Getting That Deep Shine By Hand

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DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is it possible to get that really deep shine, almost like they are new out of the box, on Aramith balls by cleaning them with your hands? I have the Super Pros and Centennials along with a couple of TV balls and seems like I cant really get them shining like they do when they are brand new.

I have the Aramith Polish and the Aramith Restorer that I use. And yes, I know cleaning balls has been talked about before on this Forum but I didn't see anything with regards to hand polishing.

r/DCP
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
Is it possible to get that really deep shine, almost like they are new out of the box, on Aramith balls by cleaning them with your hands? I have the Super Pros and Centennials along with a couple of TV balls and seems like I cant really get them shining like they do when they are brand new.

I have the Aramith Polish and the Aramith Restorer that I use. And yes, I know cleaning balls has been talked about before on this Forum but I didn't see anything with regards to hand polishing.

r/DCP
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No. It takes hours of machine curing and polishing to achieve that look.
 
"Getting That Deep Shine By Hand "

You know, every time I think we have run out of new sexual inuendos when it comes to pool games, the "shafts", the "balls", the "holes", along comes a new one :thumbup:
 
hang-the-9 said:
"Getting That Deep Shine By Hand "

You know, every time I think we have run out of new sexual inuendos when it comes to pool games, the "shafts", the "balls", the "holes", along comes a new one :thumbup:
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A hand job is never as good as the real thing.
 
I can get pretty darn close. The key IMO is to spend more time. The Restorer has more abrasives than the cleaner but it breaks down fairly quickly, like 40-60 seconds of vigorous rubbing. My technique is dump more than just a couple drops on the ball. Put a nice little puddle on a micro fiber cloth then rub the ball till its slick enough to slide in your other hand. Hold the ball in one direction then let it turn as you come back. Move fairly fast and for about minute or better yet longer, while constantly turning the ball over to a new area. By the time you're done you should not feel much abrasives left. I then wash this off in water, dry and go with the cleaner, repeating the above.

This I feel is the main problem. Not spending enough time. The action of abrasives is that the slower the movement the courser the effective action. The beauty of the Restorer is the abrasive breaks down so the effect is, if used long enough, it sort of automatically, changes to finer and finer grit size. If you don't use it long enough for the fracture to occur then you've only used a course grit so to speak. This is why you can still see micro scratches on inspection. The Cleaner's abrasive (if it even exists) is much finer yet.

At this point I have something close but I'll admit, I take the 3rd step and drop them into a machine for the final touch.

I don't enjoy the process but its the only way I've found. 2-3 minutes for each ball. I pity you guys that have to clean 16 of them. I only need to clean 3 so much easier.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
Yours was fine. Two others were just trying to be funny.
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Get stronger, man! A sense of humor will help you in many ways. Is the inevitable innuendo of the matter not even slightly humorous to you?

You are a grown man, surely you didn't kick a career's ass by getting stuck on life's speed bumps? Smile, or we will come over there an tickle you.

I used to do mine by hand, bought a diamond polisher and is has been worth every penny. A buddy of mine has the ballstar, works great too...plus there are many homemade units for purchase, or pals for diy, should you find yourself so inclined.

Get a machine, you won't regret it.
 
I imagine you can do it by hand but it will take a LOT of elbow grease. In my recent "experiment" with Aramith Restorer I ran them for 4-6 minutes in my homemade ball polisher (your typical HomeDepot bucket with autopolisher). It did a great job on some truely miserable balls, but they certainly didn't look like new.

Doing them by hand probably would have taken 20-30 minutes per ball. I'm too old for that. In any case, trying to get a "showroom finish" on a two-year old car isn't going to happen. Yes, it will look better; but it won't look new.
 
Make friends with a pool room owner and bring yours over for a cleaning. I actually will do that now that I think of it, I'm 90% sure the place I play in all the time has a cleaner.


What guy could resist cleaning another guy's balls after all?

:embarrassed2: at least I made it smaller this time....
 
Cuebuddy said:
Black-Balled and Nine ... corner are almost never funny and the one time they flash their weak sense of humor you jump all over them....your going to scare them off.
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You are truth .i am gonna give it another 26778 post to decide though.

I actually kinda like dcp, just like the rest of you bozos: I hate you all equally.
 
Try This Approach

I have a Ballstar Automatic Cleaner.
I use Aramith polish & initially clean my Centennial set with the Ballstar & then do a 2nd manual polishing by hand.
After being polished the first time, doing it by hand becomes really easy to do since the pool balls are already clean.

Then I apply Diamond Blue Mist Final Wipe; .I apply it using a spray bottle and dry wipe the pool balls using a soft towel.
Wow! The pool balls develop a shine that makes them look brand new again.......and the lustre lasts for quite awhile too.

Matt B.
 
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they always look better after a machine cleaning than when i do it by hand. that's been my experience
 
Post

Hold tight, your balls can shine and hold that factory polish soon.
No one can achieve a factory polish but the factory...I'll put up any polisher against a new set of factory phenolic balls.. And I bet the factory set holds the polish and shine longer than a set fresh out of a polisher-using no wax or silicone solution/compound.. The factory/ that I know of/ uses NO silicone and wax during the polish of balls and it takes a lot to dull a factory fresh ball.

Verything in the pool/ billiard world had moved along quickly to better the game.... Everything but to properly maintain the balls.... I don't know who started the bucket ball polisher thingy that everyone seams to try to make their own version of....? Those bucket polishers are way off track.....

Hold tight and you'll get a shine and hold it 10x longer than ever before.




Rob.M
 
I get tired of all the fu@king comedians on here.
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I don't blame ya. Bunch of Wankers that they are.

I like that new Hand Polishing compound. It's like, Whacks On, Whacks Off.

They call it Fap.

Just Google, Fap.com.

But almost seriously, I use a cheaper compound. Takes scuffs out as well as polishes. I use it on finishes, spot repairs and as a final on Poly finishes.
Scratch Dr. or something like that. It works ok but when I start spraying, I will also upgrade the product my final preps and finishes. It works on plastic or acrylic head light lenses. That type of thing.

Many Cue makers, whether they use an Auto finish or some other product, will use a Macguires car product as a final.

They also have a series of finishes that one would use one after the other. I doubt that you would need to go that far.

You could also ask in the Cue Maker Forum. Gotta think of it this way. An auto finish, epoxy, poly etc, no matter how hard they might be, can be scratched and dented. Balls get smacked into each other for years on end. The Poly that I use is mainly for Hard wood Flooring. I figured, if it can hold up to heavy foot traffic, it must be ok. So yes, Water Poly can get hard.

So obviously you would want to use an Automotive type finish polish and wax as a final. Might be a bit expensive but hey, Your Balls Are Worth It.

Spend tons of money on cues and maintenance, may as well look after your ball set in the same fashion.

The only other tip I could give you is, don't use Skamui Chalk on your balls.
 
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