About polished particles... Funny thing I had with a used X-Factor RE-Loaded (see also my review there). I got it from ebay in polished state, had it then plugged and re-drilled for me but I stayed to the polish in the first place because the ball felt tacky and strong and I thought it would react violently.
Not at all!. The polish killed almost any ball recation, even on a short medium-oil 30' pattern it only moved 2-4 boards, just like a polyester. Then sanded it with a white pad to 1000 grit, and then the thing came alive.
I suppose that the ability to polish a particle coverstock depends on the type of particle used. I am no expert on this, but as far as I know there are two general, very different types of particles:
a) hard, edgy particles (Brunswick uses them, rumors are about glas material?
b) soft material.
The hard ones act like spikes, protruding from the reactive surface and grabbing the lane, while the soft type flattens upon pressure of lane contact and increases surface and thus traction.
This is why "Big B" particles tend to lose energy very easy and start hooking at your feet, while the softer balls go nicely through oily heads and sport a stronger skid/snap movement pattern.
I have seen many polished Brunswick balls around here, and I think that the edgy stuff can safely be polished to increase skid/snap and create length. This is also just what Brunswick states in its ball descriptions. The softer stuff (and I guess that my RE-Loaded is that type of ball) is simply killed or covered by polish and cannot react with the lane anymore, and I think it needs really dry backend boards to grip. It should react more like a pure reactive ball, and my RE-Loaded, as well as an Eraser Particle Pearl, do so. They HAVE traction, but not in heavy or long oil.
The question might be to find out what kind of ball/particle coverstock your ball has, or try and experiment with it. I do not know what coverstock type your Carbide Bomb is - but I have seen several polished Danger Zone IVs from Brunswick which feature a carbide coverstock, too. So, I would give it a try. After all, you can take off the glaze easily with a white pad.
Hope this helps. Gut Holz.
--------------------
DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany
"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe
