When I first got mine, we made sure to get one that was finished matte - when they first came out, some were matte, some polished.
after using it a little while, I took it up probably to around 1500, then took it back down with a green scotchbrite - lightly.
Worked great.
Mine seems to benefit by periods of resting. Don't know why, but if I use it too much, it seems to lose it's reaction. If I only use it once in a while, it works great...
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-- The way we see the problem is the problem.