The rough buff surface is very hard to match.

I would suggest taking the ball back to 500 siaair and then stepping it down to 4000 in sequence.  This should give you more of the reaction that you were looking for.  Pay close attention to the reaction you are getting after this noting which corner pins you are leaving a why in order to clue you in on whether the ball is hooking too early or late.  Ten pins laying in the channel will signal a flat ten while the six going around the bottom of the ten would signal a late reaction.  Given the ball choices you are currently using I would think that it is reacting early and has too much underlying surface grit.  I would also consider a rejuvenate as the ball may be oil soaked after a number of games.  I have owned and had experience working with a number of the Versamax balls.  I haven't had any problem getting them to react after doing proper maintenance and making surface adjustments.  Hope this helps!

If you'd like a smooth, matte finish, taking it up to 4000 grit using all the grades in between is a safe method (500, 1000, 2000, 4000).

If you'd like a polished finish, I'd suggest skipping the Rough Buff and then Polish sequence. It is complicated; they use machines at the factory and it's not easy to replicate.

May I suggest keeping it simple as possible?
Sand it first to maybe 1500 or 2000 grit; then use a mild, non-abrasive polish (e.g. Snake Oil) to put an initial light shine on it. Apply a heavier dose of polish for more length, as needed. If it is still not long enough, sand to 3000 or 4000 grit and start with light shine again; then apply more as needed or as desired.

The less things you do to a ball, the easier it is repeat what you did.

Thanks for advice......last week I hit 14 of 17 at one point.  The versa-max is a beast!

Cav

Congratulations!
Sounds like it's not only a "Hitting" beast, it's also a "Carrying" beast.

500,1000,2000,4000.........Then it took about 3 games to really work.  Perhaps, building up a track helps.  The versa max is the first ball (for me) that recovers nicely from a misfire to the right.....

Cav

500,1000,2000,4000.........Then it took about 3 games to really work.  Perhaps, building up a track helps.  The versa max is the first ball (for me) that recovers nicely from a misfire to the right.....

Cav

First ball out of my bag also ...

My box condition versa max gave me a look I had with no other ball.  Very clean through the heads with strong midlane if I had some dry boards.  It seemed to flush up higher in the pocket than anything in my bag.  However mine also really lost its look after about 50 games.  Haven't had a look with it for the last 3 months.