I got my Resurrection and Snake Oil order (btw, very fast delivery). I jumped right in and used the products on the following equipment:
1) Ball -- Lane#1 Super Carbide Bomb (SCB). Starting Surface -- 35 Micron Trizact, no polish, about 5 games since last resurface (about 100 games overall). Valentino Prep -- Resurrection by hand, followed by Snake Oil on the spinner.
2) Ball -- Lane#1 Uranium. Starting Surface -- 800 Grit Scotchbrite (grey pad), no polish, about 20 games since last resurface (about 50 games overall). Valentino Prep -- Resurrection by hand, NO Snake Oil polish.
3) Ball -- Lane#1 Super Carbide C++. Starting Surface -- NIB w/factory polish, about 25 games since drilling it up. Valentino Prep -- Resurrection by spinner to remove most of the old polish and track, followed by Snake Oil on the spinner.
4) Ball -- Brunswick Fury. Starting Surface -- 1000 Grit Abralon, no polish, about 5 games since last resurface (about 50 games overall). Valentino Prep -- Resurrection by spinner, NO Snake Oil polish. My original intent was to apply Snake Oil, but the sheen from using Resurrection on the spinner was surprisingly high, so I deferred on the polish.
Initial thoughts:
First, there is definitely a difference between using Resurrection on the spinner and by hand. On the spinner, there is a definite added sheen. By hand, you get more of the Matte Finished advertised by Valentino. From my perspective, it’s good to have the choice based on what you’re trying to achieve.
Second, Resurrection takes on the attributes of the starting surface grit of the ball. For instance, the 35 Micron finish on the SCB is dull (approx 360 grit), and no matter how much I worked Resurrection by hand, I couldn’t seem to get a 800 grit Matte Finish. Unless I was doing something wrong, I found that if you want to end of with 800 Matte, get the ball close to 800 first and then apply Resurrection. Regardless, the product applies easily by hand or by spinner.
Third, the finish left by both Resurrection and Snake Oil is tacky, and doesn’t wear off after a few shots on the lane.
On the Lane(s):
Overall on fresh THS, I felt I had better backend and overall reaction using every ball. On the Fury, I had more backend and recovery than I had ever achieved with any of the numerous other finishes/polishes I had tried in the past. On the SCB, the ball turned into a THS monster with the renewed and enhanced mid lane / backend reaction. The Uranium was similar. I didn’t see much difference in the Carbide+, but it’s still a relatively new ball that was working great, and I would have been surprised to see much difference.
After throwing several games on a THS pair, I moved over to a fresh lane with Shark. I was really curious how the Carbide+ would react from the long oil to minimal opportunity for friction on the backend that this pattern provides. I was very happy with how quickly the Carbide+ picked up the backend, and shot a consistent 223, 219 set. For the Carbide+, I really noticed a more pronounced difference on Shark than I did the THS.
Conclusion:
Based on my experience so far, I’m sold on the products. I spend a lot of time on the spinner with different surfaces and polishes, and I’ve never been this excited about a set of products. I’m also very happy with Bean’s Secret Sauce, and feel between the two sets of products can achieve whatever I want to get for a specific situation.
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"I wonder if Lane#1 really do have something going with this diamond core theory?" Direct quote from Absolutebowling (tonx) before he lost his mind....
Edited on 7/16/2008 3:40 PM
