Flitz or Mothers power ball. Your Choice?

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David M

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Looking to speed up some detailing work. Is one any better than the other? I have seen the Mothers and it looks no different than a bunch of tiny close cell sponges on a central core. I have never seen the Flitz ball though. The Mothers is ~$25 (Target) and the Flitz is ~$40 (online). Is the Flitz worth the extra $ and the wait time for shipping?

TIA
 
Never used the flitz ball david, but I can vouch for that mother's ball. Got both sizes for both the big and the skinny places. All I've used them for is aluminum but they do cut through the oxidation faster and leave a better shine than I ever got by hand for the same ammt of time. Maybe the flitz ball is made with better materials, I don't know, I've never seen one either. You're right about the closed cell sponge , and I keep waiting for it to catch and rip on some hardware but it hasn't yet.
 
Flitz has two sizes and are worth every penny. The orange ball is the larger of the 2 and for general work, the blue ball is for tighter areas. If you have a good hardware store (practically non-existent these days) nearby they should have them in stock. Flitz also has a "pencil" type polishing ball for wire wheel type polishing. You can put the Flitz ball in the washing machine, not sure I would do that with the Mother's.
 
I'm not familiar with either of these products but would love to hear more about them.
 
quote:
Originally posted by BJL

I'm not familiar with either of these products but would love to hear more about them.

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Me too! Please elaborate.
 
Do a search for Flitz and Mothers products. They are ball shaped wads of material attached to the end of a rod that you mount in a hand drill.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Bill1

Do a search for Flitz and Mothers products. They are ball shaped wads of material attached to the end of a rod that you mount in a hand drill.

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I have done that. I know both are a ball configuratiuon. I have seen the Mothers at Target and know it is a bunch of closed cell foam sponges in a ball configuration, I cannot tell from the pictures on line if the Flitz is just a closed cell sponge or dirty sweatsocks in a ball configuration or some other material.

That's the problem.
 
The Flitz balls are made up of 100% cotton strips with a skirt sewn over the stem which attaches to the drill, protection from scratching. It is a quality product.
 
quote:
Originally posted by mannmade

The Flitz balls are made up of 100% cotton strips with a skirt sewn over the stem which attaches to the drill, protection from scratching. It is a quality product.

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Now I am getting somewhere. Thanks. Do you know of any retailers or are they only available on line?
 
quote:
Originally posted by KiDa

Now I am getting somewhere. Thanks. Do you know of any retailers or are they only available on line?

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Davies Hardware, Poughkeepsie, NY
Lambertville, NJ, across the Delaware from New Hope, PA has this great hardware store, like the good ole days, can't remember the name right now but anyone who lives near there knows what I am talking about.

Not to bust your chops but they are available in places other than online, probably not at the big box stores though.
 
Please! Not mere cotton!

According to Flitz they are: "Made of fine Italian Polishing Felt." :-)
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Bill1

Please! Not mere cotton!

According to Flitz they are: "Made of fine Italian Polishing Felt." :-)

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That makes sense. I have used felt to polish many things. Thanks. Now if I can find a place that sells them the local area....
 
Have you tried the work without the ball yet? I just did all the metalwork on our boat. It was easy enough using Flitz and some terry rags that the ball wasn't even necessary. Now, if you're talking about bringing old alloy automoible rims, or crazed headlights back to life then, yes, the ball does a fantastic job. Just make sure if you're doing different types of surfaces (like metal and plastic) that you get a different ball for each of them. But try your work first without the ball, Flitz works quite well by itself.
 
Silly qustion... Can you use this on gelcoat? I see that it's good for metal and glass, but it doesn't seem to say anything about fiberglass or gelcoat.
 
You could use the ball on tight or hard to reach small areas, you wouldn't want to use it on large or open areas since it does not cover a lot of surface on any one pass. The ball can be used with a multitude of products.
 
Yes, you could use it on gelcoat but there may be other products better suited for it. As I mentioned, you would NOT want to try using a polishing ball you had previously used on metal on other surfaces, like gelcoat. The polishing action picks up enough dirt and metal (presumably tiny amounts) that it would make quite a mess to go from metal to plastic or other surfaces. I probably would not use a ball on flat getcoat. An actual polisher disc would be much better suited. Used correctly of course.
 
Just found out the name of the hardware store in Lambertville - Finkel's - what a great place to shop. It will remind you of the hardware store every town used to have - stuff in bins, wood floors, stock in the back, the whole 9 yards.
 
KiDa, let me know what you decide to do. I will join you on the purchase as I have been looking at these things too.
 
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