Brunswick Centennials harder to clean?

Highmiles

Highmiles

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I’m getting ready to get new cloth for my table, so I figured it would be a good time clean my Centennial balls. They are about 12 years old and looked pretty crummy. I generally wipe them down every week and take them to local pool halls to get cleaned in their machines. Over time they appeared to have more scuffs and chalk marks that didn’t come off, especially the cue ball. When I would ask about it I would be told “that’s just the way Centennials are, especially the blue dot cue ball.” I decided to get the aramith restorer and also the cleaner, and do them by hand. It was a little tedious, but I was amazed that they are virtually like new. Has anyone else ever heard Centennials are more prone to dirt and scuffs, and hard to clean, or was I just unlucky to listen to a few guys who were wrong?
 
Highmiles said:
I’m getting ready to get new cloth for my table, so I figured it would be a good time clean my Centennial balls. They are about 12 years old and looked pretty crummy. I generally wipe them down every week and take them to local pool halls to get cleaned in their machines. Over time they appeared to have more scuffs and chalk marks that didn’t come off, especially the cue ball. When I would ask about it I would be told “that’s just the way Centennials are, especially the blue dot cue ball.” I decided to get the aramith restorer and also the cleaner, and do them by hand. It was a little tedious, but I was amazed that they are virtually like new. Has anyone else ever heard Centennials are more prone to dirt and scuffs, and hard to clean, or was I just unlucky to listen to a few guys who were wrong?
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They have a lot of white so chalk shows, same as the Aramith Super Pros

They are not harder to clean
 
Get a bottle of Aramith Cleaner and a 50 pack of white microfibers.

Once a month just a little dab of the cleaner and then three minutes of brisk polishing, Throw that towel in a basket, grab a clean microfiber, and then one minute of polishing with the new cloth and nothing on the ball.

Rinse and repeat 15 more times...

Once a year do the exact same thing but this time use the Restorer.
 
my car gets dirty quickly but if i put silicone wax on it the dirt wont stick and it will stay clean looking more.
same with pool balls.

but if you put wax on your tires they will slide all over, same with your pool balls.
 
A little barkeepers friend(no bleach) in warm water, let dry, aramith cleaner and buff with soft cotton t-shirt. 15 year old set still looks new
 
maha said:
my car gets dirty quickly but if i put silicone wax on it the dirt wont stick and it will stay clean looking more.
same with pool balls.

but if you put wax on your tires they will slide all over, same with your pool balls.
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The only difference in my 2 sets of Centennials is their age and so amount of mileage on them. I clean both sets the same way.
 
A friend had a 15-20 yr old set of Centennials that she cleaned with her Ballstar most every time. They looked better than new. Maybe your pool hall was using wax to clean them and that was causing the problem since when you used Aramith cleaner it worked.
 
There are two degrees of Aramith cleaner.

One is the Ball Restorer and then the Ball Cleaner. Use the first to get the crud off and then the second to put a nice polish on them.

Lou Figueroa
 
I own 3 sets of Centennials…….2 are played with and 1 set sits brand new on my shelf.
As you already know,the design will never be out of style and is the nicest looking, IMO.

I have an older model (crock pot style) BallStar machine so cleaning my pools balls is easy.
Here is what I learned and the BCA rules used to specifically address polished pool balls.

Cleaning your pool balls and polishing your pool balls are very different approaches. Balls
washed in soap and water, or alcohol, have more cling, or throw, versus polished pool balls.

As you know, over time, natural throw will increase as the pool ball surfaces gradually acquire
dirt and grime through normal play. Polished pool balls resist that longer so throw takes awhile.

I love the look of a polished set of Centennials and I still prefer Simonis green to tournament
blue or any other color. Centennial balls played on that cloth just look absolutely superb, IMO.

So while pool balls absolutely look so much better after being polished, I’d rather play with that
same set hours later. English adds throw whereas polished balls have less to start but acquire it.
 
Run them in this weekly.

IMG_0538 copy.jpg
 
Terry Aeschliman said:
I have my doubts as to a 12 year old set looking "brand new" or like new.
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You would be wrong, in fact I play at her house often, as she also does at mine. She is spoiled and insisted on cleaning them after every use. Not sure what was in the ballstar cleaner solution, but they looked fantastic. I do struggle for the first game or two when going over to play as the balls would play much different than those with my Aramith cleaner I use in that the draw was exaggerated, and the cuts seemed different. I used to suggest to her that she should cut back on her cleaning to once a week or two weeks as where we play leagues, the balls play so different even though they are somewhat cleaned regularly.
I have diluted my Aramith 20% with alcohol and clean about every two weeks and that works for me as the balls look great and play similar to our leagues. For me, with full strength Aramith cleaner left a slight buildup even though I only used a drop or two total per cleaning cycle. I do spoil her at times though when she comes to play and will clean the balls before she gets here.
I would take a picture of her Centennials for you, but they got ruined earlier this year when something on her old Ballstar came apart or broke and they got all nicked up and ruined. She now has a new Ballstar and another set of Centennial balls.
Edit, I will say that after about 5 or 6 games the Ballstar cleaned balls seem to play a little more normal, or possibly I just get used to them, couldn't tell you which.
 
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muskyed said:
.... Not sure what was in the ballstar cleaner solution, but they looked fantastic. I do struggle for the first game or two when going over to play as the balls would play much different than those with my Aramith cleaner I use in that the draw was exaggerated, and the cuts seemed different. ....
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It's wax or silicone. That's a really, really bad idea if you want the balls to play consistently. You can get the same effect on your table by using Armor All or a paste wax. As you noted, it wears off after some play.

Here's an interesting tactic: only wax the odd balls. That should have your opponent gnashing their teeth. Also, if your opponent takes a bathroom break, rub the cue ball with a towel that has Armor All on it.

Or, you could do it the right way and only use the Aramith products to clean/polish the balls.
 
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Ya, it actually feels more silicone related with the Ballstar stuff. You have to be careful picking multiple balls at once up out of the pockets. I don't have any of that with my Aramith cleaner, and they seem to play the same when freshly cleaned or after a couple hrs play.
 
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