Bowling Ball Maintenance (written by Gaylon Spears)
November 2007


  There are several aspects of bowling ball maintenance, but the most overlooked area is oil extraction from the coverstock. Some people have home remedies for attempting to remove the oil, but most all of these actions can be detrimental and cause extensive damage to the ball. Some people actually believe leaving the ball in the trunk during the summer, or putting it in the oven on low heat, or even believe it or not, the microwave. All of these methods are bad, bad, bad for the ball.

  There are several different rules of thought as to why these cause damage (sometimes not apparent to the naked eye) to the ball. A couple of these methods only allow half of the ball to be exposed directly to the heat and the other half remains cooler. Another is the balls are sitting on the same points of the ball and this causes variable surface tension on the ball as it heats up and another is the temperature isn’t accurately controlled. This can cause the coverstock and the core material both to heat up and due to the fact these are different materials they heat up at different rates and their expansion rates are different. When this happens these materials try to expand and more often than not the core will cause the coverstock to separate from it. When this happens the ball is no longer a solid entity, but in reality two. Not good when the ball hits the pocket and goes ping!! Instead of THUUUWAPPP!!! Also this causes micro fractures in the coverstock and eventually they will become the more evident cracks in the cover.

  Bowling Stores that are up to date on their technology will have a machine called the Rejuvenator or the Ball Revivor. This machine performs oil extractions under a highly controlled environment. First of all the temperature is thematically controlled and kept at a constant. The air is circulated by a blower and the ball isn’t exposed directly to the heat. This way the ball is being evenly heated to a calculated temperature. This piece of equipment also rotates the ball during the process so that it isn’t on the same points of the cover while it is being heated. This relieves the static surface tension on the ball. Also, these devices are operated on a timer so that the ball is exposed to the heat for a set period of time.

  Today’s bowling balls are highly technical pieces of equipment and they vary greatly from one ball type to another, not to mention manufacturer to the other. One of the reasons these balls tend to hook so much more now than in times past is because the coverstock of the balls are highly porous and this allows the balls to have a bigger “footprint” on the lanes. Due to their porosity, this allows the balls to absorb oil into the coverstock and eventually the cover of the ball becomes saturated with oil and it inhibits the resins in the coverstock to go to the surface. This is what happens when you see your ball getting sluggish and it doesn’t have the pop in the pocket or the snap when it reads the dry on the lane. When the ball is heated it becomes molecularly active and the oil becomes active. Also the other components of the ball become active. Due to the expansion of heated materials the oils and resins in the coverstock squeeze outwards to the surface of the ball. The resins aren’t as active as the oils because they require a higher temperature to be as similarly active, but they do migrated outwardly. Once the oil reaches the surface the Revivor wipes these oils from the surface and thus keeps them from being absorbed back into the ball when its environment is cooled. Once the ball is back at room temperature, the oil is gone and the ball once again has resins remaining at the surface and you once again have that like new, oil absorbing nugget that you once had.

  Several of the leading experts recommend that you have the oil removed every 40-60 games. The balls of today definitely require more maintenance and should be cleaned after each bowling session. However, the very best maintained balls still require oil extraction because the oils will be absorbed deep into the coverstocks. However the combination of regular cleanings and rejuvenation of the ball greatly extends the life of the bowling ball. Without any maintenance of the ball, the ball will hardly last 100 games. A well maintained ball will last well into 400 games or better. A clean ball means more hook and better roll into the pins. And of course don’t forget “Chicks dig the big Hook”