I did it with a bench grinder.
 Turned it end over end and bolted a metal bowl to it and it works great. I also connected a dimmer switch to it to control the speed.

If you are going to use sandpaper,make sure that it is wet dry paper.Keep enough water on it to keep the area you are sanding slick.If cleaning,i use a sponge to apply windex or whatever cleaner I choose to use and then buff with soft cloth. If you want 1500 find a fairly well used 1000 grit abrolan pad and use it. For polish I use reacta shine by Storm and add a little water. Let it haze up then take off with smooth soft cloth. You can do all of this with your spinner spinning. Make sure you do 2-6 sides depending on weather you are sanding or polishing.

tank, what a great idea with the dimmer switch. i thought i had it all figured out, i took a treadmill motor ( 1 hp ) and turned it upright and mounted it to board. then like you, mounted a flower pot onto the flywheel which worked great for cleaning but a little too fast change the surface. the dimmer switch is a perfect solution. ithat one is in the basement + i made another one the same way but with a 3.5 hp motor. i have to use the front control panel to control the speed on that one, that one's out in the garage. i would say if you can find a walking treadmill 1 hp, that's the way to go. i actually got mine for free. cost bout 10 buck for the bracket, screws and the flower pot. if i need one for the road, i was thinking about using a cordless drill with a ball cup attached and an aberlon pad. good for quick , light change to the coverstock. haven't done it yet but i have time to experimrnt on some old stuff.

The dimmer worked for me.

i saw that one earlier and to be honest with you, i don't see how the super glue is going to hold a 14-16# ball when it's spinning and you're putting pressure on it. what i did was take i drill and bore some hols thru the flywheel depending on the material of the flywheel. one of mine was cast iron and the drill had no problem at all, the other was thick, hard rubber which was no problem there either. if you wanted to glue the bolt 1st, i could see using that to make sure the pot was straight (oxymoron), once you've got it perfect, then drill the extra hiles just to be safe. 2nd, make sure you use the heaviest and crummiest ball you have as a trial ball. act as if you were resurfacing the whole thing, that way you won't come up with any unpleasant surprises. as for tank, i agree with your analogy, i tried my 3.5 hp to see haw fast it would go when i 1st hooked it up, it blew the finger inserts (which were super glued in) right out of the finger holes and shot them across the garage. scared the beegeezees out of me. i had to mark the control panel in 2 places, one for cleaning, and a slower one for changing the surface. my question would be for buggs, how do you hook up a fan speed control ? i'm not mechanically inclined and i don't want to start a fire, my wife would kill me. is it fairly simple?

i just took some plastic and have it fairly snug to the spindle. it keeps alot of the water off of it. plus, by having it sit on a flower pot or the mixing bowl, that pretty much keeps it from getting to your motor at all. i've used mine for a couple of years and not had one problem and that's the one out in the garage. i found it easier to just attach it on to the flywheel, it's really solid. when i bolted the motor onto a cabinet, it made it a really solid foundation with no vibration at all. i couldn't be happier and like yours, the only thing i found missing was a place to hang my laundry.

if i could find a drill press for 20 bucks, i'd do it. i haven't found that deal yet. treadmills are easier to find, but a little more work involved. what ever works and saves you money, go for it. i'd love a spinner, i just can't afford 290-300 bucks, not while i'm laid off.