[krshultz]

Product Name: Mother's Powerball Mini

Price: $24.99 off the shelf at AutoZone. Pricey, in my opinion.

Size: The mini one, not the full size one

Amount used during application: All I did was prime the ball with some QD to get it moist, and then smeared some Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish onto it.

Container appearance: You've all seen this thing on the store shelves...



It's red and comes with a foot long extension. The extension has a plastic shield over it that freewheels, allowing the user to hold the extension while the drill is spinning, which I thought was pretty clever.

Directions or Application process:
You're going to want a pretty stout cordless drill for using this thing, as the drill is going to run pretty much constantly. This isn't the time to use your cordless 14.4V Harbor Fright drill - get out the big iron.

Ease of use: The polishing itself is pretty brainless. Put it into your drill, set the drill to clockwise, smear your favorite metal polish onto the ball, and start polishing.

Cleaning Ability: I'm astonished. I've got a set of very lightweight CCW Classics for my Honda S2000, which are polished aluminum. In a pretty short amount of time, they started to look oxidized and dull. Trying to polish them back by hand worked "okay," but I was never really satisfied with the results.

Literally five minutes per wheel and the faces, outer rims, and holes between the spokes looked not unlike they did when I first got the wheels from CCW. Adam's metal polishes would probably be better still, but the regular OTC Mother's stuff has impressed me. With another five minutes per wheel, I think I could get them back looking almost like they've been chromed. Unfortunately, all I've got here is a very cheap cordless drill, and I ran it out of battery power very quickly.

Durability: Not sure yet. I imagine with continued use it's going to start to break apart. But I've now started to see refill kits on the store shelves, so it's not a "use it once and toss it" kind of tool.

Pros: Really makes polishing bare aluminum a brainless operation. The mini version is just the right size to get into the gaps in mesh style wheels like my CCWs. I haven't tried it yet, but I bet this would be great for clearing up hazed headlight lenses. No more black goo all over your hands.

Cons: As with any time you polish bare metal, you should probably just throw away the towels you use to remove the excess polish. I've got so much microfiber at this point that I just used some from the "old stack" and tossed them when I was done.

As I've mentioned, bring either a corded drill, or a really good cordless, to this party. You're going to be running it non stop.

Overall Comments: I was skeptical, but so far, this thing impresses me. Getting around all the little bolt heads on my CCWs went from being a hateful chore to a really fast one. Restored the polished look to the wheels in no time, with very little work required.

To give you an idea of the design of these wheels, here's an image from CCW's website, shown on a late model Toyota Supra:



Rating 1-5 (5 being the best): 5. I'd buy another one, and I probably will. When they started parading Chip Foose around on the television ads, I started to get skeptical. But this thing really works. Recommended.

--Karl in NC

[Cooter]

Great review Karl!!

Looks lke you had your hands full judging by the looks of those wheels!

[haper]

i like mine also for use w/ rims, but they were out of the mini's and i settled for the regular size which is too big IMO.

[detaildoc]

Nice review, thanks! The look of those Supras is still hard to beat.

[MadOzodi]

Nice review and nice wheels!!!

[krshultz]

Originally Posted by MadOzodi

Nice review and nice wheels!!!

Thanks! I've lusted after a set of CCW classics since I first saw them on World Challenge cars years ago. It took me about three months to get them right (measurements are critically important in the world of autocross), but they were worth it. 17x7 and 17x8.5 front and rear, and they weigh roughly 16lb a wheel.

Originally I wanted to get them clear anodized, but I think I'm actually happier that they're bare aluminum. They're a bit more work, but this way, if they get crapped up with brake dust or something, I can pretty much get them back looking factory new in my garage.

	AGO Auto Geek Online (forum)

[Denzil]

Thanks for the review Karl! I was contemplating making this purchase in the future and I think I will once I get a job that requires it.

Those wheels are very nice by the way but are a PITA to clean!

[krshultz]

Originally Posted by Denzil

Thanks for the review Karl! I was contemplating making this purchase in the future and I think I will once I get a job that requires it.

Those wheels are very nice by the way but are a PITA to clean!

Yeah, I have to say - they're probably the most high maintenance wheels I've ever owned. I did step up and get the "street version" upgrade with ARP stainless hardware holding them together rather than cadmium plated bolts, so they won't corrode. Why on earth for that amount of money they don't just build them all with stainless hardware is beyond me.

With the powerball however, keeping them nice seems like it's going to be pretty easy. Being able to effectively "refinish" them in my own garage is kind of nice.

I haven't bothered to write a review of the stuff, but so far, I've been left pretty unimpressed with the Swissvax Autobahn wheel wax. It smells nice and leaves a nice slippery finish, but it just doesn't last very long. That might be down to the fact that I use race pads on the car, which dust like you wouldn't believe and generate a lot of heat - but I think a synthetic would work a little better.

[Denzil]

I honestly don't think that there are really any wheel waxes, waxes, or sealants that last very long in general. There's just too much going on with the wheels for the protection to last a long time.

[timpryor]

I really don't like this thing, mine just kinda fell apart after doing 1 of my buddies CCW Classics, got really nasty and dirty too