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Bowling Ball Coverstock Maintenance

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 2/14/2012; Updated: 12/5/2023

Following a simple bowling ball coverstock maintenance procedure will be helpful in protecting your investment in your equipment. As a new or beginner bowler or as a bowler averaging 150 or less, you may not own a great number of bowling balls. It is, therefore, important to learn an easy method for bowling ball coverstock maintenance.

The term coverstock commonly refers to the outer layer of polyurethane materials wrapping around the core of a given bowling ball. Coverstocks are available with a variety of surface textures and additives in the polyurethane materials to produce ranges in surface friction your ball will encounter as it travels down an oily bowling lane. Normally, bowlers will randomly visit a pro shop and decide to clean, texture and/or polish their bowling ball coverstock only when it appears very dull or when it has lost its reaction capabilities compered to when the ball was new and out-of-the-box. These random visits to the pro shop with no predetermined coverstock maintenance strategies prolong the ability of restoring reasonable ball motion control as opposed to screening, cleaning and/or polishing your bowling ball coverstock on a predetermined basis. It is recommended that in order to get the best results from your bowling balls, you should follow a simple schedule in getting your bowling ball coverstock maintained by your local pro shop professional.

Here is a simple chart alerting you when to perform coverstock surface maintenance:

1. Re-polish shiny bowling balls and scuff with chosen grit Abralon pads your dull bowling balls after ten games (10) of bowling...

2. Scuff and re-polish shiny bowling balls after 30 games (30) of bowling...

3. Full resurface is needed and finger inserts should be replaced after 60 games (60) of bowling...

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the next interval of 60 games of bowling (60)...

5. To reduce oil absorption, clean your ball coverstock with a ball cleaner during after each use...

6. If there is a visible track on your ball ask your pro shop to refinish the ball remove the track and restore the ball to its original factory finish...

There are multiple methods, resurfacing mediums, and grits of screening pads available for use on the market. These various methods of preparing the coverstock surface of your bowling ball will yield slightly different results.

Some preparations will help your ball to read the lane surface earlier or some later. Some methods will produce more or less ball hook motion transitioning in the mid-lane and on the back-ends of the lane.

If you are learning to do coverstock surface adjustments yourself, known research has shown that the lowest grit should be applied with more pressure, but for a shorter duration. The higher grits should be applied with less pressure, but for a longer time. This will have the desired effect of creating strong surface deviations to displace oil, but will also round the edges, peaks, and valleys of your coverstock material enough to get the desired amount of ball skid.




Coverstock maintenance services are available for a fee at most pro shops. Consult with your local pro shop professional to prepare the ball surfaces to match with local lane conditions.

When you are ready to consider your next bowling ball purchase, please browse our site and use the Perfect Scale® rating feature which provides comparisons of the latest bowling balls in today’s market against our sophisticated rating scale system. The Perfect Scale® can be easily accessed from our home page by clicking on the button and then browsing the information provided at the Perfect Scale®. Our goal is to simply make it easier for you to compare products and feel confident in your purchase selection process.

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