Expert: - 11/9/2008

Question
hi! i use a venom, resurgence and inertia ball. my question is how often should you abralon and probably more importantly will this method eventually lead to a dead ball. powerhouse have a dvd on abralon pads and it seems you can use these regularly. i feel you are sanding of a sort and that means particles in the coverstock will be removed with time. tell me i'm wrong, i hope i am. cheers

Answer
Andrew,
Abralon pads are abrasive pads in a multitude of grits (180, 320, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000). What grit pad(s) do you have? When surface friction is needed to slow a ball down (bite through the oil), the surface can be roughed up to create more friction. The surface texture breaks down with use. Freshening the surface (re-sanding) will re-invigorate a balls ability to grab the lane.

Sanding a ball correctly will help with the friction potential. Too rough or too smooth a grit, or incorrect technique will lessen the effectiveness of a ball.

Wiping your ball off, with a towel, after every shot will help keep the ball from absorbing oil. The "dead ball" problem is often an oil filled cover. So, abrading the cover with Abralon won't necessarily fix the problem. Modern surfaces absorb a great deal of oil. When the surface (track area) contains enough absorbed oil, the resin within the cover can't create the friction (stickiness) typical of a reactive resin ball.

Standard fix(s) for a dying ball include: cleaning with recommended product (cleaner or cleaner/polish), refresh or resurface the ball, oil removal (wet and/or dry). Often one or more of the above will help substantially.

Your Inertia is a particle ball. Cleaning and refreshing the surface with a pad will help with the balls consistency. I'm a big fan of "leave it alone" when it's working but when it's not be proactive.

The Venom and Resurgence are VERY (4000) smooth reactive balls. Thanks for the questions. Good luck.