Any idea what’s causing these little one 16th inch marks on my balls. Could there be something in the table? It’s a blue label diamond about six years old. How about the diamond ball cleaner? The marks look like little comets with a tail on one end.
Marks on balls
- Thread starter eightandout
- Start date
Could be smudges from pocket liners. What cleaner solution do you use?
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Does running them through the cleaner remove them?
BTW, Happy Late Birthday!!. I snoozed sending you your old man props!!
If the table has a ball return, I would guess it could be related to that. It would not be the diamond ball cleaner. The pads they are currently using in the diamond ball cleaner are not my first choice and need to be changed out, but that’s only because they don’t leave as high luster of a finish on them as other padding materials do. Microfiber mop pads are my pad of choice.
You using the Shag type or Short/Normal Pile Pads?
Mr Machine
Well-known member
I hope the OP doesn’t mind me piggybacking on his thread 
I’m getting little round marks on my 2 year old centennials.
The cleaning machine gets them to the point where I have to hunt for them but can just feel them with a finger nail.
I checked the screws on the drop pockets and scrubbed them with a sponge & soap water.
Each mark is round…. Cue Ball on ball contact?
FWIW, a cue tip has never touched any object ball.
I’m getting little round marks on my 2 year old centennials.
The cleaning machine gets them to the point where I have to hunt for them but can just feel them with a finger nail.
I checked the screws on the drop pockets and scrubbed them with a sponge & soap water.
Each mark is round…. Cue Ball on ball contact?
FWIW, a cue tip has never touched any object ball.
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I seriously doubt it is the Diamond cleaner. There really is nothing that would make that. Do those marks feel like a scratch? Or is the ball smooth and just a white mark on the surface? I would say if it feels like a mini scratch, it's your table, if you can't feel any surface imperfection there and it just is a white mark, it's your cleaner solution, or you are using too much solution and have some sort of a buildup. If it's not a scratch, it should rub off with some elbow grease and a micro fiber towel, If the white mark remains, it's a scratch.
That round spot looks to have chalk in it when you blow up the picture. Also in the glare on the ball, it looks to have a wax buildup or some sort of buildup. Looks to have a look of an orange peel paint job when you enlarge it. The finish is far from smooth, almost like some old set of bar balls that have been overly cleaned to try and make them look nice. What happens then is there actually is a build up on the balls from cleaning and when they are played they will soon have all these little round collision spots on them.I hope the OP doesn’t mind me piggybacking on his thread
I’m getting little round marks on my 2 year old centennials.
The cleaning machine gets them to the point where I have to hunt for them but can just feel them with a finger nail.
I checked the screws on the drop pockets and scrubbed them with a sponge & soap water.
Each mark is round…. Cue Ball on ball contact?
FWIW, a cue tip has never touched any object ball.
I no longer will try and help friends, and bars where I go to clean up their balls if they are too far gone. I could be wrong, but I think what actually is going on when inexpensive balls get too bad is that the outer hard layer is basically worn off, and while you can run them through your cleaner 5 or 10 times or so and they will look nice, but only for a brief playing period.
Mr Machine
Well-known member
Thanks. They are 2 1/2 year old centennials.
I shoot between 10 & 20 racks of straight pool almost everyday.
The balls get wiped down with a microfiber towel after each session and get cleaned ever other week or so with Aramith ball cleaner. By hand until last June.
Is that normal wear?
What to do next?
ETA: it is chalk on the spot. The photo may be misleading so I’ll attach another. To the touch they are wonderfully smooth. I’ve played with old sorry sets and these aren’t like that at all.
Not calling you out but trying to be clear and understand.
Second photo
I shoot between 10 & 20 racks of straight pool almost everyday.
The balls get wiped down with a microfiber towel after each session and get cleaned ever other week or so with Aramith ball cleaner. By hand until last June.
Is that normal wear?
What to do next?
ETA: it is chalk on the spot. The photo may be misleading so I’ll attach another. To the touch they are wonderfully smooth. I’ve played with old sorry sets and these aren’t like that at all.
Not calling you out but trying to be clear and understand.
Second photo
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Not 100% sure that is what's going on here, but something I come across often.
Many people mistake a ball polishing machine for a ball cleaning machine. If you regularly put your balls in the polisher dirty and then just add a bunch of polishing liquid the results will be disappointing and your carpets/inserts will get very dirty very fast and will need to be replaced or cleaned.
The balls should go in fairly clean and with a minimal amount of polishing liquid, like 2 drops for the entire set of balls.
Many people mistake a ball polishing machine for a ball cleaning machine. If you regularly put your balls in the polisher dirty and then just add a bunch of polishing liquid the results will be disappointing and your carpets/inserts will get very dirty very fast and will need to be replaced or cleaned.
The balls should go in fairly clean and with a minimal amount of polishing liquid, like 2 drops for the entire set of balls.
I use a home made version of the Diamond polisher and use the Aramith liquid diluted apx 15-20% with alcohol. Wife and I probably average about 40 minutes a day between us of play on our Diamond Professional and clean the balls about every two weeks. I mainly use the Aramith Premium balls for practice, but also use a set of Aramith tournaments when company comes to play.
I know the Aramith cleaner straight, not diluted, did not work for me. Almost left a somewhat tacky feel to the balls. That's when I diluted it a bit and haven't had any issues since.
Like Double Dave, I only put about two drops total on, and sometimes just take my finger and spread that to the other balls. Others like Rexus, have had success with really, really diluting the Aramith cleaner also, what ever works I guess is all that counts, but I do know for me that full strength didn't work.
I could be wrong, but the balls in your second picture don't look good or smooth. They look to be well used, almost like glossed up old bar balls or there is a build up on them. My Arimith Premiums and Tournaments look like the day I bought them, and for the Premiums that has been almost 5 years ago.
A friend of ours had a set of Centennials that were at least 15 years old, and played with 40 min to an hr a day and they almost looked better than new. She used a Ballstar cleaner after every days play. They finally bit the dust when something went wrong with her Ballstar and it chewed up the balls.
We are at our summer house now, but I will take a close up picture of our pool balls to see how it compares to yours as something just doesn't look right. Won't be till tomorrow sometime.
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First pick definitely looks like gouges, but I see you later you find the march to be removable?
If it is some sort of residue, it has to be that your polisher is gunked up.
The diamond pads are just velcroed in and can be taken out and washed.
Maybe just two drops of polisher on the spinning 8 balls, every three cleanings?
I've not tried diluting poliser with alcohol.
If it is some sort of residue, it has to be that your polisher is gunked up.
The diamond pads are just velcroed in and can be taken out and washed.
Maybe just two drops of polisher on the spinning 8 balls, every three cleanings?
I've not tried diluting poliser with alcohol.
What machine are you using?
Mr Machine
Well-known member
Bulletproof billiards machine.
I guess I should add that the photos above are after a weeks play and not straight out of the machine. If that makes a difference.
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Could be polish marks from friction. I think those spin at a very high RPM causing more friction and heat. When was the last time you cleaned the pads on the machine?