Diamond ball polisher

tksix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have been toying with buying one of these for about 8 months. After polishing by hand last week, I decided to pull the trigger. I purchased the single platter version. Here are some thoughts:

SHIPPING CARTON

No BS here......they went all out which is good. The machine is heavy, and we all know how UPS and FEDEX take care of our things. Double walled corrugated, with handles to help you carry it in the house (nice touch). The packaging in the carton is top notch holding the machine in place, so the finish does not get damaged. So packaging A+

INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO USE

None.......but none are really needed.

THE MACHINE

At first I was like, oh man why did I buy this thing (buyers remorse). It is big, yes even the single platter. Where am I going to put it? But 2 minutes after I got over that here are my thoughts. The finish is great, looks clean and fits in the pool room. Strong enough to use as a little seat if needed. Easy to operate, and the bottom is open I assume in the event you ever need to get to the motor or belt........................good idea here. It is not very loud while running, so it won't bother you in the least. All I did was set the timer for 1 minute or so let it go.

THE CLEANING

Well, I think it works great. I used Macguires cleaner wax and it for a minute or so and they look great!! Much better than I can do by hand. Also as opposed to using wax on the second or third cleaning, I just put the balls in and spun them for a couple minutes and back to perfect!! So, I am very happy with the outcome of the balls. I purchased a replacement kit for the carpet, have not needed to change it yet but appears to be pretty easy as well.

FINAL ANALYSIS

I would recommend the machine to anyone who has the extra money to buy one. Right now I know my only disapointment, is I didn't buy the double platter.

Mike
 

TAP

"Banks are Always Open!"
Silver Member
Mike-I agree with you completely. I saw the DIAMOND CLEANER in Las Vegas this past May during the BCA Championships. One of our local rooms has one, and his ball sets are cleaned every day, and appear brand new. If you've got the $$, there is none better.
I must say though, that I DID NOT have the money to invest, and ran accross the "DO IT YOURSELF" ball cleaner on U-TUBE. It uses a five gallon bucket, an old piece of carpet and a rotary polisher. I put the thing together per the instructions, got some McGuire quik shine, as you said, put the balls in the bucket, and turned the thing on. It is somewhat noisy, because the bucket doesnt have much weight, but the damn thing worked like a charm. I was so impressed, I made one for a friend, but customized the bucket, painting it black with OAKLAND RAIDERS insignias, and gave it to him as a Christmas present. He still talks about the ball cleaner. The best thing about it is that the entire thing cost me about $45.00.

I may seem like a cheapo, however, the $45.00 over the price of the DIAMOND is worth the noise, for the savings.

I do not mean to belittle the DIAMOND at all, I just believe that too many of the pool family need ball cleaners, and could not ever afford the best on the market.

If anyone is interested, go to U-TUBE and look up Billiard Ball Cleaner. The guy explains in detail how to make them. I will add one comment-When gluing the carpet onto the bucket, make sure that you leave a "fold" in the carpet, which will stand away from the wall of the bucket about 3/4 of an inch. This helps to keep the balls moving in all different directions. Otherwise they tend to roll in the same pattern.
 

OriontheHunter

Dreamin' of Pool Cues
Silver Member
Diamond Single Ball Cleaner

Great review. I also bought one last year and could not be happier. It does a fantastic job! If anyone needs a ball cleaner, the Diamond is definitely worth it.
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
the double one is the ONLY way to go,


I have polished a hundred sets of balls in mine(when Jay and I were buying and selling tables buying out old pool room equipment I got one, I use the polishing compound on one side and nothing on the other, that way you get the best shine. I took old sets of centennial's and made them shine like new, I also shined up plastic balls and they looked new. On the real bad sets of Centennials I would run them 20mins in each platter because they were real bad, they were good as new, I measured them and compaired them to brand new balls-80% of the time they were the same size, some were just worn out(we never sold them).

On my balls I run them for 5-8 minutes in each platter about once every 2 weeks, if were playing more then I toss them in more often. I have finally wore the carpet down just a little after 100's of cycles, it doesnt need replaced yet.

I am not making $$$ on this, or a kick back. But honest to God if everything in life worked as good as a Diamond ball polisher there would be world peace. No BS, of everything I own nothing does what its intended use is better than the Diamond ball polisher. It's thats strong.


I do have a bit of a rattle in it now, Glen told me what it was, I said "Great tighten it up next time your at my house". LOL. He walked right into that one, its a bolt on a bracket or something-it isnt getting worse and I still run the heck out of that machine.

I no its over kill to have a double platter one at home for most people, but my table gets 20-60 hours a week use and I like the balls to be good. It wont ever wear out, so for a few hundred $$$ you can fix a problem permantly. Its really worth it. I have seen almost all the homemade ones and they work, but you get collision marks on the balls-you never will with a Diamond.
 
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JimS

Grandpa & his grand boys.
Silver Member
I recommend Brillianize as THE default product for cleaning/pollishing the balls. It's made for cleaning/polishing plastic stuff.. like airplane or motorcyle windshields where the need to be clean and with NO scratches from abrasives in the product.

www.brillianize.com the stuff is the nuts!

Eric.. you should get some.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
SHIPPING CARTON

No BS here......they went all out which is good. The machine is heavy, and we all know how UPS and FEDEX take care of our things. Double walled corrugated, with handles to help you carry it in the house (nice touch). The packaging in the carton is top notch holding the machine in place, so the finish does not get damaged. So packaging A+

Nice to know. Packing is everything. I bought a brand X. (don't want to hijack). It was place loosely in a box and shipped that way. I can't believe it made to my house undamaged.
 

Rich93

A Small Time Charlie
Silver Member
I picked one up at the Diamond factory when I was at the Derby. It cost 400 even - I think they said it was the Derby special price. I'm not sure what the regular price might be, maybe 450.

It works really well. The balls come out without any marks at all. I've been using Novus plastic polish #1. It spins at warp speed, then when I spray the Novus on the balls slow down a little. Pressing down in the center with your finger speeds them up again. The slowing down might not happen with a wax or more slippery product. But they come out absolutely clean and shiny.

As ball cleaners go it's pretty quiet. There are no cleaning pads to replace. I suppose at some point you might have to replace the carpet but I think that will take a very long time. It's big and heavy, however, so be prepared for that. Overall, a real quality product.
 

DogsPlayingPool

"What's in your wallet?"
Silver Member
I just got the single platter model and it is unquestionably the best machine out there. I've used the Ballstar and it does a good job but doesn't really get the balls cleaner than I can do by hand, so it just saves a little time. But the Diamond definitely is in a class by itself - you cannot get these results by hand. It is way over-engineered (read "well built") with a 1/3 HP motor that works at only 25% capacity. While the Ballstar runs for about two minutes before shutting off, the timer on the Diamond goes to 30 minutes! The platter is slightly off center so that the balls tumble in an oblong spiral fashion and you therefore absolutely get 100% coverage on the entire surface of the balls. With the platter spinning at over 400 rpm and the balls spiraling the entire time, nothing gets missed and there are no cloudy spots.

It is big - more like the size of a mini-fridge whereas the Ballstar or Bludworth are more counter top size (the size of a large crock pot). It is also built like a tank.

I am using the Maguiars Ultimate Quick Detail spray currently recommended by Diamond. Since it comes in a spray bottle it is not as thick or creamy as the Aramith cleaner (for example) so there is much less build up on the pad material. It will take a long, long time for the pads to gunk up with this stuff. My balls are already in good shape so I don't need the grit in the Aramith product. Anyway, I also tried Brillianize as that is what I had been using but the Ultimate Quick Detail works better and produces a higher gloss shine.

I honestly have no use for the double platter as the machine is too big for my room and this is just for my home table. Even with the single platter I get the first 8 Balls done while putting away my cue and the 2nd 8 are done by the time I have the cover on the table. If I owned a pool hall the double would probably be the way to go.

About the only negative (and it's a minor one) I can say about the machine is that because the sprocket is not fixed, the machine does not really work as designed when cleaning only a few balls (like just the cue ball). Not an issue for me but thought it should be mentioned. Of course, if you want to clean just the cue ball you can take the sprocket out and just throw the CB in there to spin around by itself.

Here's a tip for even better results: I have a couple of high quality microfiber towels from when I used to do the balls by hand before I got the Diamond. I just throw a towel or two in the platter on top of the balls and let it dance around on them. While the balls are spinning it buffs them from above. Because the cloth is finer and softer than the pads it gives the balls an even better polish - they come out literally like brand new. Use Microfiber so there is no lint. Give this a try and let me know what you think.

The machine is expensive but really is not that much more (if any) than a Ballstar, so if you can afford a machine to begin with (other than the DIY kind) the little extra for the Diamond is well worth it, imo. All things considered I'm glad I went with the Diamond, just no contest performance-wise in my experience.
 
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DogsPlayingPool

"What's in your wallet?"
Silver Member
How much is the single platter nowadays?

What about the double platter?

The single platter is around $450 plus shipping (which isn't cheap). Not sure about the double but I think it's probably around $700. Since the Ballstar is sold through retailers, if you can find a dealer that will throw in the shipping then the price difference gets bigger between the two machines. Right now the Ballstar if $460 st PooDawg, with free shipping. Still, it's a trade off with performance.
 
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DogsPlayingPool

"What's in your wallet?"
Silver Member
Not gonna lie.......that thing is higher than giraffe pu$$y.

Yes it is, but really they all are pricey. The Bludworth retails for $529 (does all 16 balls at once). The Ballstar is $460 at Pooldawg right now. The Diamond is about $450 for the single platter (check with Diamond). Essentially the only difference is that you are more likely to get a deal on shipping on the Bludworth or Ballstar because they are sold through retailers.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
ill call diamond on monday but does any have dimensions of the single and double platter machine??
 

DogsPlayingPool

"What's in your wallet?"
Silver Member
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TourTom

Registered
I called Diamond and they told me to just use the machine 'dry' - so - when I polish my balls I do NOT use any polish. They come out very clean. I think that adding a bunch of 'goo' just gums up the carpet in the machine. Anyway, that's my experience and I am very glad I bought the Diamond Single Platter machine
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
I called Diamond and they told me to just use the machine 'dry' - so - when I polish my balls I do NOT use any polish. They come out very clean. I think that adding a bunch of 'goo' just gums up the carpet in the machine. Anyway, that's my experience and I am very glad I bought the Diamond Single Platter machine

Don't know who at Diamond told you not to use anything ''dry'' as this will only cause the carpet to wear out faster from dry friction from the balls, I know, I designed the Diamond ball polisher;)
 
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