What Can I use To Clean

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
I don't have a ball polisher. What can be used to clean them? Any kind of cleaner that one might have around the house or is there something at the billiard supply that's just marked up 500%? Thank you. Johnnyt
 
use the Mr Clean eraser with windex, then dry them and polish them with a good car wax like carnuba. Buff till they shine. I use old white socks. You can put your hand in them like a glove and rub them up. It works real good. Also some people just use armoral.
 
A microfibre cloth.
Spit for the tougher marks.
Dawn dishwashing liquid if you want to blow the budget:D - the stuff works great for cleaning greasy bicycle parts so pool balls are no problem.
 
Polishing Compound

I've used a fine car polishing compound on a towel for very dirty balls with good success.
 
I use nothing but denatured alcohol and a rag. It removes the "black marks" left on the balls from the pockets great. It works great on cue shafts too.
 
A product designed specifically for cleaning phenolic balls is Aramith Billiard Ball Cleaner, developed by the same people who make Aramith and Centennial balls (the Saluc company in Belgium). It costs approximately $10 for a bottle of about 8 ounces.

To use the product, just put some on a cotton cloth or a microfiber cloth, rub it on the balls, let it dry a bit, then wipe off the haze with a clean, dry cloth. The balls come out looking great. An entire set can be done in just a few minutes, and it makes a ball-polishing machine for home usage completely unnecessary.

Under the WPA equipment rules, it is actually illegal to use a wax or a "polishing or rubbing compound" on the balls. Here is the language: "Balls should be unpolished, and should also not be waxed. Balls should be cleaned with a towel or cloth free of dirt and dust, and may also be washed with soap and water. Balls contaminated with any slippery substance - treated with a polishing or rubbing compound and/or waxed - must be cleansed and dewaxed with a clean cloth moistened with diluted alcohol before play." It is my understanding that the Aramith Billiard Ball Cleaner contains no wax, but I wonder whether it passes muster regarding the other terms in the rule. It would be strange if it didn't!
 
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Isopropyl alcohol works just fine. Q Slick also works, but so would sticking em in your dishwasher and then using ordinary car wax.

On a side note for you bowlers alcohol also works great to clean your ball. What you do is set your oven to 200 degrees F and then set the ball in there on a pie pan with a bowled out piece of aluminum foil (so it doesn't roll around) for 10 minutes. When you pull it out the oil from the lanes will be oozing out. Spray alcohol on a towel and wipe it down and then set it back in the oven for another 10. Keep repeating till you get all the oil out. If you have a sanded ball you will be amazed at the amount of oil that will ooze out of it.
 
Do Not Stick Your Balls In The Dishwasher

I've seen balls that have been run through the dishwasher with an enzyme detergent. The colors all faded and washed out. If you feel the need to use a dishwasher make sure you're not using an enzyme detergent.
 
Ditto - No Dishwasher

Tiddler said:
I've seen balls that have been run through the dishwasher with an enzyme detergent. The colors all faded and washed out. If you feel the need to use a dishwasher make sure you're not using an enzyme detergent.

Happened to me. Ruined a set of Centennials. Enzymes, schmenzymes. If I were you I wouldn't take the chance. Easy enough to clean them with the stuff from Aramith that AtLarge discussed - does a great job. A bottle of that stuff will last a long time - you only use a drop or two on each ball.
 
Yep, back in college I would washing them in the kitchen sink with regular dishwashing detergent. Put them on the rack to air dry, then spray some armorall, and polish them up with a pair of socks (terry side out).

poolpop63 said:
use the Mr Clean eraser with windex, then dry them and polish them with a good car wax like carnuba. Buff till they shine. I use old white socks. You can put your hand in them like a glove and rub them up. It works real good. Also some people just use armoral.
 
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