Polished vs high polish
answer to my question, just found it on web search:
Answer
Bowling ball finishes help a bowler match up to lane conditions. Most surfaces can be adjusted to fine tune a balls reaction. I use 180, 360, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, Abralon® pads, 120, 180, 220, 320, 400, 500, 600, 1200 sanding disks and three Scotch Brite pad grits to achieve a surface matching a manufacturers (out of box) finish. Finishing compounds, polishes (for reactive resin or particle surfaces), and polishes with slip agents or various grits of abrasive to further smooth, or slicken the surface of a ball finishes the job.
The rougher surface (800 grit) will grab the lane quicker, so there had better be more oil or you better be throwing harder than average (usually). Matte finish could be a 500 Abralon® finish on a Storm Paradigm Passion or a very smooth 4000 Abralon® finished surface on Hammer’s 2006 Ball of the Year, the Black Widow. There are degrees of roughness and smoothness.
Polished and highly polished often reflect how smooth the surface under the polish is. Polished or highly polished might be necessary to overcome dry lanes or slower than average ball speed or both. Various elements of your delivery including your axis tilt, axis rotation, even rev rate allow surfaces to bite or slide on any given lane condition, atop the various lane surfaces in use these days.
So, unless we know a lot more specifically about a player, the lane condition, lane surface, and the elements of their game mentioned above, there are to many variables to list what might work best on what, because it would be different for almost everybody.
If you have a favorite ball, surface (both smoothness and finish - shiny or not) likely contributes heavily to your success. Take a cue from past success, unless you've recently increased or reduced your ball speed, or dramatically changed your rev rate.
Originally Posted by billf
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