During the last couple of months we've been collecting polishes, waxes, and cleaners from a list of good companies to put together a toe-to-toe car wax shootout of sorts. Sometimes the best way to get a good story is to show up out of the blue, and then snoop around. It was easy to find Mothers' two big Peterbilts sporting custom-mixed BASF paints by Chris Guinn and graphics by Chip Foose, so we figured dropping in on the folks at Mothers might prove to be interesting. Sure enough, we spotted Mothers' chemist Craig Burnett putting Mothers new PowerCone through its paces on one of the Pete's 18 wheels. We'll get into a lot more detail when the shootout story hits, but in the meantime here's a few pointers Craig gave us, plus spy photos of Mothers' '59 Chevy sedan delivery getting done.
 Here, Craig is preparing to...  Here, Craig is preparing to load the PowerCone with Mothers PowerMetal. Mothers also offers a billet polish that works equally well by hand or with the PowerCone. |  Craig stressed the best polishing...  Craig stressed the best polishing results are obtained by setting the clutch on the cordless drill to its lowest numerical setting to allow slippage, and running it at very low rpm. |  Notice the light haze created...  Notice the light haze created on the aluminum by Mothers' PowerMetal. Craig stated it is imperative to buff this haze off with a high-quality polishing cloth before the PowerMetal dries. Craig said to "never leave the metal polish on and allow it to dry." |
 The PowerMetal brought the...  The PowerMetal brought the aluminum to a high luster by buffing the aluminum wheel until it came to a shine. |  The conical shape of the PowerCone...  The conical shape of the PowerCone allows it to fully polish hard-to-reach areas such as deep crevices and holes. |  |
 Using the aforementioned steps,...  Using the aforementioned steps, Craig used Mothers' Billet polish to obtain a highly reflective finish on the Pete's aluminum wheel. |  Talk about depth of gloss,...  Talk about depth of gloss, check out the finish Craig obtained on the hood of Mothers' '67 El Camino with their PowerBall 4Paint with Syn Wax. |  Originally painted by Chris...  Originally painted by Chris Guinn, Mothers' well-renown '59 Chevy sedan delivery is under Chris' SATA gun full of BASF paint again and should be back out on the show circuit someday soon. For more about master painter Chris Guinn see www.guinnpaint.com. |