Cleaning Balls - Machine vs Hand

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DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I do not have a ball cleaning machine. I had my balls cleaned once at a billiards store that used a machine and I didn't think it was done very good.

So when I clean my balls I use some Aramith Ball Cleaner and put a light coat on the balls. Then after I get all the balls coated I take a dry towel and wipe them off. Then I take a different dry towel and hand clean/buff them again. Seems to work fine.

My question is - would a machine clean the balls better than I do by hand? As we all know clean, polished balls will find the pockets a little better than dirty balls.

r/DCP
 
I have arthritus so cleaning balls by hand is out of the question for me. I use to do them by hand once in a while when i worked at a pool hall.

I am using this myself

seyberts.com

Whizza Ball Cleaner Kit

Revolutionize your billiard experience with the WHIZZA, the premier choice for effortless and professional ball cleaning at an unbeatable price. This cutting-edge device transforms your cleaning routine with its sleek and powerful design. Utilizing a cordless drill, the WHIZZA swiftly restores...
seyberts.com seyberts.com
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
I do not have a ball cleaning machine. I had my balls cleaned once at a billiards store that used a machine and I didn't think it was done very good.

So when I clean my balls I use some Aramith Ball Cleaner and put a light coat on the balls. Then after I get all the balls coated I take a dry towel and wipe them off. Then I take a different dry towel and hand clean/buff them again. Seems to work fine.

My question is - would a machine clean the balls better than I do by hand? As we all know clean, polished balls will find the pockets a little better than dirty balls.

r/DCP
Click to expand...
How is it that you've been on this site so long and never seen (or looked for) discussions about this?

Of course a machine does it better.

Following predicted questions are:
Which cleaner is best?
Which solution is best?
Is a diy drill machine a better value than a premade one?

All those have been discussed and addressed here and no matter how hard we try to serve you, we could never reproduce the amount of info that already exists on the matter
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
... My question is - would a machine clean the balls better than I do by hand? ...
Click to expand...
Not better.

I have seen old machines that did bad things to the balls. The pads hadn't been cleaned or something was broken or... And whatever cleaner or polish is added to the machine can build up over time.

As for the bother of cleaning by hand, you can do it while watching videos so it is not wasting time. For me, it's sort of a Zen thing. For the same reason, I like to replace my tips myself.
 
Zerksies said:
I have arthritus so cleaning balls by hand is out of the question for me. I use to do them by hand once in a while when i worked at a pool hall.

I am using this myself

seyberts.com

Whizza Ball Cleaner Kit

Revolutionize your billiard experience with the WHIZZA, the premier choice for effortless and professional ball cleaning at an unbeatable price. This cutting-edge device transforms your cleaning routine with its sleek and powerful design. Utilizing a cordless drill, the WHIZZA swiftly restores...
seyberts.com seyberts.com
Click to expand...
How many balls does it hold?
 
Probably not but that assumes you are doing a very good job manually cleaning the balls, not just buffing the balls.
It takes a lot of hard work to clean the balls with frictional rotation in your hands applying pressure tightly as you rub,
rotate and remove the dry wax from the pool balls. It takes awhile to properly clean and polish the pool balls by hand.

Then I purchased the original version BallStar cleaner on eBay and have never regretted it for an instant. It cleans better
than I did manually cleaning the balls and it was so easy and fast. I could clean my pool balls 2-3 times consecutively reapplying Aramith in between cleanings faster than I could clean half my Centennials by hand. Anyone that tells you
they can do a better job manually maybe right. But doing it correctly takes lots of time & effort whereas a BallStar won’t.

If you get a pool ball cleaner, be careful what you buy. I got my BallStar in the early 90’s and it is still working flawlessly.
 
If you do get a machine, Amazon has a couple choices for about $140 range shipped, that do all 16 balls at once. I bought one, but have not take it out of the box yet.
 
I only have to clean three instead of 15, but I use the exact same method you use with Aramith cleaner and two different hand towels.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
I do not have a ball cleaning machine. I had my balls cleaned once at a billiards store that used a machine and I didn't think it was done very good.
Click to expand...
No idea what they were doing or dirty machine is the only explanation
DrCue'sProtege said:
So when I clean my balls I use some Aramith Ball Cleaner and put a light coat on the balls. Then after I get all the balls coated I take a dry towel and wipe them off. Then I take a different dry towel and hand clean/buff them again. Seems to work fine.
Click to expand...
Keep repeating if you like the result.
DrCue'sProtege said:
My question is - would a machine clean the balls better than I do by hand? As we all know clean, polished balls will find the pockets a little better than dirty balls.

r/DCP
Click to expand...
Once a quality machine/proper technique is used you will never clean by hand again. Never.
 
nataddrho said:
I only have to clean three instead of 15, but I use the exact same method you use with Aramith cleaner and two different hand towels.
Click to expand...
Like the billiard balls in the upper left corner of the below photo.
 

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I betcha the cleaning pads in the machine that the OP had his pool balls cleaned were dirty, caked on old wax from use
and if the machine had been cleaned, the results would be totally different. But remember there are also cheaply made
cleaners that just don’t perform like the really well constructed, extensively used and tested brand pool ball cleaners.
 
I clean by hand and use 3 microfiber cloths. I put a dab on the ball then work it around by hand. I then use the 1st cloth,then 2nd and finally the 3rd. It doesn't take long and the result is clean balls. The poolhall I was at last Friday cleans with a machine and they use some shit cleaner that definately has some silicone in it. Friggin balls were slippery as hell and with worn out cloth it was like a skating rink.
 
Try this after initial hand polish with Aramith ball cleaner. Gives a high gloss finish. Also can tape down the ON button and buff out cue butts and shafts after applying high end wax. Works great!shoe buffer.jpg
 
A good machine will do a better job faster and with a whole lot less effort than hand cleaning. I used to hand clean with Aramith - rub on a small dab with a slightly moistened cloth, let it dry and then buff, buff and buff with a micro fiber cloth. In about an hour and with some pretty tired hands I'd get a nicely polished though somewhat slippery set of balls. With my machine (Clean Gleem) I'd get a better result in five or so minutes with hardly any effort - my ball get cleaned much more frequently, less slippery, like new clean and they play consistently every time I'm at my table.

Here's what I know of the available machines (prices may vary)...

Clean Gleem - 8 and 16 ball capacitiy, $399 & $549, unique roller design, solid built to last construction, attractive natural wood finish, made in the USA.

Diamond - 8 and 16 ball capacity, $650 & $850, spinning 'offset' platter design, very heavy solid construction, black wood finish, made in the USA.

Ball Star - 8 ball capacity, $550, spinning platter design, plastic 'crock pot', white, made in Korea(?).

Bludworth - 16 ball capacity, $739, spinning platter design, plastic 'crock pot', black, made in the USA(?).

Generic Chinese - 16 ball capacity, about $150 and up (can you say 'slave labor'?), spinning platter design, mostly white, plastic 'crock pot', made in China. Lots of these machines under various 'brands' have recently appeared on the market (AliBaba, Amazon, Tenu and those sort of places). Caution - your balls may feel like you don't love them.

DIY Bucket Cleaners - many examples on YouTube, revolving platter design (Harbor Fright car buffers and a Home Depot bucket are commonly used), some say they work well plus you did it yourself!

Keep in mind the shipping costs when shopping, some of these big, heavy machines can get quite pricey.

Aramith is the leading cleaner, made and recommended by the company that makes most of the quality ball sets. Said to contain minimal wax. Other cleaners, such as automotive polishes, generally contain mainly wax and silicon - you get a short lived, slippery high polish, not the best for consistent, normally playing balls or for the cloth on your table. Clean Gleem was the first to recommend a 1 tablespoon mixture Aramith shaken up with 1 cup alcohol in a spray bottle. Mist the mixture over your balls in a running machine for a very easy, economical cleaning leaving a like new gleam and consistent, normally playing balls.
 
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Ballstar is the best in my opinion.
Used properly it's very hard to use too much cleaner/polish. No spraying, no mess.
There's only ONE pad to clean/replace, and it's very quick (less than one minute) and cheap to do.
It tumbles the balls better than any of the other cleaners of this style.
It's also faster than most.
 
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