Loss of ball reaction usually has 3 possible causes:
1. They changed the oil application or a weather change has caused the oil to react differently from the way it had been acting.
2. Your ball has absorbed enough oil to cause a reduction in its ability to absorb oil.
3. The surface has been changed through use and you have not refreshed or resurfaced the ball.
1 has an obvious solution.
2 can be helped if you clean the ball after each use AT THE ALLEYS before you put the ball in the bag. Use a good deep cleaner such as Lanemasters or Neo-Tac's Hook -It. Clean and Dull is even more effective than either of the previous but it needs to be wiped with a damp cloth after cleaning to insure any residue is also removed For this reason it's better to do this at home once every 3 - 5 bowling session.
3 can helped by refreshing the surface of a dull ball with a pad (NEAT, or Siaair or Abralon) of the same grit as the final grit with which you use it. A 500/4000 ball needs to be refreshed with a 4000 grit pad A 500/1000/2000 grit finish needs to be refreshed with a 2000 grit pad. Just dampen the pad with water and go over the cover lightly by hand. Every 12 - 20 games should be good depending on rev rate and roughness/age/friction level of the lane surface.
3 a polished ball needs to be refreshed by applying a light coat of polish, by hand of spinner every 9 - 20 games depending on the wear and tear on the track and the ball reaction.
All balls should probably have the ball resurfaced every 50 - 100 games to the original specs or what you originally did to the surface. 50 - 100 can vary from 30 - 75 to 75 - 150 depending on the normal wear and tear factors: rev rate, roughness of the lane surface, etc.
The more rev dominant or the higher your rev rate you are, probably the more rigidly you have to adhere to the above guidelines. The more speed dominant or the lower your rev rate you are, probably the less rigidly you have to adhere to them.
