Simple way to put this, whether it be polished or dull ball. I always clean my equipment after I am done bowling. I will not mess with the surface (whether it be polishing it back to that state or using a sanding pad to being it back to the surface it was at when I started using it) until I feel that I am not getting a reaction that I feel I was comfortable with on that ball. Once the polish starts wearing down it is gonna start hooking more and earlier than when fresh. Thats when I will try to recreate the finish I liked the ball with as best I can. I would say on average I tend to refinish a ball that i use alot about every 25-30 games. This is all personal preference as far as how often to do it though. I actually like when my polished equipment starts getting a little track in it.

Like i said, there is gonna be many different opinions on this. just go by what you can see and notice in your reaction. This stuff is not rocket science. I dont mean that in a way to offend you. Its just very hard to see subtle differences in the way a ball rolls after just a handful of games. Go bowl and enjoy it!

Another thing that I do personally is I always sand or polish a new ball to the finish I want before I even bowl with it. Reason being is it is very hard to recreate a manufactures OOB surface, they have machines we dont have at our disposal. When it wears down and isnt reacting like I want. I know exactly what I did to get it to the original surface I started. Your gonna need a spinner to do this yourself.

Brunsmike, you are not special.  I don't ever clean my equipment either.  Hell, i actually prefer it when it has some games on it.  The ball seems to react the most consistent to me after a while.  If it still does what I want, why mess with it? I throw mainly pearl equipment, so I don't know if there is a difference.

I think the most I ever cleaned a ball was after leaving ba ball in the basement for two years there was a layer of dust on it.  Window cleaner and a towel seemed to clean it and it worked just like normal.

I can see speed dominant people (if the T-Road Pearl is hooking only 10 boards, I strongly suspect that person is speed dominant) not cleaning balls, polished or dull. They probably should sand balls, to one degree or another, before they ever use them.

For the rest of us, this minimal work helps to maintain the ball reaction. Contact of the ball surface t the lane surface changes the grit level anywhere from drastically to slightly. To maintain it you should polish it slightly, maybe even just by hand, when you see some dullness in the track area or in the range of 12 - 25 games.

Sometimes later, maybe in the range of 50 - 75 games,  you should sand it back to the starting grit level and apply the same polish to restore the original level of gloss and grit under it. (This is why it is often best for one to put a level of polish on a ball that you know you can replicate.)

I used to "clean n dull" every 5 or 6 sets, or league nights back in the day. I used a towel for two reason, well sometimes 3.

I used a towel for:

1. preshot routine
2. it's enough to dry up my hands
**3. once in a while the house has enough oil for me to use a towel.

** it's rare.

now talking about re-polishing, with my spare ball I used to UFO the sucker after 3 to 5 sets. With my Heat w/polish, 3 times a season. So it depends....but maintaining your equipment is important, I just don't do it much anymore.

Quote from: Zanatos1914 on December 13, 2013, 03:25:24 PM

Storm IQ Pearl - Please dont drill that ball strong....

Why do you say that?  I'm asking seriously. I don't know much about different drilling layouts, but would like to learn.

Best thing you could do is talk to your driller, and if he/she is smart enough to understand your game and the conditions that you bowl on, he/she could recomend a layout for you.

I've seen in the past where ppl come to the shop and say, "i want my ball to hook." or "I want my ball drilled stacked" and proshop guys just do it to make the bowler happy. Without seeing how they bowl.