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Author Topic: Snake Oil  (Read 17574 times)

Strider

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Snake Oil
« on: June 11, 2012, 08:58:06 PM »
I've been at a quandary with my Nuts Pearl.  Out of the box (3000 abralon) had too much mid lane and didn't do a whole lot at the break point.  4000 abralon helped a little, but not enough to really make a difference.  I tried 500 abralon with Bean's Secret Sauce.  Finally got down lane better, but didn't have any oomph where it was needed.  Truthfully I never matched up well to the Sauce but I still have a lot left over.  Even when using a few drops per side the back end is muted for me.  My heavy handed rev dominant friends like it much better than me.  Went back to 3000 abralon and applied some (very) old 1500 grit React-A-Shine.  I don't polish much of anything since I bowl on mostly sport shots and this was the polish I still had lying around.  The stuff seems to work fine for house shots, but I wonder how good it is on more modern cover stocks considering it's age.

I finally broke down and bought some of Valentino's Snake Oil.  The creator used to post here quite a bit and I never heard anything bad about the product.  Like Bean's Sauce and Doc's Magic Elixir, I'd prefer to try anything from people who frequent the site.  After talking to another member here, I decided to take the ball back to 1500 Siaair and hit it with the Snake Oil.  The ball has a very high gloss, but still has that tacky squeak that I like to feel.

I used it a little on Scorpion for about a game from the middle of game 3 to the middle of game 4.  It was cleaner through the front and middle of the lane than my 2000 grit Wicked Siege (no easy feat - that ball is super clean even with plenty of surface) and had a nice hard arc at the break point.  Enough to get the job done without the super-flip that gets you in trouble.  I also had my best look during this weekend's practice for Paris (47', but with a low volume, but there's a lot of oil in the middle.  The Wicked Siege was too strong in the lighter oil, but struggled to read the oil well when I moved inside.  The Nuts Pearl with Snake Oil actually gave me some mistake room on the pattern.  Miss a touch in and it would read enough to hit the pocket.  Miss a bit wide and there's definitely some recovery.

No one cares about practice scores, but I put up two really solid games with the Nuts Pearl/Snake Oil combo.  The ball just flat out looked good the whole way down the lane.  With everything else, I just couldn't get lined up and get the ball to read the pattern properly.  I don't think I've ever found a polish before that's allowed me to have a really good look on a sport shot.  Even after they break down a bit I tend to get a lot of over/under.  So far, I give a big thumbs up to Valentino's Snake Oil.

 

ValentinoBowling

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #16 on: August 01, 2012, 02:21:09 PM »
Strider Wow.
 Not bad for a polish!

We don't call it the "cure-all" for nothing!

batbowler

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2012, 04:47:20 PM »
I received their products at the bowling center and find the Snake Oil and Remedy RX to be awesome products!!! I haven't used the UFO, but a friend of mine is going to test it for me cause he was wanting something for tournaments and shorter oil patterns! If you haven't tried the Snake Oil, give it a shot and you'll be amazed as well!! Just my $.02, Bruce
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LuckyLefty

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #18 on: July 14, 2016, 12:56:09 PM »
Ok, so I recently had a nice practiice session with an old ball purchased with snake oil on it!

Took out a lot of the wet dry.  This seems the opposte of the other polishes I use like Reacta shine. And Ebonite factory.  These seem to apply a stronger grit and leap off a harsh lefty wet dry oil pattern. 

PS what is Resurrection in the polish world?

Regards,

Luckylefty
It takes Courage to have Faith, and Faith to have Courage.

James M. McCurley, New Orleans, Louisiana

charlest

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #19 on: July 14, 2016, 02:15:27 PM »
Ok, so I recently had a nice practiice session with an old ball purchased with snake oil on it!

Took out a lot of the wet dry.  This seems the opposte of the other polishes I use like Reacta shine. And Ebonite factory.  These seem to apply a stronger grit and leap off a harsh lefty wet dry oil pattern. 

PS what is Resurrection in the polish world?

Regards,

Luckylefty

Resurrection is roughly equivalent to a very mild form of Rough Buff (now called Royal Compound).

Resurrection is a compound that helps remove oil, does a minor re-surfacing, & puts the rough finish on it, when done by hand, of approximately 800 grit CAMI (Scotch-Brite grit levels)  or 1600 grit FEPA (Abralon, Siaair and NEAT grit levels). When applied with a spinner, it grinds down the grit level to a finer level (breaks down the abrasive) and approximate something on the order of 2500 - 3500 grit, very smooth.

If you apply further pressure and spinning time, you could get close to a shine but that defeats the basic purpose of Resurrection and if you want to do that (create a true shine), you should have applied Snake Oil over the hand-applied Resurrection.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2016, 02:18:32 PM by charlest »
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

LuckyLefty

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #20 on: July 15, 2016, 12:54:30 PM »
Charlest/or snake oil team,

Is it still available, I did not see it on the website.

Regards,

Luckylefty
It takes Courage to have Faith, and Faith to have Courage.

James M. McCurley, New Orleans, Louisiana

charlest

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #21 on: July 15, 2016, 01:10:20 PM »
Charlest/or snake oil team,

Is it still available, I did not see it on the website.

Regards,

Luckylefty

I don't know. I sent Valentino's an inquiry about it.
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

MI 2 AZ

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #22 on: July 15, 2016, 01:25:26 PM »
Charlest/or snake oil team,

Is it still available, I did not see it on the website.

Regards,

Luckylefty

http://valentinobowling.com/Snake-Oil_c_8.html

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charlest

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #23 on: July 15, 2016, 02:50:46 PM »
Charlest/or snake oil team,

Is it still available, I did not see it on the website.

Regards,

Luckylefty

http://valentinobowling.com/Snake-Oil_c_8.html


Gary,

I think he meant Resurrection.
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

charlest

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #24 on: July 15, 2016, 02:52:47 PM »
Lefty,

I just got this reply from Kevin at Valentino's:

7/15/2016 1:37:16 PM

We have been quietly phasing out the product over the last six months. Two of the raw ingredients to make the product are becoming more expensive to the point where its not economical to make Resurrection. We've tried a few other replacement chemicals but the product is not the same. The new chemicals make the product split and we can't use enough emulsifier to keep it as a paste.

The demand for the product has never been very high so it was the optimal decision to end its life. We have a few other business affairs going on right now but in September we are reworking the entire company to be more streamline and efficient. We have chatted about a new product which is a resurrection replacement

I am not in the office but we may have a few more bottles that I can list specially on the website, I will reach out to you when I have a count on the inventory.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you have any interest in these last bottles of Resurrection?
If so, let me know via private message.
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

MI 2 AZ

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #25 on: July 16, 2016, 02:43:03 AM »
Charlest/or snake oil team,

Is it still available, I did not see it on the website.

Regards,

Luckylefty

http://valentinobowling.com/Snake-Oil_c_8.html


Gary,

I think he meant Resurrection.

Oops. 

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LuckyLefty

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #26 on: July 16, 2016, 07:13:59 AM »
Thanks all.  I did not clearly state Resurrection, but meant that.

I am excited as snake oil soon on the way.  Most interested in harsh wet dry reaction off that dry.

Regards,

Luckylefty
It takes Courage to have Faith, and Faith to have Courage.

James M. McCurley, New Orleans, Louisiana

scotts33

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #27 on: July 16, 2016, 07:37:27 AM »
JMO and long time SO user but Snake Oil will NOT lessen any over reaction off of wet/dry.  Forward roll and and less axis rotation will lessen the over read off of dry.  In fact when dealing with ball surface less polish and more surface will slow down response time instead of adding polish you add surface.  Truly how to deal with this first is change your release and also add surface to slow down response time if your ball is over reading wet/dry on the fresh and left side of the lane.  I've said this before just reiterating. ;D

 
Scott

LuckyLefty

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #28 on: July 20, 2016, 08:46:46 PM »
Scott33,

It may be your old AMF Clutch I have been enamored of lately. Didnt like it at first.

If yes...Snake oil or UFO?

Regards,

Luckylefty
It takes Courage to have Faith, and Faith to have Courage.

James M. McCurley, New Orleans, Louisiana

LuckyLefty

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Re: Snake Oil
« Reply #29 on: July 23, 2016, 05:17:51 PM »
Re: wet/dry some changes to axis rotation in place.

Scott let me know...was that snake oil on that smooth sliding AMF Clutch?

Regards,

Luckylefty
It takes Courage to have Faith, and Faith to have Courage.

James M. McCurley, New Orleans, Louisiana