best tool to go along with mothers mag/aluminum polish?

[redboost10]

what is the best tool to use to polish aluminum parts with mothers mag/aluminum polish?

how do those mothers powerballs/powercones hold up? they seem like they would start shredding after a few uses. which one seems to hold up the best?

thanks guys.

[opie_7afe]

they work pretty good for certain wheels, if they have sharp edges just be careful with any foam wheel buffing attachment as the sharp edges can cut into the foam or dislodge pieces. i got a dynacone that i havent used as it looks like it might be more durable, and it has a sleeve to grab while polishing to get a better grip. this of course is talking about wheels, if your doing automotive parts that you are polishing yourself(like grinding down sand casting imprints and cast marks and sanding it with multiple grits) then the best thing would be some rouge and some different buffing wheels to fit on a drill or bench grinder, they will give a better finish because some rouge's can cut like liquid sandpaper, and others will leave that high shine perfect finish, that is how most polished parts you buy are polished. kits are kind of pricey but work great.another option is wolfgang/blackfire aluminum polishing kits that you put on a rotary polisher. other then that go with whatever will fit your needs the best.

[surajprasade]

Hi,
Flitz buff ball seems to be durable than Mothers power ball & Meguiar's dyna cone. I haven't used any one of them but there is a video on you tube comparing Mother's power ball & Flitz's buff ball.You should check it out. I am also looking for same to polish out aluminium engine on bike.

[ryanmcg1]

Meg's Dynacone and megs all metal polish

[forrest@mothers]

The reason there are PowerBalls and PowerCones is because a round ball doesn't go in to a corner well. The cone will go into a 90º corner and a ball won't. The tools come in different sizes and shapes because wheel designs mean not all can be polished efficiently with one size.

A real advantage of our design is the individual fingers will do a better job of going around edges and corner than a solid shape.

The foam is very durable - as long as you read the directions. You don't need to run a drill at 1,500 rpm to get a good finish - 300 or so is more than adequate. The damage we've seen to PowerBalls and PowerCones is almost always from one of 4 things:

1) running the drill too fast
2) running it up against a sharp edge at speed
3) failing to clean the tool after use and storing it dirty/wet
4) forcing the tool, at high speed, into too small of an opening

And remember - the PowerBall and PowerBall Mini are reversible. You can take them apart and reverse the element, getting a new surface to work with. No other polishing tool does that.

The hardware between our tools is interchangeable, so you can use our sleeved extension with any of our tools.

The market for these types of polishing tools was about 294,000 pieces in 2011. We sold 265,000 of them. I have one of the original prototypes from 8 years ago that I still use, and it works fine. If anything, the PowerBall is overbuilt and they last longer than we wish they would.

[Ron Atchison]

Nice to have a reply from someone who really knows the product. Thanks Forrest.

[redboost10]

Thanks for the replies. It's to polish intake manifold and intercooler water tank. The intake of course has some tight spots.

[forrest@mothers]

Thanks for the replies. It's to polish intake manifold and intercooler water tank. The intake of course has some tight spots.

I'd say you'd want a cone - you can lay it on its side to do large, flat areas, and use the end to get into the tight spots.

[Flash Gordon]

The reason there are PowerBalls and PowerCones is because a round ball doesn't go in to a corner well. The cone will go into a 90º corner and a ball won't. The tools come in different sizes and shapes because wheel designs mean not all can be polished efficiently with one size.

A real advantage of our design is the individual fingers will do a better job of going around edges and corner than a solid shape.

The foam is very durable - as long as you read the directions. You don't need to run a drill at 1,500 rpm to get a good finish - 300 or so is more than adequate. The damage we've seen to PowerBalls and PowerCones is almost always from one of 4 things:

1) running the drill too fast
2) running it up against a sharp edge at speed
3) failing to clean the tool after use and storing it dirty/wet
4) forcing the tool, at high speed, into too small of an opening

And remember - the PowerBall and PowerBall Mini are reversible. You can take them apart and reverse the element, getting a new surface to work with. No other polishing tool does that.

The hardware between our tools is interchangeable, so you can use our sleeved extension with any of our tools.

The market for these types of polishing tools was about 294,000 pieces in 2011. We sold 265,000 of them. I have one of the original prototypes from 8 years ago that I still use, and it works fine. If anything, the PowerBall is overbuilt and they last longer than we wish they would.

I'd say you'd want a cone - you can lay it on its side to do large, flat areas, and use the end to get into the tight spots.

This guy knows stuff! ^