Yellow Phenolic Plastic Cue Ball ?

I can't tell you the specifics of why, but Aramith red circle cue balls when brand new have a distinctly yellow tint, much more so than the Pro Cup "measles" ball.
The Super Pro ball set which matches the measles ball is also less yellow than the Premium series which matches the red circle or blue logo ball.
I assume it must just be something to do with the resin formula as these are fairly yellow to me even when brand new.

With modern balls, such as the Red Circle compared to others, I think it's just a slightly different compound that produces the more yellow color. In my experience, the Red Circle lightens somewhat with play. Below is an example of a fairly new Red Circle and Blue Dot, for example, both recently made. You can see the more yellow color of the Red Circle.

With older balls though, and I mean pre-Aramith, I believe there can be amounts of bakelite in a cue ball that produces a different look. The second picture is a 70s vintage Blue Circle, an unmarked cue ball that went with a Hyatt Vitallite set, and a pure bakelite cue ball. Supposedly, the unmarked ball in the middle had a little bit of bakelite in the mixture, according to the seller at the time. I also do think that unused cue balls tend to yellow a bit over time, especially if not exposed to light.

All the best,
WW

The home table I bought about 15 years ago came with a basic set of Aramith balls. Cue ball is plain with no circles or dots. It is yellowing some with age and I don't know if the possible UV from a 2 tube fluorescent table light is a factor or it's just age. The white portion of the striped balls is yellowing some too; but not as much as the cue ball.

I do only know the measles balls.
As they're usually used for TV matches they are not fully white, but have a little tint.
I suspect to appear in a simple white under the very bright lights; if they would be white-white it would be unwatchable.

Cheers,
M

put your balls out in the sunlight near a window for a few months and they lighten up.
old balls darken.

nancewayne said:

I bought a brand new set of Aramith Super Pro balls from a major supplier and all the white part was very yellow. When I complained to the supplier, they said it was a new box that was "buried" among other new ball boxes and was simply old, but still brand new. They exchanged with me another set that was only slightly yellowed. I still believe that the absence of light (UV) in contact with phenolic balls allows the balls to turn yellow over time. FYI

Click to expand...

I contacted Saluc several years ago about yellowing and they assured me it was normal occurrence with phenolic resin balls.

maha said:

put your balls out in the sunlight near a window for a few months and they lighten up.

old balls darken.

Click to expand...

I put an old CB from a super Pro set in a sunny window for a few months as an experiment. No noticeable lightening.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Direct from the horse's mouth...

I sent the following email to Saluc/Aramith recently. Note that they say the balls should be stored in the dark to minimize yellowing and also that their Aramith Restorer helps too.


They replied with the following:

I've heard that from others before. Isn't it odd how Saluc says otherwise?

I see this is an old thread, not sure if anyone still follows it..
I have experience in removing yellowing from old ABS plastic (not a cue ball) soaking it in a strong 40% peroxide solution exposed to sunshine for several days.
I don't know if old cue balls even have abs plastic in them.
I am going to do a experiment with an older yellowed cue ball. I will take before and after pictures.
I am not sure if this will work, I do not recommend any one try this. this may ruin the ball.
stay tuned I should have results with in a week.

wendyb said:

I don't know if old cue balls even have abs plastic in them.

Click to expand...

Cue balls are not ABS plastic.

All the best,
WW

I posted a thread about this subject a few years ago.

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=403712

I tried sunlight, tried full spectrum light, tried hydrogen peroxide from the drug store, tried peroxide based hair bleach. There was some other stuff tried as well including combinations of the balls in peroxide while in the sun etc.

Maybe some of the phenolic resins used are more photosensitive than others, IDK.

But my old Hyatts are still yellow. :thumbup:

maha said:

put your balls out in the sunlight near a window.

Click to expand...

I did that once and the neighbor lady called the cops on me!

Quoted from the other thread:

Rockin' Robin said:

I bought a bunch of sets for a local pool hall that were yellowed.....within a month or two of being played with.....they turned white.

Click to expand...

I don't see how impacts from playing alone would turn the ball white again. However people have said exposure to light could bleach the balls. Some have suggested pure sunlight, others UV. I do have a UV light source at home, so that's a possibility for another day.

For now, AZ has taken over my Friday night. I spent it cleaning two sets of Aramith balls by hand while listening to some Blues and enjoying an adult beverage. Ok, beverages. It was strangely cathartic.

Results are attached, but just in case the photos come up out-of-order:

1: On the table, at the start. Cloth is still white.
2: My yellowed Canadian red-dot ball, dirty.
3: After hand-polishing the red-dot. Not much of a difference.
4: The results of what came off of the balls. I'm thinking most is camel-colored chalk but I could be wrong. Either way that cloth needs a bath.

These sets were never smoked around, and the balls have only about 60 games on them in total. The yellowed cueball has been used perhaps twice in 15 years from what I recall. It's just sat in a box for many years.

Author's note: Inhaling Aramith ball-cleaner in a closed room with blues playing and scotch flowing may be hazardous to your health. Or addictive. Possibly both.