Maintain Your Bowling Ball Surface

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 4/2/2014; Updated: 11/23/2022​

You spend good money to purchase new bowling balls so it makes sense to maintain your bowling ball surface. Keeping the surface of your bowling ball clean and wiping away unneeded lane conditioner from the coverstock helps you gain a consistent ball reaction.

You can find cleaning agents available for purchase in your local pro shop. These cleaning agents come in small squeeze bottles and are ready to use after you finish bowling by using a hand towel and applying pressure on the ball surface when using liquid ball cleaners will remove unwanted dirt and oil from the ball.

Just rub until you see the dirt, lane oil, or markings disappear. Keeping your ball surface cleans you control the skid and overall motion of your new ball. Liquid ball cleaners are banned for use during USBC league competition; only a dry towel (shammy) may be used to wipe your ball after each shot.

Clean your ball between competitions as often as you wish. After bowling about 30 games, it is best to bring your ball back to the pro shop for routine surface maintenance. The pro shop professional will use a high speed ball spinner and select grit pads to screen and texture the ball surface to restore its reaction capabilities. Screen and re-texturing your ball surface removes the lane oil from the pores of the coverstock.

Your bowling ball can be screened on the high-speed spinner to add any desired surface texture so you can easily control your ball motion. After 60 to 80 games of use, your bowling ball should be resurfaced to clear any blemishes, scratches, or nicks on the surface developed from normal use.

Your pro shop has the capability of resurfacing your ball and restoring a like-new finish to the coverstock. Using routine maintenance and cleaning your ball between sessions on the lanes serves to protect the surface of your equipment and prolong the life of your bowling balls.