Scotchbrite pads are handy because the are more stable than sandpaper and flexible, so that it has better contact with the ball surface - either wet or dry. For a finer or sheen finish, I'd take sandpaper, though.
Additionally I think that the pads offer more abrasion through their flexible design, which also makes the easy to clean. If I take a white pad or 1.000 grit paper, the pad will cause more (but more thorough) abrasion. Guess the spaces between the single grains is less dense on a pad than on paper.
--------------------
DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany
"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe