How To Get Life Out Of Your Old Bowling Balls

Keeping your bowling ball surface clean is crucial for maintaining optimal performance and improving your scores. Oil and dirt can build up on the surface of the ball, affecting its reaction on the lane and making it difficult to control your shots. Understanding the importance of a clean ball and how to properly maintain it, especially with tools like the Phoenix Revivor, can help you get the most out of your equipment.
The importance of keeping your bowling ball surface clean:
1. Improved performance: A clean bowling ball reacts better on the lane. Oil can create a barrier between the ball and the lane, diminishing the ball's ability to hook and roll as intended. A clean surface allows for better grip on the lane, which translates into improved accuracy and performance.
2. Consistent reaction: Over time, the oil from the lanes and other debris can alter how the ball behaves. A ball that is consistently cleaned will react more predictably, allowing you to make more accurate adjustments during your game. This consistency can lead to higher scores over time.
3. Prolonged ball life: Regular maintenance, including cleaning the ball, can extend its lifespan. Oil and dirt can penetrate the ball’s surface, causing damage over time. By keeping it clean, you help maintain its integrity and performance.
4. Health considerations: Bowling balls can harbor bacteria and germs, especially if they are used frequently in crowded bowling alleys. Regularly cleaning your ball not only keeps it performing well but also helps to maintain a healthier bowling environment.
5. Aesthetics: A clean ball simply looks better. It enhances your overall presentation on the lanes and can even boost your confidence as you step up to bowl.

How to remove oil using a Phoenix Revivor:
The Phoenix Revivor is a patented device specifically designed to clean and rejuvenate the surface of bowling balls. Here's how to use it effectively:
1. Preparation: Before using the Phoenix Revivor, ensure your bowling ball is free of any visible dirt or debris. Wipe it down with a microfiber towel to remove any surface grime.
2. Set up the Phoenix Revivor: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set up the device. It typically requires plugging in and allowing it to heat up for a specified period.
3. Place the ball in the Revivor: Insert the bowling ball into the Phoenix Revivor. Make sure it fits securely and that the device is closed properly to ensure effective cleaning.
4. Select the time setting: The Phoenix Revivor will have different time settings based on how dirty the ball is. For regular maintenance, a shorter time may be sufficient, while heavily soiled balls might require longer periods. Refer to the user manual for guidance.
5. Start the cleaning process: Turn on the Revivor and allow it to work. The device uses a combination of heat and air to open the pores of the bowling ball's surface, allowing oil and dirt to be drawn out.
6. Remove the ball: Once the cleaning cycle is complete, carefully remove the ball from the Revivor. It will be warm to the touch, so handle it with care.
7. Final wipe down: After using the Revivor, give the ball a final wipe down with a microfiber cloth to remove any remaining debris or moisture. This will ensure the surface is clean and ready for your next game.
8. Regular maintenance: To keep your ball in optimal condition, make it a habit to clean it after every use. Regular maintenance with the Phoenix Revivor can help keep your ball performing at its best.

Conclusion:
Maintaining a clean bowling ball surface is essential for optimal performance, consistency, and longevity of your equipment. By utilizing tools like the Phoenix Revivor, bowlers can effectively remove oil and debris, ensuring their ball performs at its peak. Making this practice a routine part of your bowling preparation will not only help you improve your scores but also enhance your overall bowling experience. Keeping your bowling ball clean reflects a commitment to the sport and a dedication to improving your game.
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Resurfacing the coverstock to your existing bowling ball equipment is an important step in how to get life out of your old bowling balls. The first step, however, in learning how to get life out of your old bowling balls is to determine which ones you will keep and which you may wish to eliminate from your arsenal.

Let's begin by determining what is an old bowling ball. An old ball refers to the age of the ball and to how long you have owned the given ball. If you are a bowler who uses only three bowling balls routinely with one ball used as a ball to go straight on dry lanes or to convert spares, then the other two balls should be comprised of an aggressive coverstock which will work on very oily lane conditions and the other which will work on medium dry conditions and provide a strong back end ball reaction.
If your older bowling balls are a plastic or urethane coverstock, then either can be used effectively as the dry lane or spare ball. There is really no need to retain a rubber bowling ball because plastic and urethane coverstock balls accomplish as much and more than do rubber ball varieties.

There is no need to purchase a new ball for very dry lanes or for spares if the coverstock of your old ball is in decent shape. If the older bowling balls you own have only minor nicks or surface scratches, then retain the ball which is in the best overall coverstock condition. You can go to your local pro shop and resurface the coverstock to smooth out any surface blemishes and restore life to the coverstock.

To further fine tune your old bowling ball, you can screen the ball with fine grit pads such as with 2000-4000 Abralon pads and then polish the surface so the ball will have decreased surface friction and so the ball will skid easily on dry portions of the lanes. Another strategy is to screen the surface with 1000 - 1500 grit pads to create slightly higher levels of friction and therefore more traction in oil if you feel the ball will skid too far.

If you have more than one older bowling ball, then we recommend you donate the one or ones you will not retain in your arsenal to, perhaps, the youth programs at local bowling centers to help out junior bowlers who might appreciate having a bowling ball of their own. No need to retain multiple older bowling balls with similar coverstocks unless you have a favorite ball which has brought you much past success in competition.

If your arsenal consists of more than three bowling balls, then retain a ball for dry lanes and restore the surface as suggested above and also retain a reactive resin ball or a particle coverstock ball. Every arsenal should have a reactive resin coverstock, either a solid reactive coverstock or a pearl reactive coverstock, if not both, to react strongly in the mid-lane and on back end of the lane after sliding smoothly on the front end of the lane.

To determine if you should retain an older reactive ball or balls, take your latest equipment and the older equipment to the practice lanes and compare them against one another on known conditions you will face in competition. The older equipment which offers the greatest range of motion capabilities is the ball or balls you should retain. Depending on how many balls you wish to have in your arsenal will help you determine which of your older balls can also double as "situation pieces of equipment" fitting into ball motion ranges between newer bowling balls.

Any older bowling balls you elect to retain, reactive resin or particle coverstocks, should also be restored by resurfacing them and preparing the screening procedures to enhance the type of ball motion you seek. Sometimes older reactive balls are very dependable reacting pieces of equipment and provide a controllable ball motion needed on wet-dry lane conditions or on short length oil patterns such as you may encounter on house conditions.

Some new bowling balls on the market today are designed to produce very similar ball motion to equipment you may already own. Be careful to not invest money on new equipment unless you are reasonably certain the new ball you seek will match better on lane conditions you are targeting then does your older existing equipment.

In cases of new bowling balls, just as is the case with older equipment, you can modify the ball surface in the pro shop with surface screening strategies and with use of select polishes to enhance the motion capabilities these bowling balls possess. It is surprising how few bowlers routinely clean, polish or screen the surfaces of their equipment to prepare for given levels of competition.

Don't shy away from using older bowling balls on modern lane conditions. On the same line of reasoning, don't retain older bowling balls if they serve no useful purpose and are merely duplicates of what you already use. It can be very surprising to learn how many highly skilled players confuse themselves with bowling balls and do not effectively rotate equipment into their current arsenal and eliminate others. Try and develop a sensible arsenal and keep the process in determining which older bowling balls will be retained for use a simple process.

Try to develop an understanding of bowling ball coverstock classifications. Learn how to restore ball surfaces to match well with lane conditions you routinely face. You might just find that one or more of your older bowling balls will work to your advantage. By the way, make sure your older equipment properly fits your bowling hand to avoid possible injury and to help you make smooth and effective deliveries.

Finally, an affordable personal ball revivor from Pyramid Bowling to help you maintain your bowling balls performance over time.

Click here to learn more about the Phoenix Ball Revivor.

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