Renewing Lacrosse Balls

[Kenarylax19]

I don't know if this is anywhere else on here or not... but does anybody have suggestions on how to make the nasty slippery balls nice and grippy again?

[Lacrosse4life31]

ehh... I don't really think there is a "correct" solution. My best guess would maybe be like a mild sandpaper? There really isn't too much you can do... Hopefully one of the more "imaginative" people on here will chime in.

[ccslax6]

I just recently discovered that shaving cream kind of works. Make sure the water is steaming.

[twin58]

Earlier thread: old balls

Edited: here are some of the substances and techniques I have thought of trying.

The material of which lacrosse balls are made is probably not too dissimilar to the material used to make the white rings on white wall tires. There's a liquid called Wesley's Bleche White that is marketed to clean those white rings. I don't know if it's anything special, but if you have some lying around, why not give it a try?

I've thought about making up a paste of a scouring powder such as Comet and dishwashing liquid. I'd put that on a green scouring pad and start scrubbing the ball.

Old balls are slick due to oxidation and maybe some ultraviolet radiation thrown in as well. These are the things that make old car paint get dull, at least before the days of clearcoat finishes. You might want to take some rubbing compound, like DuPont, and apply it to a lacrosse ball as if you were restoring the finish on a car. Do not use this on automotive clearcoat finishes.

There are several grades of rubbing compound. Start with the least abrasive. This link discusses the differences between rubbing compound and polishing compound. My guess is that rubbing compound is what you want for old lacrosse balls.

Metal polish, like Brasso, is mildly abrasive. It might work. If I am not mistaken, metal polish has an isopropyl alcohol base, which should not hurt lacrosse balls.

Finally, toothpaste is mildly abrasive, with some brands being more abrasive than others. That might work a little, but it's probably not abrasive enough.

I've never tried any of these, but what have you got to lose?

Well, that takes care of my minimum daily requirement of original thought.

[CO lax kid]

I am also interested, It would appear someone took a dump in our ball bucket because all we have are "doo doo balls"

[5lax4life5]

again im interested too i have about 50 lax balls sitting around but most of them are old and slippery
any ideas anyone

[blairlax138]

one way that always works for me is to just sit with an eraser and erase at it

but i dont think many ppl wouldnt have the time to sit and erase their lax balls rofl

[Chas]

Put them in the dishwasher on pots and pans or scrub mode.

[Kenarylax19]

Originally Posted by Chas

Put them in the dishwasher on pots and pans or scrub mode.

i've tried that... it cleaned them, but they were still slippery. i also tried some paint remover a while ago and it ate away at the ball and made it all deformed. but it was grippy...

i'll do some experiments with all the other stuff you guys said.. it would be very useful to find something thats easy and that works. that'd be a good invention idea.

[MaKiMaKi13]

some fine grain sandpaper should do the trick like 220

[faceofflax15]

Originally Posted by twin58

Earlier thread: old balls

Edited: here are some of the substances and techniques I have thought of trying.

The material of which lacrosse balls are made is probably not too dissimilar to the material used to make the white rings on white wall tires. There's a liquid called Wesley's Bleche White that is marketed to clean those white rings. I don't know if it's anything special, but if you have some lying around, why not give it a try?

I've thought about making up a paste of a scouring powder such as Comet and dishwashing liquid. I'd put that on a green scouring pad and start scrubbing the ball.

Old balls are slick due to oxidation and maybe some ultraviolet radiation thrown in as well. These are the things that make old car paint get dull, at least before the days of clearcoat finishes. You might want to take some rubbing compound, like DuPont, and apply it to a lacrosse ball as if you were restoring the finish on a car. Do not use this on automotive clearcoat finishes.

There are several grades of rubbing compound. Start with the least abrasive. This link discusses the differences between rubbing compound and polishing compound. My guess is that rubbing compound is what you want for old lacrosse balls.

Metal polish, like Brasso, is mildly abrasive. It might work. If I am not mistaken, metal polish has an isopropyl alcohol base, which should not hurt lacrosse balls.

Finally, toothpaste is mildly abrasive, with some brands being more abrasive than others. That might work a little, but it's probably not abrasive enough.

I've never tried any of these, but what have you got to lose?

Well, that takes care of my minimum daily requirement of original thought.

Being that I work at a tire-shop, I'm going to have to give the white-wall solution a shot.. And then if it doesn't work, I'll give the counter-solution a shot as well.

Although I don't think it will work, simply because the white wall is nothing different from the rest of the tire, it is simply painted with a washable substance blue when we get it and then we simply wash it off with water... but we will see.

[FamousAmos]

i have about 70 balls lying around, all slippery now.
i would love to see a way to get them grippy again

[BSM24]

I tried the shaving cream idea, and it seemed to work pretty well. I soaked the ball in steaming hot water for a minute, then rubbed in shaving cream. Instead of washing the shaving cream off with water though, i just wiped it off with some toilet paper, and that really seemed to help a lot. Now, it won't be just like brand new or anything, but the shaving cream did make the ball grippier

[MACDADDY]

it seems that they arent exactly cost effective ways. it would be cheaper (for some of the methods) to go out and buy new balls.

[gfkeeper28]

You can rub them on the carpet. It's a lot of work though, it takes a while to get a decent ball.

[THE_1protector]

ah after reading this i went up to the tennis courts at my school with some oldies. and after playing with them, the court floor abrades them. and they are grippy. somewhat.

but wat you could do...
i have a rock tumbler from when i was little, it polishes rocks that you can buy. idk how to explain the rock thing but if youv had one you know wat im talking about.


anyways you could throw a ball in there with something that is abrasive, like sand or something. i would try it but mine is broken. you could make a bigger one out of a 5-gallon bucket and find a motor that would have enough torque to rotate it with 10 balls and some sort of abrasive inside, you would need to find a way to seal the open side. maybe it already has a top with it and it just needs to be watertight, that would do it. in theory.

also if you have a dad that has a concrete mixer, lol someone has to have one of those DIY dads, throw every ball you can find in it and again fill it with some water and some sort of abrasive. again that would work. again, all in theory.

[FamousAmos]

so, boiling water, and shaving cream works?
no it does not, all it did was make it more smoother and slippery

[jclax23]

i usually just rub them on concrete. works ok

[scorchmuffins14]

Definatly the best steps are:
1.Dishwasher
2.sand it with fine sand paper
3. scrub down with gritty toothpaste.
4. throw around with it
5. toothpast again.

I just did it and the ball almost feels like new

[mysterylax9]

2 year bump ftw

[CanadaLax33]

i just sand them down....it takes about a minute with an electric sander and theyre good as new

[Idle918]

I heard maverik balls don't wear down as fast, can anyone verify?

[joebr4lax]

regular sanding did not work well for me. my electric sander however worked fantastic. good as new. just make sure you don't stay in one spot too long and make the ball lopsided.

[corrrrrey]

have a dog chew them, work with mine haha. Soemtiems my dog chews big holes in them though :[, even though she's only a Yorkie.

[lax1721]

cool story hansel. ^^^

[spartacus9]

Belt sander or hand sander is the only way to get them new.

[GAlaxer16]

rub them acrosse a brick wall and the shine will go away and you will get grip

[ECTHUNDER#29]

I heard sanding it worked

[nswlax]

buy the mll lax balls they dont lose there grip

[benberry4488]

cheese grater. i used it and it made it a little more grippy than brand new balls. it's like the dimpled mll ball then. works GRRREEAT!!!!

[TSWRA]

leave them overnight covered in rubbing alcohol. this works like a charm.

[LukeD]

Originally Posted by CO lax kid

It would appear someone took a dump in our ball bucket

Did no one else notice this? EEW


Also, wallball against a brick or concrete wall works decently

[thelaxkid09]

using an electric sander works great. it only takes like 3 minutes Any other way is a wast of time. If you dont have one sandpaper is okay but not near as good.