Mine was 500 no polish. I've gone 500 plus polish on some pearls in the past and gotten some really nice results. In fact, my Melee Jab is 500 plus polish, and it is a pearlized beast! Still, the Tropical Breeze was 500 no polish, and it's amazing for me.

Yes I did.  Thanks.

Gene,

       I'm considering a Tropical Breeze at 500 grit for short patterns. Is it viable enough to replace urethane? I worry with the rev rate that I have that the overall hook would be too much. Should I use my favorite layout or a stable layout? A lot of people are trying to steer me away from urethane.

It's not your rev rate that may be the problem.
It's whether you're speed dominant, rev dominant or matched (rev vs. speed) that, I believe, is the factor you need to worry about.

More rev dominate (on normal release and speed)

The Trop. Breeze is already the least reactive resin ball that I have thrown among today's choices. Some older balls, 10 - 20 years older, may be weaker, but they're only available on Ebay. Also being rev dominant, and also facing some very light oil patterns, I generally use some very weak balls; fortunately for me, I do have some older balls, like the AMF Orbit Extreme & a Visionary Blue/Green Centaur. Dulling a Trop. Br. may be a very good alternative to a urethane, as most urethanes are very susceptible to wet/drys and carrydown. I would suggest trying an intermediate level of roughness, like 1500/2000 grit, to start with, as 500 grit is rather extreme. Normally I'd start with 4000 which is already a step down from the stock surface which is in the 5000 - 5500 grit range (a polish).

Could I put my favorite layout on it or should I put the weight block in a more stable position?

I would put your favorite drilling and pin-PAP distance on it. Its flare is so small in any case.