Author Topic: Is it all newer balls or just some? (Read 1415 times)

another300 · « **on:** March 11, 2008, 07:26:59 AM »

I realize newer balls require more attention as far as being kept clean and oil having to be removed after fewer games but does loss of hook or reaction happen to all newer balls?

I bought a TNV a while back had about 50 games on it or so when I noticed it wasn't quite hooking as much as it did new. I had been cleaning it with Alcohol and had even used clean n dull on it but the reaction continued to decrease. I did the hot bath with soap and it restored some of the lost hook but not like new.

I then bought a Resurgence and the same thing happened to it but it seemed like it only took 25 games before it began losing reaction. I used the blow dryer method on this ball and removed quite a bit of oil from it. The reaction returned but again this ball did not regain all of it.

A question to you guys that have other aggressive balls is, have your aggressive balls lost some of their reaction? Like the LevRG? The Cell? Attitude shift? Fury?

I seem to have the best matchup with Columbia but was looking into getting the LevRG, Cell, or Shift. No sense buying another ball if it is going to lose some of it's hook and not regain it fully.

thanks for your comments.

John D Davis · « **Reply #1 on:** March 11, 2008, 03:43:44 PM »

I think Mo Rich balls seem to carry better and last much longer than the balls you mentioned. But two companys make the coverstocks that go all the way to the core. Seems to me those companys have the edge in the bowling ball industry by doing this. The oil absortion has to be less hands down. I think visionary and lane master are the only ones that do this. The Ogres , however dont I do not think, as well as the sure strike series etc.

Look at the Terminator from Lane masters... Its a hook like you mentioned above but I think has 11lbs. of coverstock instead of like 1-3 or whatnot like the other balls have. Personally I dont currently own any Lane master or Visionary but if you are having this issue like you are then give one of these a try and then compare them to the ebonite,columbia,etc.

I would like to hear your results, and I am sure the rest of us would too...Hope this helps and good luck

Fluff E Bunnie · « **Reply #2 on:** March 11, 2008, 04:07:24 PM »

quote:
A question to you guys that have other aggressive balls is, have your aggressive balls lost some of their reaction? Like the LevRG? The Cell? Attitude shift? Fury?

I seem to have the best matchup with Columbia but was looking into getting the LevRG, Cell, or Shift. No sense buying another ball if it is going to lose some of it's hook and not regain it fully.

I used the Special Agent almost exclusively over the summer in the PBA Experience league which used pretty heavy volumes of oil. I also used it off and on for the last half of fall league last year. Some practicing with it and occasional use this year on PBA conditions (not enough volume in current house). I haven't seen any noticeable loss of reaction. In fact I finally got to use it the other night and it almost brought a tear to my eye it was destroying so much. This coverstock (same as the Attitude Shift you mentioned) picks up oil pretty fast and shines up the coverstock. You have to clean it to get this away and the cover has to be regularly set back to your desired surface.

For reference, I clean after every set, deep clean regularly with Clean N Dull, and freshen up the surface with a ball spinner when necessary.

I don't know if current balls require it or not, but I am going to clean these things the best I can to make them last as long as they can no matter if they need them or not. This is a lot easier with the ball spinner... It makes maintenance pretty quick and easy. I figure if I am going to keep spending 150 - 200 dollars on balls I may as well use the spinner to maintain them without having to pay the pro shop.

I don't know if I am just not seeing this loss of reaction or what, but I even have a Thunderstruck that has the label nearly sanded off and has had very heavy use. The thing still works great... Again, I was pretty hardcore about cleaning this one. I haven't had a ball yet that has died. Maybe there has been some very gradual lost reaction but definitely not enough for me to notice.
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Blackphantom1985 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 11, 2008, 04:43:11 PM »

I have a tnv and it must have over 200 games on it and still going but to keep it like that i remove all the oil and the end of the week also use some polish and simple green for cleaning

nospareball · « **Reply #4 on:** March 11, 2008, 04:45:58 PM »

There are two reasons why a resin coverstock allows a bowling ball to hook. This is from the USBC

1. Oil absorption
2. Coefficient of friction

The problem is that both of these tend to go hand in hand, and it's hard to have one without the other. Oil absorption happens because of the pores in the coverstock, and the actual surface (including those pores) provide the friction. As time goes on the oil absorption rate will lessen, and surface friction will go down because some of the pores are clogged with oil.

Heat will take some of that oil out, but since a bowling ball is like a sponge it's hard to get all of it out. Not to mention that heat may further cure the coverstock and change the surface topography (at a microscopic level), thereby changing the coefficient of friction.

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-Clint

shelley · « **Reply #5 on:** March 11, 2008, 05:21:18 PM »

Some balls require more maintenance than others, and some, even with the proper maintenance, do not hold up as well as others. Ebonite's newest generation of oil-absorbing covers (GB on The One series, Traxion on the NV line, Violent on various Hammers,...) doesn't seem to hold up as well as some other covers. Powerkoil18 and Activator from Brunswick, Superflex, Accutread, Soaker, and pretty much all of Visionary's and Lanemasters' covers seem to hold up extremely well. If you can't get 300+ games, if not 500+ out of those covers, you're doing something wrong.

It's not all new balls, but you are picking up a lot of equipment from Ebonite-owned brands, thus I think you will see more or the short-lifespan covers than if you looked at other brands as well.

SH

Edited on 3/11/2008 5:22 PM

Robadat · « **Reply #6 on:** March 11, 2008, 05:21:57 PM »

In addition to cleaning and removing the oil, you need to refresh the surface.

The TNV has a 4000 abralon surface and Polish.

Over time, the surface will change due to friction and the polish also wears off. You have to get it back to original factory finish to get that reaction.

I have The ONE, it has well over 250 games on it. In addition to the normal cleaning, I have to bring the surface back up to 1000 abralon and polish it to get it's reaction back.

For me, I know its time for a surface adjustment when it starts hooking early and flattens out.
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Locke · « **Reply #7 on:** March 11, 2008, 05:28:48 PM »

I have a couple of Cells one has over 100 games on it and I have no trouble what so ever with it. I clean them after every outing. I use either clean n dull or clean n tacky about every other week. I also use a gentle going over with a green scotch brite pad. I have had a Smokin' Inferno die completely and a BVP Nemesis as well. I know they are a few years old but they do absolutely nothing now. I am going to try the hair dryer on them tonight after seeing all the oil draining out of the Nemesis after it sat in the sun in my car.

icewall · « **Reply #8 on:** March 11, 2008, 06:13:41 PM »

i have to agree that visionary and lane masters have an advantage when it comes to long lasting balls but it does also mean that this limits the way the cores can be made especially when it comes to making the ball 14lbs or lighter.

but thats ok with me... i prefer symm. cores and hard arcing reactions rather then skid flip... that and ive been killing it with my lane masters ball. the scores speak for themselves.

but i believe you can bowl well using any companies equipment. i just cant afford to have my balls die anymore.

and i clean every ball just after use with black magic rejuvenator. (had a no mercy die very fast and couldnt get any oil out of it trying a hair dryer... it just slowly hooks less and less... i guess ebonite knows their own equipment as they claim it isnt the oil but the platizisers or however its spelled)

irishluck1970 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 11, 2008, 07:10:27 PM »

Well you have to remember that the oil doesn't get into your ball all at once.So if your going to put it into your oven say at 120 degrees you will want to leave it in for about 10 minutes then take it out clean it off with your cleaner and leave it out for 10 minutes then keep repeating it until no more oil comes out.If your going to put it into the water you will want to do this a few times until you don't have oil floating.I just started to use a oil extractor on my stuff every 30 games along with cleaning every 6 games.This stuff was made by my pro shop guy and is the only other approved oil extractor by the USBC.Using that with the cleaner he has does wonders.

RotoGripGal · « **Reply #10 on:** March 11, 2008, 07:40:34 PM »

If you watch the Cell seminars on YouTube, they actually recommend using a microfiber after every shot and cleaning your ball every 6-9 games with the recommended cleaners. I have followed this and it has worked great so far. (This technique is easy to keep up when you date someone who works in the pro-shop.)
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RotoGrip Convert

chatnboy · « **Reply #11 on:** March 12, 2008, 03:14:07 AM »

i have a tnv and had it now for about 1 and a half years...and it's still going strong!!!!i keep it clean and take care of it religiously!!!i believe it has something to do with high rev's and speed.i overheard some high rev guys here in delaware where i live talking about that same thing.i think they said their balls die because of their high rev rate and speed.my speed is about 14-15mph...and med.rev's and i have in addition to my tnv a morich total annihaltion,ebonite's the one and the nvs and the new nsane levrg by morich.my one is almost two years old and it still works for me.so there you have my two cents!!!

dizzyfugu · « **Reply #12 on:** March 12, 2008, 03:41:18 AM »

The only ball that seems to have lost some bite recently in my arsenal is my Shock & Awe (Activator+ from Brunswick) - but I haven't used it much for about 1 year. It just has not that much bite anymore, desite oil extraction and some surface refreshment. Currently I am experimenting with a shiny Trizact compound surface on it to restore some of its great performance - and because the OOB Rough Buff finish does not last long (for me), tracking out easily...

Another bad occurrence is that my XXcel cracked out of the blue, at home in the shelf. No conclusive reason - it might just be that it was not used that frequently, too, since it was set up as an oil ball with a matte surface, and did not see much use since the lanes tend to be rather on the lighter side, with some rare exceptions in my traveling league. It could be that the coverstock just needed more oil to keep up its integrity, that the ball literally dried out and the cracked under the tension between cover and filler. Sad, and it scares me away from the thin coverstock shells that seem to be the reason for this accident.

Any other ball holds up very well - and I am positively pleased yb my 2 Visionary balls, a SBG and FMG. The SBG is still, after miore than a year and frequent use, at OOB, almost as good as new. And my FMG at 2.000 grit shows very little tracking. Since I have it, I just refreshed the surface twice, and both balls are still going strong.
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Author Topic: Is it all newer balls or just some? (Read 1415 times)

another300

Is it all newer balls or just some?

John D Davis

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

Fluff E Bunnie

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

Blackphantom1985

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

nospareball

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

shelley

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

Robadat

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

Locke

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

icewall

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

irishluck1970

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

RotoGripGal

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

chatnboy

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?

dizzyfugu

Re: Is it all newer balls or just some?