Polish - what happens to the surface?

This forum is for topics related to pro shop operation and bowling center maintenance.
Usual topics include: shop gear, fitting, drilling and lane maintenance.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
MatthiasScheinert
Member
Member
Posts: 115
Joined: January 31st, 2011, 3:51 pm
Positive Axis Point: 4 15/16 right 9/16 up
Speed: 17 off hand
Rev Rate: 300
Axis Tilt: 13
Axis Rotation: 60
Preferred Company: Storm

Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by MatthiasScheinert »

I would like to know what happens to the surface of a ball, if you put polish on top.
Will you cut off the peaks, or fill up the valleys with it to generate a lower surface grit.
Thanks for help.
axistilt: 13°
axisrotation: 60°
speed: 17 mph at 15 feet
revs: 300
PAP: 4 15/16 right 9/16 up
User avatar
spmcgivern
Member
Member
Posts: 554
Joined: February 28th, 2011, 7:53 pm
THS Average: 225
Positive Axis Point: 4 3/4" and 1/4" up
Speed: 17-18 at pindeck
Rev Rate: 400
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by spmcgivern »

Most polish is no different than using abralon or any other abrasive. Of the choices you provided, polish will reduce the "peaks".

If I remember correctly, you have two important values, Ra and Rs. These are the measurements of the peaks and valleys. Lower grit abrasives make these values further apart while finer grits (polish) make them closer to each other. Big teeth versus little teeth.
ads
Member
Member
Posts: 657
Joined: November 22nd, 2014, 6:07 am
THS Average: 205
Positive Axis Point: 5 5/8 up 3/4
Speed: 14 mph off hand
Rev Rate: 300
Axis Tilt: 15
Axis Rotation: 60
Location: Hong Kong

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by ads »

I think when polishing the ball, the cloth itself acts like a fine abrasive.
Adrian
Right handed
PAP: 5 1/8 up 3/4
Speed: 15.5 mph (Kegel Specto)
Rev: 350 RPM
Axis tilt: 18-20*
Axis rotation: 60*
MWhite
Member
Member
Posts: 457
Joined: July 4th, 2012, 11:29 pm
Location: Riverside Ca

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by MWhite »

MatthiasScheinert wrote:I would like to know what happens to the surface of a ball, if you put polish on top.
Will you cut off the peaks, or fill up the valleys with it to generate a lower surface grit.
Thanks for help.
It turns the microscopic mountain peaks into plateaus.

It's kind of like getting the fingernails trimmed, so it can't dig as deep into the oil to read friction.

That means the ball won't make contact with the lane until it's riding on a thinner layer of oil.

The best clue is how light reflects off the surface.

With a freshly sanded ball, the sides of the "mountains" are pointing at many different directions so light is scattered making the surface look dull.

By polishing, the plateaus created are all pointing away from the center of the ball, so light will reflect in an organized manor. The more light you receive off the ball, the more shiny you perceive it to be.
User avatar
rrb6699
Member
Member
Posts: 797
Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 12:24 am
THS Average: 235
Sport Average: 211
Positive Axis Point: 4 ovr, 1 up
Speed: 12-18.5 mph at pin deck
Rev Rate: 360
Axis Tilt: 15
Axis Rotation: 65
Heavy Oil Ball: 15#-Incognito, Obsession Sld, Altered Reality, Astrophyx Prl
Medium Oil Ball: 16# Quantum Violet, Honey Badger Rev, Venom Shock
Light Oil Ball: 15#: StarTrak Ureth -Sky Blue
Preferred Company: Radical, Storm/Roto, Brunswk
Location: Central Florida

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by rrb6699 »

I rarely use polish. I go to tournaments and bowl league in many different centers and lane surfaces. I have rarely had to use over 2000 grit surface. most of the time I start at 1000-2000 . this is what works for me. most of the time.

since I dont use polish much I don't know which polish is best to use on a ball. to me sounds like what you are saying is polish is an abrasive. fine abrasive, but, nonetheless an abrasive.

how does polish compare to buffing compound? to me polish is a gloss "coating" that has the least friction coefficient of any surface coating. 4000 grit sandpaper looks like polish but, obviously isn not.

my questions:

1) what is the best polish to use?

2) what polish should you avoid?

3) what cleaners are best and are they really ball manufacturers specific?

I dont want to use something that counteracts the coverstock design.
Last edited by rrb6699 on July 24th, 2016, 10:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Tweenr-RH
300-(15) 290-(37) 280-(31)
Ser-1075-4gm, 867-3gm
speed dominant
Tilt: low°, Ax Rot: ~....°, PAP: 3 7/8 over- 1/2 up; Speed: 17.5mph Avg downlane
Several Wins/Top 5 Finishes-scr/hdcp tournaments.
User avatar
snick
BCU Graduate Layouts
BCU Graduate Layouts
Posts: 759
Joined: August 31st, 2014, 8:00 pm
THS Average: 196
Sport Average: 180
Positive Axis Point: 5.5625" x .625 up
Speed: 17 off hand
Rev Rate: 360
Axis Tilt: 17
Axis Rotation: 55
Heavy Oil Ball: Storm Physix
Medium Oil Ball: Storm Streetfight
Light Oil Ball: Rotogrip Hustle Pearl
Preferred Company: Rotogrip
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by snick »

I use Storm Xtra Shine in the shop to create a smooth gloss finish.
Benchmark Bowling Pro Shop
Byron

RH
PAP: 5.5625 x .625 up
REVRATE: 360
SPEED: 17mph at release
AR: 55º
AT: 17º
User avatar
spmcgivern
Member
Member
Posts: 554
Joined: February 28th, 2011, 7:53 pm
THS Average: 225
Positive Axis Point: 4 3/4" and 1/4" up
Speed: 17-18 at pindeck
Rev Rate: 400
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by spmcgivern »

It is all personal preference. You may need to talk to your pro shop or other bowlers to see what they like. Ultimately, since you haven't used polish before, I would probably stay away from it until you have exhausted all your abralon type options.

If you are just wanting more information, then you would have to research each product. They are all different, yet have the same goal for the most part. And if you have access to a ball scanner, you can really figure out the differences in polish and application of polish.
User avatar
rrb6699
Member
Member
Posts: 797
Joined: June 22nd, 2013, 12:24 am
THS Average: 235
Sport Average: 211
Positive Axis Point: 4 ovr, 1 up
Speed: 12-18.5 mph at pin deck
Rev Rate: 360
Axis Tilt: 15
Axis Rotation: 65
Heavy Oil Ball: 15#-Incognito, Obsession Sld, Altered Reality, Astrophyx Prl
Medium Oil Ball: 16# Quantum Violet, Honey Badger Rev, Venom Shock
Light Oil Ball: 15#: StarTrak Ureth -Sky Blue
Preferred Company: Radical, Storm/Roto, Brunswk
Location: Central Florida

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by rrb6699 »

yea,

I was just attempting to tap those who maybe have tried sever different products to see what the consensus is.

rr
Tweenr-RH
300-(15) 290-(37) 280-(31)
Ser-1075-4gm, 867-3gm
speed dominant
Tilt: low°, Ax Rot: ~....°, PAP: 3 7/8 over- 1/2 up; Speed: 17.5mph Avg downlane
Several Wins/Top 5 Finishes-scr/hdcp tournaments.
RobMautner
Certified Coach
Certified Coach
Posts: 664
Joined: February 15th, 2016, 5:23 pm
Preferred Company: No Preference

Re: Polish - what happens to the surface?

Post by RobMautner »

Because of the bizzare weather in Vegas during the summer (ever tried to bowl in an oven?), I tend to use a lot of polished equipment when the humidity is down, and more surface when the monsoons pop up to raise the humidity. For a high gloss finish, I really like the Powerhouse Factory Finish, and for a lighter polish, I lean to the Motiv Power Gel Polish.
Post Reply