Snake Oil should work quite well when applied by hand. Of course the smoother the beginning surface, the easier it is to get a shine on the ball.
Valentino's Snake Oil is considered a "non-abrasive" polish, in that it basically keeps the same grit level "under" the polish as you started with. Another good non-abrasive polish is Lanemasters factory Finish.
There are also which are considered abrasive polishes, like Secret Sauce. Many of them will get the ball to shine quicker because they have an aggressive abrasive in the polish. Most people find it best not to use a finish finer than about P1000-P1500 grit under Secret Sauce. Some other good abrasive polishes are Storm's Xtra Shine, Powerhouse Factory Finish and Brunswick's High Gloss factory Finish, besides Secret Sauce.
Buddies, BowlingBall.com and BowlersParadise.com are good sources for polishes, in addition to Valentinos' themselves.
Valentino's Snake Oil is my 90-95% polish.
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