Know-How Notes: Using the Mothers PowerBall 4Paint

Washing your car is a time-honored tradition among automotive enthusiasts. While many people simply pump quarters (more like dollars) into automated machines, if you want to get your car truly clean, you need to wash it by hand. The deep clean that helps keep your car’s paint looking good year after year also means applying a good coat of wax for protection from dirt and the sun’s harmful UV rays.

In the past, this meant hours of elbow grease applying and buffing hard shell paste wax. Modern waxes are easier to apply, but the manual labor of it all is still the same. The only way to buff wax is to put your arms to work (or your kid’s arms, which is how most of us learned) or use technology. You could buy a dual-action orbital buffer that will get the big flat areas knocked out, but isn’t much good for the tight areas and those have a bad habit of burning the paint on the edges if you are not really careful.

Mothers has been producing the PowerBall for years, and now they have one specifically for paint, called PowerBall 4Paint. This smaller ball attaches to your cordless drill and sheds much hours from the labor intensive task.  This powerful little tool gets into the spaces where larger buffers can’t and makes the job go much faster.

Inside the package is a sample of Mothers SynWax, a synthetic polymer wax that goes on easy and buffs off to a bright luster that lasts. The PowerBall 4Paint works with any of the Mothers liquid waxes. You will notice the photos are a little dark, that is because waxing should never be done in full sunlight, so we waited until the sun began to go down. 

To use the PowerBall 4Paint, you need the kit, a few microfiber towels, and a cordless drill. Always wax your vehicle in the shade. Do not use wax in direct sunlight, as this can cause damage as the wax bakes onto the paint. Set the drill on its lowest setting, and load the PowerBall into the chuck. When using this or any power tool, make sure you take the proper precautions to protect your body and eyes.

The car must be clean and dry before waxing:

Apply a small amount of liquid wax to the top of the crown of the PowerBall. Always use the top of the ball and not the sides.

Place the ball on the body of the vehicle, and slowly start the drill to spinning in clockwise rotation. Starting it slow will keep the wax from slinging off.

Work the ball over the panel (always work one panel at a time), adding more wax as necessary. You will see hazing as the wax dries, let the wax fully haze up.

Using a clean microfiber towel, buff the surface of the panel. This removes the hazy layer, leaving the hard polymer protective layer on the paint. Repeat the process for the entire vehicle.

Once you are done waxing, wash the ball with dish soap and set the ball out to dry and then place it back in the plastic packaging, ready for the next waxing.

Check out all the chemical products available on NAPA Online or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on Mothers PowerBall 4Paint, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.