I've got mine with a nice medium polish to it. Last time I resurfaced it was last week after bowling in our association tournament. I dulled it down during doubles and singles, then used Valentino's Resurrection, followed by six sides of Snake Oil. It's not nearly as shiny as, say, Storm's 1500-grit finish or Ebonite's 4000-grit plus Factory Polish, but reasonably shiny.
It gets pretty good length so long as there's oil. The coverstock is entirely too strong to push through spotty heads or broken down backends. As Jeff said, the core is designed for length and that helps some. I agree that I get more length and considerably more backend with it polished.
The coverstock (like most Lanemasters covers) is very predictable when it comes to surface changes. Each change does exactly what you'd expect. However, I've found that while changing it does what you think it will, it's not easy to do. Sanding takes some work because the cover's so durable. When I polish, it seems like the surface is so grippy that it pulls the rag out of my hand.
SH
