If you don’t like reading, watch this video instead.
You can purchase TruCut Conditioner HERE
Bowlers all over the world apply surface to their bowling balls before or after competition. This is critical to maintain performance and bowling ball maintenance. One of the problems with sanding a bowling ball is that it can be very messy. In a recent survey, we found that most people tend to sand their bowling ball dry when done by hand. This is done for several of the following reasons:
- Lack of access to liquids at the time
- Bowlers don’t know how to wet sand a ball
- Bowlers don't want to risk getting their bowling hand wet
- Wet sanding with water can be hazardous in the bowlers’ area
Understanding The Problem
Sanding a ball dry by hand is effective but comes at a high cost. When sanding a bowling ball dry, you can severely limit the effective use of the sanding pad. This is caused by the high amount of friction created when dry sanding. Take a look at this video for an example.
The friction and heat created from dry sanding will wear away and destroy the sanding media. This is true with all sanding pads. The friction generated from dry contact is the reason you don’t bowl on a completely dry lane. Check this video out.
This is what happens when a ball is thrown on an oilless lane:
You can tell that the friction being created, especially at impact, is destroying the ball.
There is another problem with dry sanding. The dust created by hand sanding is messy and requires additional clean up. In 2018, we introduced TruCut Sanding Pads which are made to sand bowling balls. For 2000 grit and lower, the pads feature a weave that allow for the dust to have somewhere to go.
This gives a few benefits: the pad cuts true to the number written on the pad, the cut is faster, and the pad cuts accurately longer than competitive pads. Without having a place for the dust to go, a pad will cake up, cut inconsistently, and lose cutting ability surprisingly fast. This results in a pad that leaves a surface on a ball that is in fact nowhere near the advertised grit.
Watch the video below for a demonstration. The red pad in the video is Abralon. The grey pad is TruCut. (Credit: Bowl TV)
Another issue with dry sanding the ball is that the ball itself is dusty once it’s sanded. You still have to wipe it off before you can throw it to remove the excess dust. This is typically done with a ball cleaner.
The Solution
Creating the Difference set out to improve the sanding process by making it less messy and increasing the longevity of the sanding pads. The result is a new type of spray conditioner made for sanding pads. The product is called TruCut Conditioner. It's made for use on sanding pads. You know? The same way lane conditioner protects the lane. This is like that type of product but for your sanding pad. To be clear, this product is not a bowling ball cleaner, and there is no type of oil in it.
TruCut Conditioner works in five ways:
- It is made to extend the life of the sanding pad. The conditioner provides a balanced level of lubricity that allows the pad to keep cutting, while dramatically reducing the friction created during the sanding process. Using this product will increase the life of the pad by up to 4 times compared to using the pad dry.
- This product allows for a cleaner cut. Which means it will leave a more consistent finish.
- It traps the dust and allows it to pass through the TruCut Sanding Pad. This allows the pad to cut faster and longer.
- It rejuvenates at the same time. This product has 60% more concentrated tackifiers than So Fresh and So Clean. These tackifiers can penetrate the coverstock while sanding. This will increase the lifespan of any reactive bowling ball. It makes the ball feel tacky and that will increase backend performance on the lane. You can literally feel a difference after using this product.
- When used as directed, this product is made to reduce the amount of dust created which speeds up the sanding process and lowers the mess involved with sanding your ball.
Best of all this product is safe to use with any type of bowling ball coverstock.
Why Do You Need This Product?
Look, people use sanding pads way too long. Here is an example of why having a product like TruCut Conditioner to extend the life of you sanding pad is important. (Credit: BowlTV)
NOTE
TruCut Conditioner is NOT a bowling ball cleaner like That Purple Stuff or That Wow Factor Ball Cleaner. It's made to be used on your TruCut Sanding Pad. It's red in color and has a strawberry scent. This product is safe to use on all bowling balls. It can be used by hand, ball spinner, resurfacing machine, or PYB system. If you get this product on your hands simply wash them off with soap and water. I mean, by now, you are already doing that all the time right? 20 seconds while singing Happy Birthday, remember 😁?
Directions for use
Step 1. Place the ball in a ball cup with the bowling grip face up.
Step 2. Select the desired TruCut sanding pad grit you want to use.
Step 3. Place the sanding pad in the middle of a CtD Power Pad.
Step 4. Generously spray around 20- 25 times covering the entire sanding pad with TruCut Conditioner.
Step 5. Sand the ball with moderate pressure by hand in circular motions on ½ of the ball working from the side to the top of the ball.
Step 6. Flip the ball over and repeat steps 4 and 5.
Step 7. If needed proceed to the next TruCut Sanding Pad grit and repeat the process until all the sanding steps are complete.
Step 8. Remove the sanding pad from the CtD Power Pad and wipe any excess dust off of the ball with the Power Pad and you are ready to go.
Once finished allow the sanding pad and CtD Power pad to completely air dry.
For ball spinner use just spray TruCut Conditioner directly on the desired sanding grit pad, and while the spinner is on go up and down on the sides and top of the ball. Add additional sprays to the sanding pad to keep it wet.
For Resurfacing Machines use in place of water. This product can be reused.
Is This Product Safe?
TruCut Conditioner should be treated as you would any other household cleaning product. It should not be left out for people or animals to consume or touch. It should not be stored in extreme temperatures either hot or cold.
- It does not change the surface of the ball.
- It does not soften the ball.
- It does not have an impact on bowling ball cracking.
- It doesn’t harm the chemicals in reactive, urethane, or polyester bowling balls.
FAQs
Does this product work with other sanding pads?
Yes it does, competitive sanding pads do not have the ability to remove the dust as effectively as TruCut Sanding Pads do so results may vary.
Does using this product change the grit left on the bowling ball?
No, this product aids in making the finish more consistent but it does change the grit left on the ball when using TruCut sanding pads.
Do I need to wash the TruCut sanding pad after use?
Over time the sanding pad will build up debris. When this happens here is the process to clean the TruCut sanding pad.
Why not just use water?
Water is not effective by hand primarily because it is extremely messy, dries slowly and doesn't have any properties to extend the life of a bowling ball.
Why not use a bowling ball cleaner?
Bowling ball cleaners are made to clean bowling balls, not sanding pads. Some of the chemicals used in bowling ball cleaners can in fact destroy the sanding pad material, making the pad degrade even faster. These cleaners can also destroy the resin binder that holds the pad together making the pad fall apart. Bowling ball cleaners can also leave a haze on the ball that is extremely hard to remove.
What about So Fresh and So Clean? Is this product different?
Yes, this product is much more effective for use on a sanding pad. This video is a comparison of the two products:
Bonus Feature Coming Soon
An additional benefit of TruCut Conditioner is skip sanding. This topic will be addressed in a future blog.
Here is what one CtD Staffer had to say about TruCut Conditioner
One of the benefits of being on staff with CtD is that you can get access to products ahead of the general public. You can join our staff for free and information is available at ctdbowling.com
We are Creating The Difference in Bowling.
TruCut Conditioner is available in
4 oz, 8oz and Gallon and can be purchased HERE