Expert: Russ King - 1/10/2007

Question
Hi, King Sir,
Could you please explain the reaction between a matt and polished surface ball? in term of lenght, hook, the motion of breakpoint, and how many "girts" stand for a matt finish and shine finish? as I'm now confuse of those surfaces.

Answer
A matt (dull) surface does not give a reflection. A shiny surface mostly starting at 2000 grit gives a reflection.
There are several way different reactions for the same surface.When you shine plastic,rubber & urethane,you shine them for less friction from ball to lane so it will go straighter & further down the lane.As you dull them up, you get sooner & bigger hook.Reactive Resin is funny about this.A dull surface actually goes straighter than a swhiny one. A shiny one goes reasonably straight on oil. But on dry, it is a monster! It hooks out of the building when it hits dry.To a cranker, a lot of times uncontrollable.

\ OK, think of the sand paper lands & grooves as tire treads.Highway treads are smooth & run straight around 2000 grit. Mudders used on 4x4 off road trucks are around 600 grit.Drag race tires are smooth like a real shine 30,000. A smooth surface has little or no lands & grooves for a skid(minimal grip) action.
 360,400,500,600,800 fall in DULL
 1000,1200,1500 fall in matt
 2000,2500 semi shine
 all above is only sand paper
 For a good shine, you use a polymer shine leaves no residue. Or a wax that leaves a coat like turtle wax for cars.

The break point & line of a dull ball is set mainly for strokers that have minimal power.It has a heavy low rev roll & arc type of hook. A shiny ball is good for crankers with a lot of revs & has a skid/snap type. It holds power untill way down the lane when it snaps around 30-47 feet & saves around 75%-90% of power to the pocket.A cranker that uses a 600 grit dull ball on medium oil, will probably hook into the gutter. If it hits the pins, the lands & grooves that dig into the surface of the lane has taken away the delay & expends the energy early on & hits like a wet sponge with no power left.
A REACTIVE RESIN BALL DOES NOT REALLY FOLLOW ANY OF THESE RULES. I HAVE SEEN CRANKERS USE DULL & STROKERS USE SHINY. YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO EXPERIMENT YOURSELF ON REACTIVES. I CAN'T SEEM TO KEEP THEM ON THE LANE DULL & SHINY I GET TOO MUCH SKID/SNAP OVERRACTION TO USE IT TO ANY GOOD CONSISTENT SCORING.
HOW I LEARNED IS TO GET A BALL & TRY SOME OR MANY GRITS TO GET THE RIGHT REACTIONS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.THIS IS CALLED FINE TUNE TO YOUR STYLE.
I HOPE THIS HELPED MORE THAN CONFUSED YOU.