Diamond tables - black marks on balls
- Thread starter jay helfert
- Start date
I have a 9' Diamond pro/am in my basement. My solution has been to use clear Saran wrap on the pockets. Granted this is only for practice as it is A distraction (after a while I don't notice it), but it prevents the black marks and saves me the time of scrubbing the balls. I simply tape the Saran wrap to the bottom of the rail and then drape it over the rail and down into the pocket. It certainly isn't the solution but it's the lesser of two evils.
I thought someone mentioned that using Denatured Alcohol worked very well on his table.
I also like the idea of covering them with a black material like 860, if it could be done to look "Factory".
I also like the idea of covering them with a black material like 860, if it could be done to look "Factory".
First, let me say the I LOVE my 9 foot diamond table. However, it does seem that Diamond should have already solved this problem that they created. It is sad that they have the best table out there and when they use them at tourneys everybody gets to see the one major problem they have. Black marks on the new balls. Come on Diamond, change the supplier of the pockets or have them change the dye they are using. It really cannot be that hard to solve unless it is a money issue. So raise your price by $100-$200 and make the black marks go away. If nothing else put that 860 cloth on the pockets that you already know about.
It is very irritating to have to clean the balls every two or three games and make excuses for your Diamond table as to why this is happening. Diamond tables are just too good to ever have to make excuses for anything about them.
I, for one, would be more than happy to pay $200 for a "retrofit" to make the black marks go away.
It is very irritating to have to clean the balls every two or three games and make excuses for your Diamond table as to why this is happening. Diamond tables are just too good to ever have to make excuses for anything about them.
I, for one, would be more than happy to pay $200 for a "retrofit" to make the black marks go away.
Last edited:
Methyl Eythel Ketone is wicked stuff, one of my highschool buddys lost his girl to another senior and the night of the prom he got even. He walked up on top of the new boyfriends Corvette and poured 5 gallons of mek on the car and in an hour the body was melted over the frame the seats and the engine. There was no fingerprints and they never found the can so no charges were ever made and old Rod got the girl back cause Timmy did'nt have a cool car no more, no $hit.--Leonard
Hand sanitizer is prob mostly alcohol.MEK is nasty stuff.I used to have to leave the house when my sisters and mother used their finger nail polish remover witch is based with the same chems as mek.Also ABS glue pretty much the same thing it can chemically melt plastics.
I am sure someone will come up with a good conditioner/sealer to protect the leather.
I am sure someone will come up with a good conditioner/sealer to protect the leather.
Well, thanks to Jay for starting this post ! Thank goodness I have a good ball cleaning machine or these black marks would drive me up the walls. I keep two sets of balls cleaned all the time so when the marks get to me, I switch balls while cleaning the dirty ones.
OK, this is the great thing about AZ forums. We know the problem is the leather dye being used. Diamond, get your pocket supplier to change the dye they are using. Leather pockets on older pool tables didn't seem to have the same problems for a very long period of time. What kind of dye did they use ? Also, brown dyied leather doesn't seem to be as great a problem either. Why not use brown dye ?
The AZ forums have doctors, lawyers and Indian Chiefs all in here. We ought to be able to find a fix. I don't care if I do have to remove the black dye from the inside of the pockets and redye with something else. But I sure don't want to give up the best pockets in pool table history.
Thanks again Jay !
OK, this is the great thing about AZ forums. We know the problem is the leather dye being used. Diamond, get your pocket supplier to change the dye they are using. Leather pockets on older pool tables didn't seem to have the same problems for a very long period of time. What kind of dye did they use ? Also, brown dyied leather doesn't seem to be as great a problem either. Why not use brown dye ?
The AZ forums have doctors, lawyers and Indian Chiefs all in here. We ought to be able to find a fix. I don't care if I do have to remove the black dye from the inside of the pockets and redye with something else. But I sure don't want to give up the best pockets in pool table history.
Thanks again Jay !
You know it's funny that people don't seem to look at leather the same way when it's used in different applications.
Leather is leather.
Whether used to make a shoe, a saddle, a cue tip, a wrap, a cue case or a pocket it's all leather and it all can be treated the same based on the type of leather it is.
How to treat and seal leather is information that can be found all over the internet and there are many great products available from the stuff found at Wal-Mart to high end custom compounds sold by experienced saddle shops.
For everyone - there is a forum you can go to and ask the world's best leather workers how to solve the problem of excess dye on leather pockets. These people make leather gear that is dyed every color you can imagine and used daily, think black leather holsters, belts, saddles, etc....
the forum is at www.leatherworker.net go there and present your problem and they will fix it.
Regarding the moisture content of leather. You use alcohol to reduce the amount of excess dye or paint on the surface and you use moisturizing compounds to add moisture to the leather. Then you can seal it and be good to go.
This problem is easy to solve. If I had a Diamond Table then I would teach you how to do it. But since I don't have the pockets I don't have the exact piece in front of me. I do agree with everyone else that the problem should have been solved long before the pockets ever reached the consumer.
it doesnt take much for the consumers to abandon a product. if this continues, who would buy this table and deal with the problem that even the manufacturer cant or wont fix.
look what happened to olhausen tables. they are beautiful and well built. but the cut of the pockets in a vee shape makes balls rattle in the hole and hang up. no pool rooms buy them anymore and dedicated users have stopped getting them. so they are now stuck only with the family market.
if they cant make black ones work then change to tan pockets. or suffer the results of hard headedness.
look what happened to olhausen tables. they are beautiful and well built. but the cut of the pockets in a vee shape makes balls rattle in the hole and hang up. no pool rooms buy them anymore and dedicated users have stopped getting them. so they are now stuck only with the family market.
if they cant make black ones work then change to tan pockets. or suffer the results of hard headedness.
Makes me wonder why you couldn't sand the surface off, then apply lexol and then buff out.
The Best Pocket liners of ALL time were the Early Gold Crown Grey Pocket liners, Never put a mark on the ball, I think they were only available on the GCI's.
The Best Pocket liners of ALL time were the Early Gold Crown Grey Pocket liners, Never put a mark on the ball, I think they were only available on the GCI's.
As I said Jack I don't have the pockets so I don't know how they are done. However Sterling sells leather pockets that come from China that don't put marks on the balls.
Send me a set of Diamond pockets and I will solve the issue within a week. You can bet on it.
I don't have an extra set laying around but I'll let Greg know you have the answer to correct the problem.