I see a lot of people on here complaining of dead bowling balls after x games.  I don't know what these people are doing with their balls except absolute neglect and laziness.  I have owned several bowling balls.  The only time a bowling ball is dead is when it is cracked open (near the bridge or the entire ball is splitting).

Every ball no matter how old can be rejuvenated very cheaply.  I turned used balls into awesome balls all the time.  I do the same with other stuff like cars, motorcycles, computer equipment, walls, etc.  I turned my old dorm room into a state-of-the-art theater while still in college with NO JOB with just 2 buckets of paint and a projector.  

I keep my car clean outside, inside, and under the hood.  I got 50,000 miles + on it too and no issues at all.  Then I see Mr. Crappy Driver have break issues, engine problems, etc. after just 10,000 miles.  People don't take care of anything.  I always said you can tell a lot from a person by looking at the DVD's/CD's they own.  Video games especially.  All you gotta do is count the scratches on them and you will see how horrible they are as owners of anything.

So with bowling balls, I bet these same people are rolling their balls, probably in the gutter.  Then slamming the balls in their bags.  Leaving them in the car or shed or outside because they are too lazy.  Won't take the 5 minutes needed to use alcohol or any cleaner to wipe it down and store it away.  You know how I know?  I see the same nasty balls every week during league.  My balls are clean and others just look like they came from a freezer.

Give me a break.  I got over 1000 games on my Vertigo and like 5 nicks and nothing else.  The nicks are like scratches at best and no dents or anything else.  All I see on here is "oh my god ball is dead after 50 games, 60 games, x games".

Yeah sure!


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Current Arsenal Gallery
H: Brunswick Fury, Columbia 300 EPX T1
M-H: Storm Shift Gravity, Hammer Black Widow
M: Storm X-Factor Vertigo, Ebonite Predator
M-L: Storm Recharge
S: Viz-A-Ball White
Bench: Brunswick Target Spare Zone, Ebonite 14 Fun Ball
GEMS: Brunswick Quantum Helix, Brunswick Quantum Double Helix

2008-09 Year 215.000 2008-09 Tourney 177.360 Last Tourney 182.667

Hall of Fame BR Member Since: April 3, 2001

Resolution 2009''s Greatest Show on Wood

It depends on the ball. I have an X-Factor with around 2,000 games on it. It still performs at about 85-90 percent of its original potential, but it took a dishwasher treatment and a full resurface to accomplish it.

To say there's no such thing as ball death, though, is inaccurate, especially in the early days of proactive and particle coverstocks. Ask Columbia owners about the Complete Chaos, for instance. I had one that lasted 40 games before dying and no amount of resurfacing or maintenance helped it. And I'm fairly good at maintenance. The first few Zone Pros had similar issues.

In modern coverstocks, Ebonite balls tend to lose reaction quickly for me, but can be brought back. However, they can't be brought back to factory levels, in my experience, and the problem worsens a little bit with every cycle.

On the flip side, I just resurfaced a Visionary Bronze Centaur that appeared to have a couple hundred games on it when I got it, and had been beaten up pretty badly, probably by wood lanes. It jumped back to life eagerly. So do most Storms I've used. But I have a Roto Grip Retro Resurrection that has been made tame with age, so it's not universal.

Jess

wheres the man with the drinkin game................. Passed out dead drunk???

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FAILURE IS FEEDBACK. AND FEEDBACK IS THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS THAT GOT DIGESTED!

Ten pin??? Where?? I throw a BUZZSAW there is NUTTIN left on the deck...

Proud MEMBER of the FOS!!
Member of the FOS, if there happens to be a 9 pin standing just toss a saw and cut it down~~!

I agree.  I will gladly pay shipping for any newer balls that are proclaimed "dead".

I disagree to a point. Completely dead? No. After a few hundred games despite towel drying off between attempts, cleaning after each series, oil extractionS and surface prep I still see bowling balls that hit weak compared to when they were new. If you bowl on wood lanes or lanes that are dry the same bowling balls I'm describing have plenty of life. Start with any kind of volume of oil or run into carry down and I've noticed the balls hit weak or they begin to hook, grab some oil and straighten out. I picked up The One Pearl recently because my BW Bite and Sure Fire have hit weak my last 3 outings. The two same balls on the same lane was no comparison. One had a predictable strong hook the old one skid like it was on ice.

Can I get the old ball to hook? Can I score with it? Of course but now I have to adjust to a weak ball and the conditions by playing mostly with speed to get the desired reaction. You can make plastic hook if you take enough speed off but does that mean I want to use that as my strike ball in league because I can? I have a few bowling balls laying around with 300-500 games on them and I just can't trust them night in night out. I'm a fairly avid bowler, nothing special but not exactly a hack. These are my findings with 2 leagues per week and some practice thrown in. Doesn't mean I'm right, doesn't mean I'm wrong but I think there is some validity to new age bowling balls losing performance and it not just for the lazy, uneducated bowler.