Okay, I tried the Aramith Restorer like the bottle says and buffed by hand with no noticeable results. I will try putting a coat on the balls and putting them in my home made buffer tonight.
How to clean pool balls?
- Thread starter blackflagsailor
- Start date
Are you trying to get rid of the yellowing or marks? If its the latter, then it should clean up fine and shiny again. I wouldn't use Magic Eraser, its too abrasive and dulls the finish of the balls.
If you want to prevent spots, separate the balls in the bucket cleaner with strips of carpeting so they don't keep knocking into each other.
Not sure what is the solution to aging phenolic. At Valley Forge I scored a great deal on a set of used Super Aramith Pros. I bought a brand new measle cue ball to compliment it, and noticed the new cueball was much whiter, while the ball set was more ivory color.
If you want to prevent spots, separate the balls in the bucket cleaner with strips of carpeting so they don't keep knocking into each other.
Not sure what is the solution to aging phenolic. At Valley Forge I scored a great deal on a set of used Super Aramith Pros. I bought a brand new measle cue ball to compliment it, and noticed the new cueball was much whiter, while the ball set was more ivory color.
Okay, I ordered "A Rookie's Guide to Pool Table Maintenance and Repair" by Mose Duane and is says this:
"When new balls are new, it is quite simple to keep them clean vinegar and water, or a window cleaner like Windex. However, all phenolic balls will mar and yellow over time even if they're washed daily. A household cleaning product like Comet or Ajax, or less abrasive Soft Scrub, does a wonderful job if the balls are not too terrible. For extremely yellowed balls, use a paint stripper, like Zip Strip. Read the instructions of the product and wear protective clothing.
Although any of these products may also strip the shine from the balls, good wax will return most of the luster. Liquid was and furniture wax work, but paste was is better."
I wonder if it works? I don't think I'm brave enough to try it with my set. If I don't have enough money to buy a new set I sure as heck don't want to ruin my used set.
"When new balls are new, it is quite simple to keep them clean vinegar and water, or a window cleaner like Windex. However, all phenolic balls will mar and yellow over time even if they're washed daily. A household cleaning product like Comet or Ajax, or less abrasive Soft Scrub, does a wonderful job if the balls are not too terrible. For extremely yellowed balls, use a paint stripper, like Zip Strip. Read the instructions of the product and wear protective clothing.
Although any of these products may also strip the shine from the balls, good wax will return most of the luster. Liquid was and furniture wax work, but paste was is better."
I wonder if it works? I don't think I'm brave enough to try it with my set. If I don't have enough money to buy a new set I sure as heck don't want to ruin my used set.
Maybe this is if the balls are just left out. I know the 10+yr old centennials at the pool hall are not even close to the 10+yr old dark yellow ones I've had in the box 'unopened for many years. Maybe the chalk/friction/cleanings helped keep them from aging?
What can I say? You're not the only person I've heard that from, that balls in box yellow faster but I have Aramith's own recommendation now so I suppose I need to follow the manufacturers advice. I use my Cents all the time and these I'll simply continue to store in the ball tray but the Tournaments I have that I don't use often. And it does make sense to me that UV rays would yellow plastic.
I guess I'll just Tournament CB out in the ball tray since I can probably get that replaced, and see how that starts aging compared to the rest of the set.
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Sounds good... I don't know why this interests me so much, but I wonder how much the light sources affect them..sunlight, regular light bulbs, florescent.. etc.. I'm sure sunlight has the most UV rays.. oh well, we'll see how your experiment works..
The problem with long-term storage of phenolic balls in the boxes may be outgassing. Plastics continue to release very small amounts of gasses for the life of the material. Keeping balls in the dark will prevent UV-related yellowing, and leaving the storage containers open to ventilation will inhibit yellowing caused by the material's outgassing.
Now that is a good idea. If I keep them in a cabinet out of the light there is really no reason to have to keep the box covered. In the cabinet with the lid off sounds like the ticket.
I actually am planning to build an under table storage chest with drawers that are sized for the ball sets plus and an oversized drawer for Snooker. I wonder if this is a good idea now?
I'm reviving this topic!
I have come to believe that the used set of Aramith Premier I bought isn't yellow, but more of an ivory color. This looks like it might be the standard for Aramith billiard balls.
Anyway, that aside, I have found something interesting online. I need someone out there willing to try an experiment on a yellowed ball. There is a home made chemical some know called RetroBright. People use it to restore old plastic electronics that have turned yellow but I've seen it restore even legos without damaging the ones with printed parts!
Here is one recipe to make this stuff.
11% hydrogen peroxide, glycerin, vegetable gum, and a touch of sodium percarbonate (OxiClean). This creates a gel which you liberally apply to the piece. Place it under a UV source (UV light) and after a few hours the colours will be restored.
Here's a website with more information: http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel
Someone please try this and post some pics. Apparently the longer the item sits with this stuff under a UV source, the whiter it becomes.
I'd love to see it this will work on pool balls.
I have come to believe that the used set of Aramith Premier I bought isn't yellow, but more of an ivory color. This looks like it might be the standard for Aramith billiard balls.
Anyway, that aside, I have found something interesting online. I need someone out there willing to try an experiment on a yellowed ball. There is a home made chemical some know called RetroBright. People use it to restore old plastic electronics that have turned yellow but I've seen it restore even legos without damaging the ones with printed parts!
Here is one recipe to make this stuff.
11% hydrogen peroxide, glycerin, vegetable gum, and a touch of sodium percarbonate (OxiClean). This creates a gel which you liberally apply to the piece. Place it under a UV source (UV light) and after a few hours the colours will be restored.
Here's a website with more information: http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel
Someone please try this and post some pics. Apparently the longer the item sits with this stuff under a UV source, the whiter it becomes.
I'd love to see it this will work on pool balls.