Gloss coat and bottom finishes

I recently received a Keahana glassed board that came with a polished gloss coat.  I haven't ridden a non sanded finish board since the mid 80s.  Rusty recently had an article regarding bottom finishes on Surfline and mentioned the drawbacks of the gloss coat.  The guys at Keahana insist that the polished gloss is key to the integrity of their "system". Any thoughts? The waves have been too big to ride this board, so I haven't had a crack on it yet.  If I decided to sand off the gloss coat, what's the best grit/method?  thanks!