Ivory Colored Centennial Balls

JimS

JimS

Grandpa & his grand boys.
Silver Member
I have two sets of Centennial balls. On one set the white in the ball, whether it be on the stripes on on the solids where the number is, is more of an ivory color and the other set is clearly more white in color.

Anybody know why this is? Is one set much older or something? Did they used to make them with the ivory color and then change to white?
 
Jim, They were always whiter when they were new. As a Brunswick dealer,
we use to replace the ball sets in the display case after a while because they would definitely yellow over time. As a experiment we cut some in half. The yellowing was all the way thru!

John
 
JimS said:
I have two sets of Centennial balls. On one set the white in the ball, whether it be on the stripes on on the solids where the number is, is more of an ivory color and the other set is clearly more white in color.

Anybody know why this is? Is one set much older or something? Did they used to make them with the ivory color and then change to white?
Click to expand...

Strangely they turn when stored in a dark place like a box for a long time.. When you put them on the table they begin to become white again.
 
Sounds like you guys got it down. These ball have been in a box for quite a while. We'll see how they change now that they are out and living life to it's fullest.
 
I have a set of Centennials about seven years old. When new, they were all very white. Now, some of the stripes seem to be a little less white. Not much, just a little. And the cue ball has small yellow spots that will not polish out.
 
Ideas?

not sure if the box theory is true. My dad has had his newest set since 1992 and they had always been on the table and all of the balls would turn yellow and it really became an eyesore on the table. For balls this expensive, they should stay white or have a well-documented process to maintain them.

I have recently inherited his table and tentatively the set of balls. He polished the balls on a buffing wheel with jeweler's rouge and with some effort they would become white again. The only problem is if you are not careful you can flat spot the balls.

Does anyone else have any ideas on how best to clean them safely or what can prevent the discoloring? You'd think after this many years they would have figured out what causes this.

My dad did indicate that he has always lit his table with incandecent bulbs and when I installed the table at my house I put 100W CFL bulbs in the overhead light and he thinks maybe florescent lighting may have a more positive effect on the balls.
 
Check these out. Ivorylene Darts from the 60's. Still holding their color!
 

Attachments

  • brunswick darts 017.jpg
    brunswick darts 017.jpg
    96.8 KB · Views: 441
These are Brunswick pre-darts from the 30's.
 

Attachments

  • brunswick darts 003.jpg
    brunswick darts 003.jpg
    95.3 KB · Views: 415
I think the key in your post is Ivorylene. If the balls are made from ivory base rather than the synthetic phenolic resin, they may not have the same effect upon them from the elements.

Does anyone have a Centennial TV Tour Edition set and if so, has there been any yellowing? Obviously those balls are very recently manufactured and may be going through the "cross-linking" process that helps reduce the impurities in the process keeping the balls nice and "white" in appearance.
 
Since I started this thread I got another set of Centennials, that appears to be quite a bit older than the others but is still of the same design, and the balls are very yellowed. The white on the 9 ball is almost the same color as the stripe and all the other colors are darker than normal.

As I play with them they seem to be getting lighter colored... but I may be hallucinating. :)
 
well I think my dad had stored the balls in the original box only when they would not be in use for a long time but that was minimal. He stored them on a tray if he was simply brushing the table, etc. and really never left them in the pockets.

It seems he has had them yellow in a variety of environments...once in the basement in the midwest, usually cool temperature but high humidity and then here in the desert in Phoenix the table spent some time on the back patio and in the garage...obviously in very high heat but very dry.

I'll keep watching for responses here but I may pick up a TV set and see if the ones recently manufactured behave any differently.:thumbup:
 
I've had two sets get yellow. One I bought used and in a box but I don't know how long they were in the box and I don't know how old they were. The other set, which is the more significantly yellowed... I mean the white on the 9 ball is almost the same color as the stripe.. I bought used just a couple weeks back.

I got that second set on ebay and they were sold in a brown leatherette case... pretty nice case and the seller talked about them being made prior to Brunswick etc. He didn't provide any direct knowledge of when they were made but but made it sound like they were quite old... I think it was marketing. They have same design as new Centennials. This set has obviously been stored for some time as all of the colors are deeper/darker. The colors are actually very attractive.... imo, except for the yellowed areas.

There are sets on ebay every day and many are new. I wouldn't buy a set of TV balls. I don't like the colors and I don't think they'll be made in those colors for very long.
 
If this is a problem because of the inherent properties of the material then the Super Aramith Pros must have the same issue. From my understanding they are identical (same materials and same manufacturer as the Centennials) except for the graphics.

Does anyone know if this is an issue with the Super Pros as well?
 
Last week I saw a yellowed measle cue ball in the sale display at one of the local pool halls. Measle cue ball comes standard with the Super Aramith Pro TV set, so I assume its the same.

DogsPlayingPool said:
If this is a problem because of the inherent properties of the material then the Super Aramith Pros must have the same issue. From my understanding they are identical (same materials and same manufacturer as the Centennials) except for the graphics.

Does anyone know if this is an issue with the Super Pros as well?
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top