No, I'm with others that aren't too cheap to go by most OEM recommendations. Easier to hold them accountable rather than a cheap-ass on the internet.
This stuff works amazingly well on cleaning and polishing balls
- Thread starter PoolFan101
- Start date
No, I'm with others that aren't too cheap to go by most OEM recommendations. Easier to hold them accountable rather than a cheap-ass on the internet.
Is there wax in Aramith polish?
Beats me, I looked at the label and it doesn't say. It did have a citrus smell though.
Says 'silicone free'. If there is any wax its in a very small amount.
The other stuff in the OP is wax and silicone free. You could buy 30 sets of Centennials for what you pay for a nice gitfiddle. Balls are a dime a dozen. Besides, they use phenolic resin pool balls as bearings in the fracking business. The only real way to trash a pool ball is to throw it out on the Interstate. Now, if you've got those cheap assed ol' polyester balls, that's a different story, but if you've got China junk, it really doesn't matter anyhow.
Dang, Lou, how'm I gonna find a better product if I don't experiment? I didn't marry the first girl I dated.
Girls are like pool balls?!
Lou Figueroa
wow, that explains
sooo much :-o
Nobody seems to know if there's wax in Aramith Cleaner or Restorer but for sure there's abrasives, more in the Restorer of course.
I don't entirely agree that damage doesn't occur with normal play. The grit in chalk scratches the finish on the balls. Simply compare the finish of a Used Ball and a Brand New Ball
Playing 3C its best to clean the table and balls about every hour or so. If you go 2 hours or more you'll really see the difference in rebound angles. Almost becomes a different game. Some shots become impossible, while other shots appear.
The "cleaner" is just for making nice balls shine again or for when your balls start out pretty nice. The "ball restorer" is for balls that are in rough shape, for example when the "cleaner" does not do enough to make them look nice. My balls are all relatively new, I have only had to use "cleaner" on them. A friend brought his over, I tried the "cleaner" first, they looked like crap after running them thru my polisher so I then ran them thru with "ball restorer" then "ball cleaner", it was an amazing difference.
I was not asking about the difference between the cleaner and restorer product. I was asking about the two different labels on just the cleaner product. One says specifically for phenolic balls and the other label doesn't mention that.
I looked at the picture someone linked to the subject because I am better at reading pictures than words so I answered the picture which showed restorer and cleaner. :grin-square:
The surface of a phenolic resin ball is different for the surface of a polyester resin ball. I do not know any of the historic details regarding the glass like surface Hyatt introduced back in the 1970s, but for all practical purposes, the surface of a modern phenolic resin ball made in Callenelle is non-porous. Polishing a non-porous surface is easier than polishing a porous surface. Consequently, polishes which are designed to polish phenolic resin pool balls can have abrasives which are 6000 grit and above and still be extremely effective at polishing, but not represent a long term threat to the sphericity or the orbs.
Buy the polish which is labeled "for phenolic resin balls" if you own phenolic resin balls. If you are playing with polyester resin balls, you will need more grit to achieve a shine.
Buy the polish which is labeled "for phenolic resin balls" if you own phenolic resin balls. If you are playing with polyester resin balls, you will need more grit to achieve a shine.
If anyone has restored their headlight lens you're familiar with the process. If not is goes something like this.
1st step 600grit wet dry sand paper
2nd step 1000 grit Ditto
3rd step 2000 grit Ditto
Last step plastic polish of unknown grit, but much smaller. McGuires Plastic Polish for example. Hard to feel the grit but its in there.
With Aramith products, its a 2 step method if the balls have been uses for several hours, days, months.
1st step is the Restorer which contains a fair amount of abrasives. Maybe 3-5X what's found in toothpaste.
2nd step is their Cleaner. This product also contains abrasives but with considerably small grain size.
With both products I believe, the abrasive used is Highly Friable.. meaning its soft and easily breaks under pressure. What this does is as you work with the solution the abrasives are crushed and become smaller and smaller as you work.
The cleaning agent in both products are similar to your safety cleaners like Simple Green or Citrus cleaners which is a good choice for what these balls normally see on a clean table. No need for petroleum based more aggressive cleaning agent.
I've never fully tested this since I carry both steps but with my experience with these products, I believe if I added a squirt of citrus cleaner when the Restorer saturated rag gets dry, (when manually cleaning) I wouldn't need the 2nd step with the Cleaner. By that time the grit is small enough from being worked/crushed/ pulverized.
Last comments. Folks here confuse cleaning, polishing, and waxing.
IMO Products with Wax should not be used, unless you want to practice Masses and similar shots. Same for silicone. Both are great for this purpose. Only.
Cleaning is removing the dirt and whatever.
Polishing is removing the surface scratches. Restore a mirror finish. I call it Burnishing or Restoring.
Waxing is not Polishing or Cleaning even if your wax has cleaning properties. Waxing is applying Turtle Wax or some such product.
I think the best ball cleaning product may depend on the condition & composition of the specific ball set. When I first got my new Centennial balls & Bludworth polishing machine, I also bought the spray cleaning product recommended by Bludworth (their own formula), which worked ok, but after the balls were fairly well broken in, I occasionally needed to use an automotive cleaner wax, which really left them looking great, but frequent polishing gradually became more necessary.
Since I switched to the new Duramith Tournament (and red circle) balls, I have not seen the need to use anything but the Bludworth spray, and even then very rarely. IMO, the Duramith formula composition is well worth the extra cost. They stay shiny and play consistent for longer periods, and seem to clean up easier.
Even if you keep the table pristine & use the expensive chalk that doesn’t mark up the CB, skin oil from handling/racking will eventually increase throw. But, a quick spray & spin in the machine leaves them looking/playing like new again!
Since I switched to the new Duramith Tournament (and red circle) balls, I have not seen the need to use anything but the Bludworth spray, and even then very rarely. IMO, the Duramith formula composition is well worth the extra cost. They stay shiny and play consistent for longer periods, and seem to clean up easier.
Even if you keep the table pristine & use the expensive chalk that doesn’t mark up the CB, skin oil from handling/racking will eventually increase throw. But, a quick spray & spin in the machine leaves them looking/playing like new again!