, etc (diluted 4 parts water to 1 part cleaner) for deep cleansing. I prefer these cleaners over regular dish soap due to their increased degreasing properties.

 


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-Mike
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HiiiRolla

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #43 on: May 25, 2011, 09:45:16 AM »
Products such as Simple Green, Purple Power, Greased Lightning etc are all multi purpose cleaner/degreasers. They are designed for some dilution based on application (wheels, carpet, grills etc.), but majority of people like to use them strong. Any of the above mixed with alcohol at whatever ratio would clean the ball fairly well. The difference is that bowling ball cleaners are designed to do a great job cleaning bowling balls. I have tryed and heard of all the mentioned methods and until I was shown Tac Up I would have agreed with most opinions.


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Nails

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #44 on: May 25, 2011, 09:53:55 AM »

 



TheFreeAgent wrote on 4/30/2011 11:03 PM:
Still in the old urethane days I see. My dad has had a black and gold messenger since the day it came out and cleans it 3 times a week with acetone and no damage. Acetone softened urethane, Ive always cleaned everything with acetone and it has never softened or warped a ball.

 





vadertyme03 wrote on 4/30/2011 6:21 PM:For the record, acetone is NOT approved. It also can severely disturb the coverstock by softening it and even warping it with use.



Moosin' ain't easy!



REFS: MrEddie(BBE), notsohotshot(BR), akanayte(UTA), Tywithay(BBE), BKloss(BR), therealdeal24(BR), lsf_21(BR), 308d76d (BR)



Formerly RotoStorm2008

I'm pretty sure the base material for all performance balls is urethane.  Resins and particles may be added for performance, but the balls are still urethane in nature.  A quick touch up with acetone probably won't hurt, even over time, but mistakenly leaving an acetone soaked rag on the ball for a while will ruin it.

Telling it like it is.
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kidlost2000

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Re: Best/Favorite Ball cleaner
« Reply #45 on: May 25, 2011, 10:38:23 AM »
Usually if I can't get the marks off easily with a damp towel I just go with a light resurface and then polish to get what finish I had back. Something with 1000grit or higher works well.

Be good, or be good at it.
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…… you can't  add a physics term to a bowling term and expect it to mean something.
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