Black marks on pool balls: solution

tenfttall

tenfttall

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I recently added a Red Label 9' Diamond Professional to my home with the standard black leather packets. Soon after, I noticed black marks were appearing on the pool balls. At first, I couldn't figure where they were coming from; I'm a little slow. They are coming from the dye on the black leather pockets, of course.

I tried everything to wiper them off with no luck. Then I tried a Magic Eraser, found in the cleaning aisle at the grocery store. I am happy to report that with a little effort and patience, the Magic Eraser made the black marks disappear completely.

Your mileage may vary but it worked wonderfully for me!

All the best,

Lane in Tampa
 
FYI, just another possible cause of black marks, particularly if you are using Simonis cloth with the provided Simonis spots, if they show up on the 1-ball only and you play mainly 9-ball, it is bleeding to the base of the 1-ball from the Simonis spots when you break the balls. When I contacted Simonis about this problem, they denied hearing this complaint from any other customer, but it's rather obvious to me. The spots do come off easily. Denatured alcohol doused on a magic eraser is a very easy way to remove black spots and miscue scratches on a cue ball or any other ball.
 
NOT recommended!

Magic Eraser is very gritty - that's what removes the marks.

Pool balls need POOL BALL CLEANERS, with a tried, proven and SAFE cleaning solution like Aramith Ball Cleaner. There are others, that's just the one I prefer.

Yes, you are removing the black marks, but you are also removing a micro-layer of the ball finish every time. Eventually, your balls will no longer roll correctly, simply because you created high spots and low spots from using the Magic Eraser repeatedly.

Why do you think folks spend $hundreds on ball cleaners??

Folks, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!! It's bad for your balls. Bad.

-von
 
VonRhett said:
NOT recommended!

Magic Eraser is very gritty - that's what removes the marks.

Pool balls need POOL BALL CLEANERS, with a tried, proven and SAFE cleaning solution like Aramith Ball Cleaner. There are others, that's just the one I prefer.

Yes, you are removing the black marks, but you are also removing a micro-layer of the ball finish every time. Eventually, your balls will no longer roll correctly, simply because you created high spots and low spots from using the Magic Eraser repeatedly.

Why do you think folks spend $hundreds on ball cleaners??

Folks, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!! It's bad for your balls. Bad.

-von
Click to expand...

Other than making the black marks shiny, a motorized pool ball cleaner with the Aramith solution had zero effect on the black marks. Also, I could buy four sets of new balls for what a good pool ball cleaner costs, even if it did suffice to remove the black marks.
 
Then it was a crappy ball cleaner.

I have a Diamond Pro 9ft with drop pockets, meaning I get the same black marks you do.

From first hand experience I know that the Diamond, Bludworth and BallStar ball cleaners will ALL REMOVE the black marks.

I have a Diamond ball polisher now, and it removes ALL the black marks in <10 minutes.

Good balls are roughly $300/set, and the Diamond single platter ball polisher costs $575. And it's the most expensive of them all.
So actually, you could barely buy TWO sets of balls for one good polisher.

But go ahead and do it your way. From your view, you discovered something that no pool player on the planet ever has. Sandpapering your balls with Magic Eraser.

Good luck with that.

-von



tenfttall said:
Other than making the black marks shiny, a motorized pool ball cleaner with the Aramith solution had zero effect on the black marks. Also, I could buy four sets of new balls for what a good pool ball cleaner costs, even if it did suffice to remove the black marks.
Click to expand...
 
After cleaning your ball with soap, water and Aramith ball cleaner. Go online and find a quart can of Clear-Lac. It’s on eBay. Get a few 1-1/2” foam brushes and after wiping off your pockets give them 5-6 coats of Clear-Lac waiting about 5 minutes between coats. Let dry completely overnight. This was recommended by Diamond 6 years ago.
 
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VonRhett said:
Then it was a crappy ball cleaner.

I have a Diamond Pro 9ft with drop pockets, meaning I get the same black marks you do.

From first hand experience I know that the Diamond, Bludworth and BallStar ball cleaners will ALL REMOVE the black marks.

I have a Diamond ball polisher now, and it removes ALL the black marks in <10 minutes.

Good balls are roughly $300/set, and the Diamond single platter ball polisher costs $575. And it's the most expensive of them all.
So actually, you could barely buy TWO sets of balls for one good polisher.

But go ahead and do it your way. From your view, you discovered something that no pool player on the planet ever has. Sandpapering your balls with Magic Eraser.

Good luck with that.

-von
Click to expand...

If I didn't know better, I would think we're arguing because you're coming across a bit rude about this. I'm not trying to convince you to use my suggestion for a microscopic abrasive instead of your expensive tool and a different microabrasive in the form of Aramith Ball Cleaner. I have certainly never claimed I invented or even originally discovered this approach.

For those persons in this thread looking for a $.20 solution to this slightly annoying problem, give it a try. When I tried the expensive approach, it didn't work for me. That's why I closed with "your mileage may vary." Those players who want to spend $500 + dollars to avoid a speculative microscopic damage to a hard phenolic resin, I salute your commitment.
 
VonRhett said:
NOT recommended!

Magic Eraser is very gritty - that's what removes the marks.

Pool balls need POOL BALL CLEANERS, with a tried, proven and SAFE cleaning solution like Aramith Ball Cleaner. There are others, that's just the one I prefer.

Yes, you are removing the black marks, but you are also removing a micro-layer of the ball finish every time. Eventually, your balls will no longer roll correctly, simply because you created high spots and low spots from using the Magic Eraser repeatedly.

Why do you think folks spend $hundreds on ball cleaners??

Folks, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!! It's bad for your balls. Bad.

-von
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, but in my opinion, magic eraser is certainly not gritty - it feels like a sponge. I've applied a little denatured alcohol on a magic eraser sponge for years now to clean the bad spots off our cue balls, before placing them along with all the other balls in our Bludworth cleaner, one squirt of Mcguire's ultimate detailer and spinning them for no more than 60 seconds. They look great.
 
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ChrisinNC said:
I'm sorry, but in my opinion, magic eraser is certainly not gritty - it feels like a sponge. I've applied a little denatured alcohol on a magic eraser sponge for years now to clean the bad spots off our cue balls, before placing them along with all the other balls in our Bludworth cleaner, one squirt of Mcguire's ultimate detailer and spinning them for no more than 60 seconds. They look great.
Click to expand...

Chris, myself and others have tried Magic eraser on a piece of clear plexiglass and it does indeed scratch it. I dont think it would ever cause the balls to go significantly out of round but it might remove the hard surface finish from the balls.

I use ME for many things but for my personal balls I would not use it.

On a side note I rubbed the die off of the inside of my Diamond pockets ten years ago and have never looked back. I put my technique in a thread here once but it would be tough to find.
 
Get some black cloth, I found some that seems like a nylon. Cut it to fit inside the pocket, then take double face tape like seamstress tape and tape the cloth inside the pockets. Tape it as close to the top as you can get it.
I did it 5 years ago and pretty much solve the black spots and still have not had to change the pocket cloth.
The new pockets pretty well stopped the issue also, but I am not buying pockets when the cloth worked fine.
Mark

I just taped one strip at the top. Also a no to the magic eraser for the balls.
 
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A couple drops of alcohol on a paper towel will easily remove the black marks - no need to take the chance of ball damage with magic eraser.
I have a red label diamond pro and used to get lots of black marks until I bought a set of traditional color Cyclops balls. Presto - hardly ever get a black mark - I guess because of the higher phenolic content as compared to other ball sets. The Cyclops stay very clean - very rarely need to clean them.
 
Go easy on the balls. That's what he said, to she.

Some of these ball stories make me laugh, cry, wonder, whatever.

Wipe your balls after you play with a damp paper towel, every time. Keep them away from very dirty tables, or go through the process of cleaning the table before you play. Surface, pockets, even the rails.

Don't go through such a nut with your balls. Rub them good with a damp paper towel, and you'll be fine. Do this after every practice. I swear, I don't know where these ball threads come from.

All the best,
WW
 
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