Restoring Powerball Parts

[petemayhew]

Hi,

I would just like to collate the knowledge of this forum in how to restore certain powerball parts/ball if they have gone faulty.

I know rotor cracks are irreversible but other things like casing and support bands can be restored to work as new. E.g. If you had a little bump in the track of your casing and order a whole new Top+Bottom shells you could just restore the broken part and there's no need for a replacement.

So if you have a way to smoothen the inner tracks of the casing that would be helpful for me. Plus maybe the procedure to replace the batteries in the counter.

The thread is really here so if someone has something wrong with a part, instead of ordering a new one, they could 'quick fix' it and have their powerball working in seconds.

Thanks

Pete

[lhnova]

nice idea for a thread. Might be an idea to get this stickied if enough good info is collected.

Correct Rough or Slightly dented Shell Tracks.

If you find that the powerball has never sounded so unhealthy and produces loud grinding and scratching noises, and in general just reminds you more of a cement mixer than a gyroscope then this is good advice for you. This will also work for getting rid of slight dents in the tracks caused by dropping the ball or mistreating it with sharp shocks or reckless techniques.

You will need:

All you need is some fine grain sandpaper or emery cloth and something small and flat to press it onto the surface. I use an old popscicle stick but almost anything will work even a flathead screwdriver if you have nothing else at hand.

Process:

Just take some of the emery cloth/sand paper and fold it over a bit, then press it onto the surface of the tracks inside the shell (where the axels rest and slide over). Now with some gentle pressure you can start working your way around the entire track grinding down all of the vulcanized plastic bits and smoothing out any dents. Try to avoid overworking a single area because this may cause the track to become uneven, instead just keep working your way around and slowly even the tougher marks and dents will be removed. Then put the ball back together and you should notice a big improvement in both the smoothness and noise level of the ball.

Note!

Make sure there isn't any oil on the emery cloth you use and make sure to wash the ball halves thoroughly afterwards to make sure any traces of oil from fingers/tools are removed.

Although this won't solve all problems with the shells, and for the really deep ruts in the tracks a replacement is still neccesary, I have used this method many many times to give my balls a new level or smoothness as soon as they start feeling a little rough or get too noisy.

Try it out,

Linus

[Sayex]

nice idea for a thread. Might be an idea to get this stickied if enough good info is collected.

Correct Rough or Slightly dented Shell Tracks.

If you find that the powerball has never sounded so unhealthy and produces loud grinding and scratching noises, and in general just reminds you more of a cement mixer than a gyroscope then this is good advice for you. This will also work for getting rid of slight dents in the tracks caused by dropping the ball or mistreating it with sharp shocks or reckless techniques.

You will need:

All you need is some fine grain sandpaper or emery cloth and something small and flat to press it onto the surface. I use an old popscicle stick but almost anything will work even a flathead screwdriver if you have nothing else at hand.

Process:

Just take some of the emery cloth/sand paper and fold it over a bit, then press it onto the surface of the tracks inside the shell (where the axels rest and slide over). Now with some gentle pressure you can start working your way around the entire track grinding down all of the vulcanized plastic bits and smoothing out any dents. Try to avoid overworking a single area because this may cause the track to become uneven, instead just keep working your way around and slowly even the tougher marks and dents will be removed. Then put the ball back together and you should notice a big improvement in both the smoothness and noise level of the ball.

Note!

Make sure there isn't any oil on the emery cloth you use and make sure to wash the ball halves thoroughly afterwards to make sure any traces of oil from fingers/tools are removed.

Although this won't solve all problems with the shells, and for the really deep ruts in the tracks a replacement is still neccesary, I have used this method many many times to give my balls a new level or smoothness as soon as they start feeling a little rough or get too noisy.

Try it out,

Linus

MY GOD!!! how i didnt come up with that!
Thank you Linus.
i have a blue support band for my metal powerball that is brown right now...
Ill smooth it up right away!!

[lhnova]

MY GOD!!! how i didnt come up with that!
Thank you Linus.
i have a blue support band for my metal powerball that is brown right now...
Ill smooth it up right away!!

glad to help you out . I haven't tried this with the metal track rings so let us know how it goes with those.

Linus

[Killjoy]

Only thing I want to add, be VERY VERY carefull when sanding down even with the slightest stuff! ONLY touch the running tracks! catching the inner sphear will scratch it up badddd, and for a Neon ball, it just wastes it!

Good luck!

[lhnova]

Only thing I want to add, be VERY VERY carefull when sanding down even with the slightest stuff! ONLY touch the running tracks! catching the inner sphear will scratch it up badddd, and for a Neon ball, it just wastes it!

Good luck!

yeah good point, use a small square of sandpaper so there isn't any loose bit hanging down that could scratch up the shell.

Linus

[Sayex]

glad to help you out . I haven't tried this with the metal track rings so let us know how it goes with those.

Linus

i´ve just tryed it out the emery cloth thing. it worked ok. i use a VERY smooth emery cloth, so i guess i spend a pretty big time doing this.
Now my Metal powerbal is nice and smooth, its NOt like new, but it works ok.