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Author Topic: To Polish or Not to Polish  (Read 2342 times)

bamaster

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To Polish or Not to Polish
« on: February 23, 2004, 07:39:48 PM »
I'm a big fan of polishing my equipment.  I always need length so almost all my gear is shiny.  But I do it with polish, not sure which one.

So what is the difference between using an abrasive polish to get the ball shiny and using some 1500-grit sandpaper?

Is tehre a difference in the reaction?  Does one last longer than the other?  

Tony
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Phillip Marlowe

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Re: To Polish or Not to Polish
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2004, 06:50:18 PM »
I haven't been able to get the length with sandpaper that I get with the same grit polish, the ball just doesn't get as ... shiny.  However, I like the reaction of higher grit sandpaper for more conditions -- it lasts longer and is more consistent.
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charlest

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Re: To Polish or Not to Polish
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2004, 09:32:30 PM »
Sanding with 1200, 1500 or even 2000 grit sandpaper will get an earlier ball reaction than polishing a 400 grit sanded ball with any of several levels of ball polish. The finely sanded ball will, of course, go longer and hook less at the backend than a ball sanded with rougher sandpaper (600 vs 400, 1200 vs 1000, 2000 vs 1500, etc.). The down side is that when sanded with very fine grit, bowling, especially for those with higher rev rates, will bring the ball down in grit level to around the 600-800 grit level, in a time range commensurate with the worn level of the lane surface (be it synthetic or wood) and with the rev rate of the bowler. Therefore, the bowler needs to constantly adjust the grit level of the ball back to level, he or she requires. 2000 needs adjustment more often than 1500, 1500 more often than 1200, and so forth down the line.

Polish appears, for any number of reasons, to need/require adjusting less often than balls whose surface is adjusted solely by means of sandpaper or nylon pads. The factor is possibly 3-5 times less frequent, again, depending on a number of factors.

Polish will also make the ball go longer, before snapping more violently than the equivalent sandpaper adjustment. The matte finish of a 1200-200 grit bowling ball will hook earlier and more evenly than a polished bowling ball, IN GENERAL. Also, the finer the finish BEFORE polishing, the less violent the snap at the backend. The drier the lane, the more violent the snap. The lower the bowler's track, the more violent the snap. Combine all the factors and you have a LARGE range of degrees of snap, from a small amount to a large amount.

Example:
I have recently modified both an original Columbia Boss Pearl and a FIre Quantum. Both have 400-600 grit sanding, followed by polish. Both coverstock, SuperFlex and Power Koil 18, respectively, are VERY strong resin covers. At times, while both will often clear heads when there is medium oil on them, once the head or midlane oil begins to get depeleted, both balls will hook in the heads, even though there is still apparently some oil left. THESE ARE BOTH STRoNG PEARL BALLS!

I have sanded both to 1200-1500 grit and then re-polished both to their original luster. Both balls now go considerably longer with less backend and less overall hook. They now need less oil to clear the heads, much less than before. The degree to which this will also work for the individual bowler will vary with many factors, including, but not limited to:
- ball speed,
- axis tilt,
- angle of rotation of the release, and
- amount of head and midlane oil


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LeftE

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Re: To Polish or Not to Polish
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2004, 10:08:35 PM »
Sandpaper creats large scratches across a balls surface. We will call these "peaks and valleys". Inside these peaks and valleys are millions of micro scratches.....

Sanding a ball with 400 grit sandpaper gives the ball a rough texure (much like a particle ball). Light cannot reflect from inside these scratchs, and ball appears dull or matte.

However taking a polish of 1500 grit to the balls surface quickly smooths out the micro scratches within the peaks and valleys. The overall grit of the ball may change from that over 400 grit or so to 450, however the smoothness of the micro scratches causes more light to bounce back. That is why a 400 grit ball can appear to have a sheen.

Take this a step further, and sand the ball to 2000 grit. The peaks and valleys of the balls surface are much less in depth. Though the overall grit is 2000, the ball will not reflect as much light as the 400 grit polished ball because of the millions of micro statches in the surface. Polishing the ball once agian with 1500 grit will sand the microstraches smooth, the ball will quickly gain a high high luster. The overall surface of the ball will be very very smooth and glassy.

This will mean much less traction in the oil (like a race car on slicks, driving in the rain), but more traction in the dry (like a race car on slicks, on a dry race course). IE less overall hook, will more hook in the back.

Reverse this process and leave the 2000 grit ball unpolished, and the thousands of microsratches will create traction better in the oil. (like a treaded street tire) but less overall traction in the dry (a treaded street tire doesn't have the surface area of a racing slick, even though the slick is smooth), meaning a more even hook in both the wet and dry, or a smoother hook.

So polishing any ball will increase its length while increasing the amount of hook it has in the dry area. It will also reduce the hooking potenital in the oil. So the sheen of a ball is not as important as the grit of which it was polished from.

Charelest I usually don't dare to argue with you, however...

A low track ball will usually go much longer and hook much less then a high track ball. Of course the higher the track, the more dependant the reaction is on the axis rotation point. A 90 degree axis rotation high track will snap much ealier and more vilonetly then a low track ball.

Also, I believe you mentioned a 400 grit polish in your statement. A 400 grit polish (which would be called a rubbing compound) would likely not add any sheen to the ball, but instead dull the ball, as it would add micro straches...

Though I understood the point you where trying to make....

charlest

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Re: To Polish or Not to Polish
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2004, 05:30:46 AM »
LeftE wrote:
quote:

Charelest I usually don't dare to argue with you, however...

A low track ball will usually go much longer and hook much less then a high track ball.


Let's not argue, a cause for much stress; rather, let's discuss.

That is very dependent on rev rate. I can lower my track and my normal rev rate makes many balls snap quite a bit.

quote:
Of course the higher the track, the more dependant the reaction is on the axis rotation point. A 90 degree axis rotation high track will snap much ealier and more vilonetly then a low track ball.


Yes, a higher angle of rotation will make balls more snappy, but the causes of a low track (slow thumb release along with low axis tilt OR just turning the ball before releasing the thumb)  and that of higher rotational angles are different and the results are different with different balls and and on different oil patterns.

quote:

Also, I believe you mentioned a 400 grit polish in your statement.
Quote


Nope, I didn't. I mentioned balls sanded to 400 and then polished, like the Inferno and many Brunswick balls; many Columbia pearls are sanded to 500 and then polished. This (low grit sanding) can make them very snappy. Infernos and Col pearls are often mollified in their extremes of behavior by sanding finer and re-polsihing OR by sanding to 600 and re-polishing to much less than their original high luster.

Quote

Though I understood the point you where trying to make....


Thank you. I try to always use words like "maybe", "can" and "in general" because there are so MANY variables involved in all these factors. Plus, very few matters, such as those we are discussing here, are cut and dried. It's often hard to get a mental handle and say, "if you do X, you will get Y as a result". Few people change only that one factor, that one variable, intentionally or unitentionally.

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LeftE

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Re: To Polish or Not to Polish
« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2004, 06:17:27 AM »
I misunderstand what you said completely, so I am apologize for my misunderstanding in what you where trying to convey. I know you are very knowledgable about a mydrid of bowlign releated subjects, and I respect that, so you are correct in that the term "argue" has no real value.

I too, would much rather discuss then agrue.

When you say low track, I assume (which is always a mistake on my part) that you are refering to an extreme low track. That is by my defention, fingers folling thumb, but the axis point is nearly vertical. In this case the reaction would be comparivly mild and late as compared to a typical high track.