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) 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 ) 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, ) 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


Wet Sand with 1500 grit paper


M105 via Mothers Powerball mini (first hit)


M105 via Mothers Powerball mini (second hit)


M205 via Mothers Powerball Mini


Final product


Products used

[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

[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