BallReviews
General Category => Coverstock Preparation => Topic started by: Strider on June 11, 2012, 08:58:06 PM
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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.
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I'm curious to hear others chime in on this post. I've always wanted to try Snake Oil and Valentino's UFO.
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Snake Oil has been my primary polish for 2+ years now. I like it because it is (relatively) non-abrasive, goes on easy, lasts a relatively long time and I can use it both with or without a spinner and with a spinner I can easily put on a second, stronger coat to add more length. While I do use some other polishes, this is my 80-90% case polish.
UFO is a very good, slip-agent type of polish. That is, it not only adds length, it also reduces overall hook and reduces the backend. It is better than Delayed Reaction or Control-It (which are the other major slip-agent type of polishes) because it is much easier to remove. A light sanding with a 4000 grit pad is all it takes because it uses an organic slip-agent, not silicone which the other two use. They require a rougher sanding, like P500 grit Abralon pad to remove their slip agent.
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Thanks Charlest. Looks like I need to give both a try.
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where do you get snake oil?
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where do you get snake oil?
http://www.valentinobowling.com/
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thank you
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Well, it acted just as good during league (Paris, 47'). I shot 959 (234, 234, 213, 278). Saw some pretty good scores which was a little unusual for the pattern. Had to play pretty deep (for a low rev tweener) and keep it tight. Early on missing right and it will hang. After about 2 games when you miss a little right it jumps hard. Early in the 3rd game I had to move in 5 and 4, but again keep it tight. The heavier oil inside gave me some really good hold. The Snake Oil allowed the ball to conserve energy and pretty consistently carry light hits without the ball hooking a ton the last 5-7 feet. By the end of the night I was targeting 18/19 and trying to get it to about 15 at the break point. A little wide and it would fly back. I have to throw it on a house shot to see how it acts on a wall.
If you're on the fence about the stuff, spend a few bucks and try it out.
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I need to visit the forum more often!
Snake Oil is my go to when I want to re-polish my pearl equipment. I like to put an 800 grit base either with Resurrection or Wet/Dry sand paper and then apply Snake Oil. I love snappy equipment and this produces a controllable snap. Especially playing up 7 to 12 board Snake Oil makes medium conditions a breeze.
Also, check out Remedy RX, our cleaner is my favorite product, I spray it into a microfiber towel and wipe my track every ball... it allows me to play my line longer (without adjustments) than everyone else on the pair.
-Kevin
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around this time of season, UFO is my polish of choice. Length and easy on the backends...
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We are currently running a summer sale on Snake Oil and UFO.
http://www.valentinobowling.com/shoppingcart/categories/July-Sale/
Click the link and check out the prices.
-Kevin
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I had a real good look with the Nuts Pearl w/ Snake oil on Sunday's London (44') practice. Wicked Siege wanted to hook more than I wanted near the track, but didn't throw it enough deeper. Nexxus looked good around 4th arrow, but my most consistent look was with the Snake Oil ball. Hopefully it will look as good Tuesday night.
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The Snake Oil is really good!! I tried it on my Nexxus and the ball was even cleaner with added length with more at the breakpoint!! Valentino's cleaner is really good as well and it gets all the junk off the ball without much effort!!
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Strider Wow.
Big scores on a tough pattern and turning a pig into a poke! Not bad for a polish!
Regards,
Luckylefty
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The right surface for your release/delivery and the oil pattern and the ball mean everything and Snake Oil is one of the best.
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Strider Wow.
Not bad for a polish!
We don't call it the "cure-all" for nothing!
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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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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
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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.
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Charlest/or snake oil team,
Is it still available, I did not see it on the website.
Regards,
Luckylefty
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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.
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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/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.
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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.
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Do you have any interest in these last bottles of Resurrection?
If so, let me know via private message.
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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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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
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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
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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
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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