By Ali Strader
Alright, so you just dropped a pretty penny on a brand new bowling ball. What now?
For many bowlers, they just go start throwing it down the lane. Over time, they may notice that it doesn’t really react the same as it once did. Unfortunately, that is because there is not a whole lot of education about how to protect that investment and keep it striking longer. At Creating the Difference, we have been making cleaners like That Purple Stuff and educating bowlers on how to keep their bowling balls clean. But now, we have product and education on surface maintenance.
So do this…
Walk into your local pro shop and look at all the bowling balls. Some of them are shiny and some of them are dull. Now, walk over to the ball return at the league or tournament you’re bowling. You’re probably going to notice that most of the balls on the return have similar finishes. You won’t see a lot of dull balls. This is due to LANE SHINE. All of the stuff the ball comes into contact with as it gets back to the return brings the surface of all bowling balls to about 4700 grit.
When the surface of the bowling ball polishes up like that, it affects the reaction. The ball will begin to hook less as it shines up. This can happen in as little as FOUR GAMES. So now, you have this bowling ball that you paid a pretty penny for and it’s no longer hooking like it was. This photo shows 2 Rotogrip Idols. The one on the left has had the surface maintained using a 1000-grit TruCut by CtD Sanding Pad. The one on the right shows lane shine.
But what can you do about it!?!
SURFACE MAINTENANCE
In June, we launched a whole new product and began teaching people how to MAINTAIN their ball surface.
Surface maintenance can only be done BEFORE or AFTER bowling. You CANNOT change the surface of your ball after the first ball of competition has been thrown (in most cases - there are a few exceptions so it’s always best to ask).
When we launched TruCut by CtD Sanding Pads they came in 500, 1000 and 2000 grit. In October, we will be adding 1500, 3000, and a special P5000D (scroll down for details on this one). With TruCut by CtD, you can take a few minutes before or after bowling to reset your bowling ball back to how it was when you bought it. Simply take the desired grit and using moderate pressure and small circles, cover the entire surface of the bowling ball. Once you have covered the whole bowling ball, put a little bit of That Purple Stuff on a CtD Power Pad and wipe all the dust from the ball.
P5000D
This one is special. But why? The key is in the D - which stands for DUAL. Dual what? Dual grit. We have had many requests for 4000 grit sanding pads. However, we wanted to come out with a 5000 grit polishing pad. With engineers on our side, we developed this new concept which solves both issues. After bringing the surface to 3000 grit, the P5000D pad will give you 4000 grit or 5000 grit depending how you use it.
For 4000-grit:
Used by hand or for half the recommended time on a ball spinner or resurfacing machine.
For 5000 grit:
Follow our recommended surface maintenance by ball spinner or resurfacing machine. It is important to note that achieving a 5000 grit by hand is pretty tough so it’s best to use a spinner or resurfacing machine.
Order TruCut Sanding Pads Here!
For more in depth information on TruCut by CtD and how to use them for surface maintenance or to change your ball reaction, be sure to check out our other blogs and follow us on Facebook.