Who said you need a fancy smancy polisher to do paint correction?

[Lasthope05]

Many people make the assumption that if your not using a DA, Cyclo, or Rotary polisher there is no way you are going to be able to do any type of paint correction work. My eyes really opened up when a member on Meguiars Online posted an experiment and showed that a traditional orbital polisher(TOB) is not just a wax spreader but is capable of removing defects with the right products and techniques (A little testing/playing around! - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online (http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42620&highlight=wet+sand)) This really got me thinking, if a TOB is able to remove 3000 grit sanding scratches I'm sure other OTC machines and products marketed for paint correction should be able to do the same.

In our present economic situation it is not always possible for people to spend $200+ on a polisher and pads so working by hand is their only option. It is for these budget constrained people I have found a completely viable option. The Mothers PowerBall.

Mothers manufactures two different types of PowerBalls to be used on an electric drill. The original PowerBall(Mothers Original PowerBall Polishing Tool enables you to polish metal, plastic & painted surfaces using your electric drill! Mothers PowerBall is made (http://autogeek.net/mo5140.html) ) and the PowerBall 4Paint (Mothers PowerBall 4 Paint, Mothers PowerBall 4Paint, Mothers Power Ball, Mothers paint polishing ball, polish paint, wax ball, mother's, mothers wax, (http://autogeek.net/mothers-powerball-4paint.html) ) In my testing, I use an original PowerBall mini which I purchased a few years back. While not recommended for use on paint, I found it worked so well that it surprised even me.

When using a the Mothers Powerball I find that it has some really nice qualities to it. If using the top flat portion of the ball it mimics the aggressive cutting action of a rotary, but if you also turn the drill 90 degrees and use the sides that mimics the same straight line motion one would use while hand polishing.

Seeing how the Mothers Powerball is in essence a mini rotary I decided to treat it as such. I taped off a section on my test hood and began wet sanding(1500grit) and polishing(M105 & M205.) I was surprised at what I saw and how much correction there was. After two hits of M105 via KBM the sanding scratches and tracers were all removed. All that was left was compound haze that M205 took care of.

Original paint condition
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint.JPG

Wet Sand with 1500 grit paper
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint_1_.JPG

M105 via Mothers Powerball mini (first hit)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint_2_.JPG

M105 via Mothers Powerball mini (second hit)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint_3_.JPG

M205 via Mothers Powerball Mini
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint_4_.JPG

Final product
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint_5_.JPG

Products used
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/799/Powerball_m105_paint_6_.JPG

[JonM]

Now think of how long that process would take on an entire car....You are right though, this procedure might interest the people who aren't inclined to spend a lot of money on a DA/Orbital.

[Lasthope05]

It shouldnt take longer than someone using 5-6" pads on a DA or rotary if using the original larger size Powerball. I used a mini which is about 3 inches.

[JonM]

It shouldnt take longer than someone using 5-6" pads on a DA or rotary if using the original larger size Powerball. I used a mini which is about 3 inches.

Interesting, thank you for the info.

[rwright]

The powerball material looks like the Kompressor pad material. Interesting.

[Dubbin1]

It may work ok for a small section but I doubt it would do a very good job on a whole car. I also think it may end the life of a drill by the time you're done.

I would also have to disagree with thinking that it would be just as fast as a DA or rotary.

[Brian_Brice]

It may work ok for a small section but I doubt it would do a very good job on a whole car. I also think it may end the life of a drill by the time you're done.

I would also have to disagree with thinking that it would be just as fast as a DA or rotary.


Technically if you can correct a square inch you can duplicate it over the entire car, but that's not the best way to spend your month:props:

[Lasthope05]

It may work ok for a small section but I doubt it would do a very good job on a whole car. I also think it may end the life of a drill by the time you're done.

I would also have to disagree with thinking that it would be just as fast as a DA or rotary.


It shouldnt take longer than someone using 5-6" pads on a DA or rotary if using the original larger size Powerball. I used a mini which is about 3 inches.

As I said in my post. The original powerball is 6" and would not take any longer than a DA or Rotary would. It uses the same exact motion of a rotary and the ball mimics a LC kompressor pad so why wouldnt it work if a rotary w/ kompressors work? Also in the pictures you can see that I'm using an electric drill, not a cordless one so it wont die.

[rohnramirez]

COOL, Alan! I even believe you can get good results by hand. It will just take a lot of time, but results, nonetheless. :)

[Dubbin1]

Also in the pictures you can see that I'm using an electric drill, not a cordless one so it wont die.

I'm talking about killing that electric drill ;)

[Rsurfer]

As I said in my post. The original powerball is 6" and would not take any longer than a DA or Rotary would. It uses the same exact motion of a rotary and the ball mimics a LC kompressor pad so why wouldnt it work if a rotary w/ kompressors work? Also in the pictures you can see that I'm using an electric drill, not a cordless one so it wont die.Not saying it cannot do the job as well as a DA or rotary, but it wouldn't take any longer is an understatement. Plus you would spend a full day cleaning up the splatter.

[tuscarora dave]

My hand would be so cramped by the time I got done with just the hood that I think I would rather do the whole thing with a couple of $20 palm polishers from Harbor freight. That is of course if I didn't have the money to get a real polisher.

I had achieved some nice results using the cheapo palm polishers but generally burned 2 of them up to do one car and couldn't get near the correction with the products I was using. That is how I found this forum in the first place, I got tired of burning up 2 cheapos per car so I bought a Cyclo from Troy over at DC when he had the store and linked to AG from over there.

I'd be interested to see how long it would take "you" to do a 2 pass correction on that entire car.

If there is a will there is a way. Good luck.

[Rsurfer]

It shouldnt take longer than someone using 5-6" pads on a DA or rotary if using the original larger size Powerball. I used a mini which is about 3 inches.Alan T. is Chip F your friend?Im the MAN

[Lasthope05]

I guess it's natural to see people having problems accepting this method since it's out of the "box", but new things are fully ever accepted.

Now I am not saying everybody should go out and get powerballs now but as my original intent I wanted to show people who were tight on money that a simple and cheap OTC product and produce paint correction work close to or equivalent to a DA or rotary.

There is no problem with splatter, dont be fooled by the ball shape, as it flattens against the paint like a regular pad. Also there are no worries with a corded drill "dying." Drills are built to last and take abuse as they are used to drill through concrete and metal also. Heck the motors are even the same type direct drive motors in rotarys.

Maybe tomorrow when I'm not busy I'll post an actual side by side video of the powerball vs a dewalt and show you guys is working time( since some of you think it will take longer,) correction abilities, and finish.

[Lasthope05]

Alan T. is Chip F your friend?Im the MAN

Haha.. No not really. This all really started because a member on Autopia asked for a cheap solution to paint correction. He didnt want to go and buy a polisher because he only wanted to wetsand and correct a small panel he painted. I recommed the powerball because I used it on headlights before and figured it would work equally well on paint. Well people said it wouldnt work.. blah blah blah. So off I went to prove them wrong. :buffing:


My hand would be so cramped by the time I got done with just the hood that I think I would rather do the whole thing with a couple of $20 palm polishers from Harbor freight. That is of course if I didn't have the money to get a real polisher.

I had achieved some nice results using the cheapo palm polishers but generally burned 2 of them up to do one car and couldn't get near the correction with the products I was using. That is how I found this forum in the first place, I got tired of burning up 2 cheapos per car so I bought a Cyclo from Troy over at DC when he had the store and linked to AG from over there.

I'd be interested to see how long it would take "you" to do a 2 pass correction on that entire car.

If there is a will there is a way. Good luck.

Yea but if you have one with a t-handle it'll be a breeze. Im not putting my Dewalt away for this, but realistically it's a good option for the budget minded.
http://www.toolzone.com/acatalog/bsp12plus.jpg