Cue ball and chalk smudges

[metallicane]

When I play in a pool room, I notice most cue balls are very clean and white and even during play I do not notice chalk smudges on the balls. Watching the various Accu-stats matches there does not seem to be a great deal of chalk transfer to the cuee ball either. Every now and then the match will stop and the cue ball will be cleaned, but it doea not seem like a regular occurance.

Now at my home table, my cue ball gets chalk smudges ALL of the time. I clean the balls every few days, but the cue always has chalk on it and I get a lot of skidding. What am I doing wrong or what do people clean the balls with to prevent the chalk smudges? I use a Ball Star cleaner.

 

[mm4pool]

what brand of chalk do you use at home? could this be a part of the problem?

Mike

 

[center pocket]

OP, I have the exact same problem at home. I clean the balls everyday with Aramith Ball Cleaner and my homade polisher. It works very good for all the balls, except for those smudges on the cue ball. I heard someone say wash the balls in the dishwasher, but I am holding back on that because I don't know what the heat will do to the balls.

Somebody help us!

 

[bigfred]

I had the same problem. I cut down on the amount of chalk I used and problem solved. I also "Pick" my tip so the chalk adheres better. Good luck.

 

[Sarnia Shorty]

OP, I have the exact same problem at home. I clean the balls everyday with Aramith Ball Cleaner and my homade polisher. It works very good for all the balls, except for those smudges on the cue ball. I heard someone say wash the balls in the dishwasher, but I am holding back on that because I don't know what the heat will do to the balls.

Somebody help us!

I have cleaned my pool balls in the dishwasher and haven't found any ill effects yet. The old pool room in my town always used the dishwasher to clean the balls which is why I started.

Along the same lines here does anyone know a good product to clean the felt with. I constantly brush the table but now that I have had it for a while with the same felt more of the marks from breaking/jumping are starting to stay on the table. Any ideas?

 

[greyghost]

I have cleaned my pool balls in the dishwasher and haven't found any ill effects yet. The old pool room in my town always used the dishwasher to clean the balls which is why I started.

Along the same lines here does anyone know a good product to clean the felt with. I constantly brush the table but now that I have had it for a while with the same felt more of the marks from breaking/jumping are starting to stay on the table. Any ideas?

washing the balls in heated water will not affect them in anyway especially if your talking about the aramith and centennial phenolic balls.

The marks on the table can't be cleaned off they are burn marks. The best way I ever found to keep a table clean is to vacuum it and wipe it down with a slightly damp cloth (micro fiber works great). Make sure you don't use a vacuum with a spinning brush, only suction power. It will help to keep all that chalk that settles below the cloth at bay.

 

[Rob_jerrylee]

Along the same lines here does anyone know a good product to clean the felt with. I constantly brush the table but now that I have had it for a while with the same felt more of the marks from breaking/jumping are starting to stay on the table. Any ideas?

Your not going to be able to get the marks off of the cloth , there ball burns and they don't come off no matter how much you clean the Cloth .

Every Table I've ever played on has them and that's just the rub of the green . The Jump shots will create more marks .

 

[SKILLZELITE]

Ive read its not good to clean your balls excessively, being that squirt is more maginfied with slick balls....

I tend to clean my balls once a month , outside of that,
its the "from under cheese" which helps them to keep there grip :grin-square:

On a serious note: I have the same problem when I use silver cup black or dark blue, with master standard blue I dont see the smudges as often, I believe this to be because of master chalk being less grippy chalk then silver cup black and dark blue...

 

[Sarnia Shorty]

I just read another article about the "burn marks". I guess I'll have to live with them until I can get new cloth. Also for the ones that are going to try washing the balls in the dishwasher, mine has a setting for temperature, if you are worried abouyt the heat check to see if you can use cold water before you start.

As for vaccuuming can I get some more opinions on this. After talking about it with a handful of pool players it seems to be split 50/50 on yes or no.

 

[greyghost]

Put it to you this way The Tulsa Billiards palace did that every night and was open 24/7 365 and it was one of the best pool halls in the country...the tables were always clean, and it would take forever to build up the color on your hand. It will not hurt your table, but like I said suction only not a spinning brush. Not to mention you won't have a butt load of chalk dust flying up when you go to recover.

 

[APA Gene]

Some cue balls hold the chalk marks more than others. I had a set of Centennials on my home table. They come with a blue circle cue ball. That ball would get so nasty I just couldn't bear to play with it! The marks were very stubborn. You needed a rag and some serious elbow grease to clean it. On the other hand I had an orange circle (red dot) cue ball that I used and it hardly ever got marks on it that couldn't be easily wiped off. Go figure. Love the Centennials but hate that blue dot!

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

As for vaccuuming can I get some more opinions on this. After talking about it with a handful of pool players it seems to be split 50/50 on yes or no.

Here's the opinion of Simonis:

The cloth can be brushed, but to remove the chalk and talc powders, it can be cleaned with the new Simonis X-1 or it can be carefully vacuumed with a non-rotating brush-head attachment that does not allow for too much suction to be formed. Some small vacuums can pick up bowling balls, but this will only stretch the cloth on the table and possibly harm the grouting of the slates as well. You should test your vacuum and brush attachment off of the table first to make certain that it is not going to damage the play surface. Less is more in this department. After all, you are trying to remove a fine powder from a smooth cloth, so don't overdo it. The Simonis X-1, is a new device that will allow you to keep your cloth in great playing condition and extent the cloth's life.

The cloth can also be wiped with a damp (not wet) clean towel. This should only be done after the table has been vacuumed otherwise the dampness may cause the chalk dust to clump together (think of it as adding water to dry clay). Once the dampness has evaporated, a quick brushing is all you will need before playing as moisture will cause the fibers in the cloth to stand up and a quick brushing will smooth things out.

Link: http://www.simoniscloth.com/Simonis_cloth_care.htm

 

[metallicane]

I primarily use Blue Diamond, but have Silver Cup and Masters as well.

And I highly recommend the X-1.

 

[TheBook]

I have a Brunswick Heritage table. Bought it in 1975. Still has the original cloth that came with it. I use a vacuum with a power rotating head on it to suck up the chalk and brush the nap. Also use a shop vac with a tight suction brush to suck up the chalk. The cloth still looks good and plays fast. If you just use a brush the cloth will eventually get saturated with chalk and make the table slow down as if the balls are rolling in sand and your hand gets filthy. Another is don't chalk over the table as some players do.

There are burn marks and they don't go away but the vacuum helps a little. I have heard that using a vac will stretch the cloth but I haven't had that problem.

For cleaning balls. I had the bright idea of cleaning the Cents that came with the table in soapy warm/hot water. The soap had a purple color in it and it stained the balls by soaking into the pores. I don't know if it was the heat or the water but the rings and numbers popped. I would advise trying any thing on one ball first before ruining the whole set.

 

[Secaucus Fats]

Cleaning pool balls in the dishwasher is a bad idea. The colors will fade and the balls turn yellowish from the bleach and strong detergents used in dishwashing detergent compounds. If they are exceptionally dirty your best bet is to hand wash them in lukewarm water using a mild hand washing liquid dish cleaner ( Palmolive, Dawn, etc..) and a washcloth. Rinse the balls well and dry immediately then proceed to polishing.

 

[Ponytail]

Along the same lines here does anyone know a good product to clean the felt with. I constantly brush the table but now that I have had it for a while with the same felt more of the marks from breaking/jumping are starting to stay on the table. Any ideas?

You may want to use a break cloth when you're at home. Will make things last a lot longer.

Just a suggestion.

For those that don't know.. a break cloth is a small piece of felt/cloth that you can put under the cueball when you break. Ask your local pool room for a few scraps after they re-felt a table, and you'll be all set.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

You may want to use a break cloth when you're at home. Will make things last a lot longer.

Just a suggestion.

For those that don't know.. a break cloth is a small piece of felt/cloth that you can put under the cueball when you break. Ask your local pool room for a few scraps after they re-felt a table, and you'll be all set.

Good suggestion. And while we are on the subject if you really want to get into prolonging the cloth, you can also use a rack cloth. This is a piece of cloth that is usually glued to the back of the rack and rests under the inside of the rack when filling it with balls. As you slide the rack into position the cloth slides out from under the balls. It prevents the wear from sliding the balls from the foot rail to the spot.

I accomplish it a different way. When I rack the balls I put the rack into position on the spot first. This way I'm not sliding it from the foot rail every time I rack. I can't say I do that when I'm in a pool hall but I sure do at home.

BTW, regarding burn marks, I notice I get them all over the table from hard draw strokes. The hard hit combined with the reverse spin applied at impact creates friction (heat) which causes the mark. No biggie, not like when they are all bunched up at certain points along the head string from breaking. Just part of the price of admission. :wink:

 

[Secaucus Fats]

Along the same lines here does anyone know a good product to clean the felt with. I constantly brush the table but now that I have had it for a while with the same felt more of the marks from breaking/jumping are starting to stay on the table. Any ideas?

Blue Coral Dri-Clean Upholstery Cleaner and a microfiber cloth work really well.
And at around $4.00 for a 22 oz spray can it's a hell of deal! As far as the white marks..those are friction burns and there is nothing that will take them out.

I'm kind of obsessive-compulsive when it comes to cleaning a pool table. I use a rat tail brush to clean under the rails first, then a vacuum cleaner without the rotating brushes. Once that's done I spray a light mist of the Blue Coral and wipe the cloth down from head to foot. The cloth comes out looking clean as a whistle and ready for play.