I've read on this board several times about how somebody's Vertigo has lost all of its reaction. I'm going to share my story with you now...
I've had my Vertigo since last April (almost one year to the day). I bowled with it all of last summer and all of fall/winter league plus practice...not sure how many games but I would guess at least in the neighborhood of 175-200 games. I cleaned it after every use with Storm's Reacta-Clean and occasionally hit it with gray scotchbrite to dull the surface. Unfortunately near the end of our league's season, I began to notice a drop off in performance and recalled all the "horror stories" of "Vertigo ball death". So, now that our season is over, I decided to experiment with my Vertigo and my new ball spinner.
Even with hitting the Vert with gray scotchbrite from time to time, the cover was becoming shinier with time. Obviously, this was due to some oil absorption but also the actual grit of the surface was being smoothed out with use...800 became 1000 which became 1200 over time, etc and so on. Even though I had "dulled" the surface by hand with the gray pad, I really had not taken the surface back to 800 matte thus the loss of reaction over time on the oil condition the ball was designed for.
So, I took my Vert to the ball spinner and cleaned it with the Reacta-Clean and a clean towel. I could not believe all the dirt and grime that came off the ball, the cover became much tackier than it had been in a long time. Next, I wet sanded it with the burgundy pad for 30 seconds on all four sides and cleaned it again with the Reacta-Clean and another clean towel...even more dirt and grime. I repeated this same process with green scotchbrite and then the gray pad to get it back to the OOB surface. The ball looked like it did when I first had it drilled and felt unbelievably tacky.
After having "refreshed" my ball, I decided to head to the lanes to give it a test. I could not have been happier with the results! It was like bowling with a new Vertigo, the reaction was back, the carry was back...my ball was BACK!!!
So, for those of you "crying" about the untimely death of your Vertigo, I recommend you take a little time or spend a little cash to "restore" your ball...the few dollars or so is well worth it, especially compared to the price of buying a new top-of-the-line ball.
Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...
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That which doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, that which doesn't make you stronger is a waste of time!
