I decided to subject 3 resin pearls to a re-finishing because, for two of them, I have not been able to get a reaction I could use and, for the other, I wanted to return it to its stock surface via a method other than the manufacturer's recommended process.

I decided to use Secret Sauce, mostly because I was not satisfied with my original testing of it and I was not sure if I did or did not approach the process correctly.

(By now, many of you know I don't give up very easily on any product be it polish or ball and I don't like just one approach to anything.)

Balls & objectives:

1. Brunswick Red/Black Monster / Restore it to its factory reaction (not necessarily its fatcory finish.

2. Dyno-Thane Thing Returns / Make it more aggressive, but still get good length and strong backend.

3. Visionary Ogre Pearl / Get a usable, performing ball reaction for me.
(My current lack of this reaction may be a combination of bad assumptions about the aggressiveness of the ball and the lane surface/oil pattern-amount on which I've been bowling.)

Red/Black Monster
The original surface is 400 grit sanding followed by Brunswick's High Gloss polish. I've used this ball at several different surfaces, but now I wanted it back to the factory reaction. It is for medium-light oil and, with my drilling, has a fairly even arcing ball path.

So I sanded it to 400 grit with wet/dry sandpaper and then applied 2 polishings with Secret Sauce. (I'm not a huge fan of burning in polish for fear I may take the ball further than I'd need to.)

Results: perfect. The ball is smooth with almost no sanding lines (that's not a positive or negative just a note) with a good medium gloss. What is the best part is that I could tell virtually from the firts toss that the ball was reacting about as well as I remember it originally doing and its breakpoint was controlled with great hitting power, precisely as I first loved it. (Great ball, by the way.)

Thing Returns
Even though this ball has a high RG (2.56), it has a strongish Soaker-based coverstock. I suspect my pin at 3.5" pin-PAP is just too early and too much flare for me. High gloss polishings made it too over/under. Finer sandings, like 4000 grit Abralon, made it too early. So my idea was to sand it very rough to get a strong lane read at the breakpoint, but add polish to get the necessary length.

Like the Monster, I started with a complete refreshing of the surface with a 400 grit wet sanding with wet/dry sandpaper. This Soaker coverstock is some pretty tough stuff. I needed 3 light applications to get the finish I thought I needed on the TR. They were lighter because I didn't want to remove all the sanding lines I still wanted an aggressive reaction.

Results: almost perfect. With the current drilling, I don't think I can get this ball any closer to "excellent usability" than it is now. I can almost see the ball trying to grab in the midlane where solids and particles begin to grab the lane, but holding off until the late midlane where good pearls begin to show their power. On medium-light to medium oil, This ball is now reacting with a semi-controlled, but strong-ish breakpoint. I am getting both length and turn at the breakpoint, as is normal.

Ogre Pearl
Again a much stronger coverstock than expected. My drilling guesses were not very good on his one. Its usability has bene for 1 - 2 games for each drill and surface change with several combinations of sanding, liquids and polishes. So this is a last ditch attempt to make the ball usable.

This time I started with a 600 grit sanding and 1 strong application of SS, followed by one light application of SS. (It's interesting how many degrees of separation can be achieved thru various applications of any polish!) The strong application smoothed most of the sanding lines, but not all of them. I think it was the combination of the 2 levels of application that made the difference.

Results: This ball now seems less suited to one house at one time and more versatile over a longer period of time and over a wider version of oil amounts. I have begun to see in its reaction why so many people have commented very positively about it.

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These experiences point out why it's important not to give up on a ball once it's drilled. The combination of the drilling AND the PROPER surface can make a huge difference for any one release.

While my personal preference is to use a less abrasive or non-abrasive polish, Secret Sauce has proved its value to me in both its ability to put a fine and glossy shine on a resin surface but also in its versatility. Its versatility was not a feature I saw in it in my first use of it. I certainly do now.

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"None are so blind as those who will not see."
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Edited on 8/8/2008 3:57 PM

Edited on 9/3/2008 10:54 PM