Pearl vs. Non-Pearl

[DLP]

I've seen a few balls out with a coverstock (the IQ Tour and the DV8 Misfit come to mind) that is available in a pearl and a non-pearl finish.

Is it just for show or is there an actual difference in the pearl vs. non-pearl?

[bowl1820]

I've seen a few balls out with a coverstock (the IQ Tour and the DV8 Misfit come to mind) that is available in a pearl and a non-pearl finish.

Is it just for show or is there an actual difference in the pearl vs. non-pearl?

Yes, there is a difference. (Also "Pearl" is not a "finish". Finish would be things like polished, sanded etc. Pearl is referring to what the cover is made of.)

The 3 main coverstocks you see are Solids, Pearls and Hybrids.


Solid

A solid reactive ball has the tendancy to react the earliest out of the 3 categories of reactive coverstocks due to the greatest amount of microscopic reactive pores on the surface. Reactive solids come with all sorts of different finishes, including, polished, sanded, rubbing compound buffed.

Pearl

The difference between a solid reactive ball and a pearl reactive ball is the addition of mica to the coverstock chemical makeup. Mica's inclusion into the coverstock roughens out the microscopic pores to a certain degree, causing the reaction to the dry part of the bowling lane to be extended. Reactive pearl bowling balls are known for their ability to react very fast to friction. Mica flake also adds a little "sparkle" to the bowling ball's surface.

Hybrid

A hybrid reactive coverstock is a combination of solid reactive and pearl reactive coverstocks. Manufacturers recently have been creating these hybrid coverstock bowling balls to take advantage of the benefits of both pearl and solid coverstocks. Often these hybrid bowling balls offer the midlane reaction of a solid reactive and the backend reaction of a pearl reactive coverstock..

[billf]

There is a difference. With the Misfit the pearl is a little weaker than the solid. Same can be said with the IQ Tours. The Pearl skids easier through the heads, mainly due to the polish, retaining more energy for the backend. The IQ Tour has a matte finish and uses a higher grit to help clear the heads. The is finish usually produces more of an even, arcing type of hook.

[Jaescrub]

Good info guys. Is it just me or do the pearl balls work best when the person shooting with them has med/high revs

[Greenday]

There is a difference. With the Misfit the pearl is a little weaker than the solid. Same can be said with the IQ Tours. The Pearl skids easier through the heads, mainly due to the polish, retaining more energy for the backend. The IQ Tour has a matte finish and uses a higher grit to help clear the heads. The is finish usually produces more of an even, arcing type of hook.

If I'm not mistaken, the IQ Tour Pearl is 1500 grit and the IQ Tour is 4000 grit (OOB). Extremely similar motions, but the Pearl's coverstock just makes it slightly weaker through the midlane giving it some more length. I took my Pearl to 2000 because I wanted just a little bit more length and it reacts beautifully.

[JDHamm85]

This is some great info. I don't know as much about coverstocks as I would like to.

Does a higher grit mean the ball will get more length?

I've only polished my Aura Paranormal (in one of those ball polishers the house usually has.), and after a dull first game with it after being polished, I started throwing 200s a bit easier than I did with the OOB finish. I think I threw 9 out of 13 games in the 200s that day, with a couple 240s and 230s. The guy that conditions the lanes said it would make the ball hook less, which I suppose is somewhat true, but that was my intention. It was hooking a bit too strong in the midlane with the OOB finish, and I wanted more length. The ball is for heavy oiled lanes, but I'm using it on a THS, so I need it to skid and retain energy. If it doesn't skid, it'll find the midlane too fast, and I'll start punching through a lot of noses / go weak brooklyn.

[The German Shepherd]

Good info guys. Is it just me or do the pearl balls work best when the person shooting with them has med/high revs

Personally speaking, I find Pearls to work very well for me. I leave fewer 10 pins with them due to their ability to retain energy. I would not say that I am a "HIGH REV" player, though with my average of 368 RPM and my 16 MPH ball speed I would be considered slightly rev dominant...

Jay

[got_a_300]

Does a higher grit mean the ball will get more length?

In a word yes, a higher grit finish on the ball will help
the ball get more length and not read the lane to early
and help it save a little more energy for the back end.

It would be like you taking your Aura Paranormal and
running it through the ball polisher and as you noticed
you started to get more length out of it afterwords before
it started to hook and you got higher scores.

The OOB factory finish for your ball is 500,2000 Grit Siaair
pad so you could have gone up to a 4000 grit Siaair pad and
still got more length also but probably not quite as much length
as with the polish on there.

[JDHamm85]

Awesome, thanks for the answer Bill!