They definitely came out of the box with a sanded finish. Now, what that finish was escapes me; however, you have to remember that those were the days before abralon, so most of those balls were sanded with actual sandpaper. If I had to guess, I would guess it came out at around 500 grit or so. I know that mine rolled at my feet with the box finish. I ended up polishing mine, as did most of the bowlers in my area at that time.