Metal polishing with Blue Balls and the Quick Cone

Safety

Important warning: ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTIVE EYE WEAR DURING USE.

Use Nitrile gloves if needed. Read your drills instructions before use. No matter how much fun you think it might be, do not use this under the influence of drugs or alcohol, as you'll have a really bad time.

Do not use Metal Polish on chromed or clear coated surfaces. Test for clear coat by putting a small dollop of Metal Polish on a cloth and gently rub into a small, inconspicuous section in a side to side motion. If black residue comes off onto the cloth, it's not clear coated and you can use these polishing tools and a metal polish.

Use with the liquid Metal Polish for stainless steel, chequer plate and harder polishable metals. Use our Shiny Stuff fine paste for soft alloys, chrome, billet and aluminium.

Blue Balls Instructions

Mini Me

Depending on what you will be polishing, you can either use the steel drill bit, or attach the extension rod to the Blue Ball Mini Me (the extension rod comes with the Blue Ball Mini Me). This extension rod has an outer plastic sheath that allows the inner metal rod to spin freely. This shields your hands and prevents it from damaging anything it might touch while you're polishing. It's also handy to hold and help control the ball when polishing as well.

To attach the extension rod, hold the ball firmly with one hand and rotate the drill bit with a smaller shifter or 10mm spanner (if it's tight, use a set of multi grips on the plastic black section), and unscrew the drill bit.

Screw on the extension rod to the thread by turning the exposed silver metal tip (not the plastic sheath) to tighten it to the ball.

Big Daddy

Simply attach tightly to your power drill and set to a clockwise rotation so that the ball is secured safely into the drill. The bigger ball gives a larger surface area to cut polishing time for bigger jobs. If you've purchased the Blue Ball Mini Me, you can also attach the extension rod to the Big Daddy for those hard to reach areas. The Big Daddy and the Mini Me Blue Balls are reversible, to give you two sides for polishing and to extend the life of the balls. The process for this is outlined later in the article, under the "Double the life of your Blue Ball" heading.

Step 1

Work in a cooler place, in the shade, out of the direct sun.

Clean the metal area by either washing or use our Clean Detail spray.

Spread and knead the metal polish of choice evenly around the balls foam that will contact the metal surface.

Using both hands on the drill, or one on the extension rod if fitted (which only comes with the Blue Ball Mini Me), slowly work over a smaller section of the metal surface at a SLOW speed so it doesn't create splatter.

Step 2

Once spread and you're used to how it feels on the surface, turn up to a low/medium speed (1200rpm) and gently push down the foam ball with mild pressure. Slowly work back and forth over the area for up to a minute. Be cautious around rough edges, or protuding parts, so it doesn't catch and tear off the Blue Balls foam tabs.

Turn machine off and wipe black residue away with a clean Dirty Deeds cloth (you may need a few cloths for bigger jobs). TIP - It's easier to clean black residue off while it's still wet, so don't work it till it's dry.

Once you're happy with the shine, continue onto the next area. If not, repeat the above process. If you notice micro-scoring marks in the metal, slow the drill speed down and work it for less time.

Once done, grab a cool refreshing beverage and admire the new, beautiful shine.

Doubling the life of your Blue Ball

Both the Big Daddy and Mini Me Blue Balls are reversible to give you a fresh foam surface and extended life by flipping the drill bit from one side of the ball to the other.

• Loosen the bit by holding the ball with one hand and rotating the bit with the other, in an anti-clockwise direction (if needed, use a small shifter or 10mm spanner).
• Completely remove the bit and retaining washer from out of the foam.
• From the opposite side, open the foam and remove the four pronged core.
• Turn foam ball the other way, open the foam up and carefully re-insert the plastic core from the other way. Be sure to align the four prongs of the plastic core with the locating holes in the foam.
• Re-assemble washer and bit, slowly hand tightening the bit (don't over-tighten), while taking care that the plastic core is aligned with the four corresponding holes still in the foam ball.
  
  

Quick Cone Instructions

The cone design is ideal for both broader and tight areas, as well as curved sections like deep dish wheels, wider spoke wheels and alloy bars. It's made of a quality German foam, with a firm tip and cut tabs at the base for more uniform polishing on curves.

Same rules apply here, so don't use on chromed or clear coated surfaces, unless using with Shiny Stuff. Test for clear coat by putting a small dollop of Metal Polish on a cloth and gently rub into a small, inconspicuous section in a side to side motion. If black residue comes off onto the cloth, it's not clear coated and you can use the Quick Cone and a metal polish.

Use with the liquid Metal Polish for stainless steel, chequer plate and harder polishable metals. Use our Shiny Stuff fine paste for soft alloys, billet and aluminium.

Step 1

Work in a cooler place, in the shade, our of the direct sun.

Clean the metal area by either washing or use our Clean Detail spray.

Spread and knead the Metal Polish or Shiny Stuff evenly around the cones foam that will contact the metal surface.

Using both hands on the drill, slowly work over a smaller section of the metal surface at a SLOW speed so it doesn't splatter.

Step 2

Once spread, and you're used to how it feels on the surface, turn up to a low/medium speed (1200rpm) and gently push down on the foam with mild pressure. Slowly work back and forth over the area for up to a minute. Be cautious around rough edges, or protruding parts so it doesn't catch and tear the Quick Cone.

Turn machine off and wipe the black residue from the surface with a clean Dirty Deeds (you may need a few cloths for bigger jobs). TIP - It's easier to clean black residue off while it's still wet, so don't work it till it's dry.

Once you're happy with the shine, continue onto the next area. If not, repeat the above process.

Once done, grab a cool refreshing beverage and admire the beautiful new shine.

Checker Plate

Checker Plate can be challenging to polish due to the size and the grooves in the plate itself.

We find that by using a combination of the Quick Cone and the large Blue Ball, it makes quick work of these surfaces.

If the Checker Plate is badly oxidised, start by using the Metal Polish first to remove the worst of the oxidation. Put a generous amount onto the Quick Cone or large Blue Ball, then begin slowly on the drill to spread the product across the surface. Once it's been spread, then increase the speed of the drill to start revealing a clean finish.

Once the worst of the oxidation has been removed, put some Shiny Stuff on your chosen polishing tool and repeat the above process until the desired finish is achieved. If you don't have a fresh polishing tool for this stage, you can simply rinse the tool out in fresh water and the Metal Polish will rinse straight out. Attach the tool to the drill again, and run it for a short period of time to remove as much excess water as possible, before putting Shiny Stuff onto your chosen polishing tool.

Badly oxidised or pitted metals

If the surface is severely oxidised, pre-clean by gently rubbing down in a side to side motion with 0000 super fine grade steel wool and use Clean Detail as the lubricant. This will remove heavier pitting, rust spots and other debris, but keep in mind that this can cause marks in the surface, which will then need to be polished out on some surfaces.

This is to be used as a last resort if Shiny Stuff and Metal Polish aren't removing the marks.

Steel wool can be useful on some chrome to remove rust spots that have set in, then polish the area with our polishing tools and Shiny Stuff paste for a mirror finish.

Be sure to then wipe the area clean with a clean and dry Dirty Deeds cloth before doing any polishing. This is extremely important so you don't cause extra scratching by polishing with debris in your polishing tools.

Cleaning up

For an easy clean up afterwards, we have made the new Tru Blu formula of Metal Polish so it washes off with just water. Yes that's right, just water. Feel free to use a gentle soap as well if you really want. This is something you will appreciate if you have used other polishes that seem to have the black residue stay in your hands for days after using them.

If you've got Shiny Stuff on your hands, a gentle soap will be enough to remove it.

The Dirty Deeds microfibre cloths will need to be pre soaked in a bucket with warm water and 50mLs of our Microfibre Wash. Give them some agitation and then rinse in fresh water before machine washing them. Make sure to wash them separately from everything else as the black residue from the polishing will leach into the other cloths they are washed with!

Clean your Blue Balls and Quick Cone with a small amount of Microfibre Wash and some warm water. Gently agitate the foam tools until they're clean, then put them aside and let them compeltely dry, before storing them back in their original packaging.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions

• What is the difference between Shiny Stuff and Metal Polish?

Shiny Stuff is a super fine abrasive paste. It can be used on the softest of metals and glass, without leaving scratch or score marks, when used properly. Metal Polish is a more abrasive liquid polish, that's more suitable for harder metals, or the first stage in restoring something that's badly oxidised. Think of Metal Polish as the first stage of polishing, then Shiny Stuff is your final stage for an epic shine and finish.

• Can I use Shiny Stuff/Metal Polish by hand?

Yes, with a high quality microfibre cloth like our Dirty Deeds. You may need to work the product a bit longer to achieve a high shine by hand.

• Can I use Shiny Stuff/Metal Polish on plastic or painted chrome?

No. Because both of these products contain an abrasive they're not suitable. Paint Cleanse & Restore is much more suitable for this.

• Can I use Shiny Stuff on glass?

Yes, for mild water spots. For more etched in spots, you may need use Metal Polish or a dedicated water spot removal product.

• Can I use Shiny Stuff on jewellery?

No, it can damage gold or silver plated metals.

• I left Shiny Stuff to dry and now it’s hard to remove, how do I get it off?

Spray a couple of sprays of Clean Detail into a clean and fresh Dirty Deeds cloth, and wipe over the residue, then flip to a dry side and wipe off.

• Can I wash the polishing tools in the machine?

No, the metal components will cause havoc inside the drum, wash by hand.

• How do I store my Blue Balls/Quick cone?

Once washed out and thoroughly dried, store in the packaging they came in, or in a zip lock bag.

• Do I need to apply a sealant after using Metal Polish or Shiny Stuff?

Shiny Stuff and Metal Polish both contain a sealant in their formula, but Bead Machine will add longer lasting protection.

• I accidentally got some shiny stuff onto some plastic/powder coat and it's left a stain - how do I remove it?

Orange Agent sprayed into a soft brush like our Foursome or Plush Brush, agitate the area, and then a thorough rinse off.

Any Questions?

The Blue Ball Big Daddy/Mini Me and Quick Cone can now be found at your local Repco, autObarn, Supercheap Auto or Auto One store, as well as many of our other supporting stores nationwide. Part codes for these products are:

Blue Balls Big Daddy: BOBLUBIG
Blue Balls Mini Me: BOBLUMINI
Quick Cone: BOCONE

Shiny Stuff can be found in store at Repco, autObarn, Supercheap Auto or Auto One. The product code is BOSSTUFF.

To find your local Bowden's Own stockist, click this link HERE.

If you would like more information about any of the products mentioned here, shoot our team an email to info@bowdensown.com.au, or FREECALL our office on 1800 351 308.

Happy detailing,

Brett Hobbs