Review: Mothers Power Cone - 1962 Impala SS by Mike Phillips

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Review: Mothers Power Cone - 1962 Impala SS by Mike Phillips



At a recent 3-day detailing class here at Autogeek we had a 1962 Impala SS that my class used as a training car for the FLEX power tools, SONAX products and Gtechniq Ceramic Coatings. I had them leave the wheels as they were so later I could machine polish them for a new Mothers video and for this review.


Review: I like the old Mothers power ball for machine polishing aluminum wheels and other items but this new Mothers Power Cone kicks Aluminum butt! I really punished hard and I though it would only be good for one set of wheels and by the time I was finished with all 4 wheels the foam would be so shredded and torn that it would be dumpster-worthy.

I was wrong.

This new foam material and shape is as tough as nails when it comes to durability but a real smooth operator when it comes to your car's show-off shoes.

If you have a set of aluminum wheels and they are dull and ugly, I highly recommend the new Mothers Power Cone along with the Mothers Aluminum & Mag Wheel Polish. Faster than you could ever do by hand along, in no time you're wheel will gleam and shine like fine jewelry.


Check it out...

Here's the wheels, they are fairly dull and lifeless. I'm going to test out both corded and cordless drills.

A little tape to show before-and-after differences...

Both my Power Cones are used and dirty from the last class...

You want some gloves, aluminum polishing is messy... even with a drill. The reason why is you still have to wipe off the residue by hand...

The lazy man's way - dip the tip of the cone into the jar of polish and blip the trigger a few seconds...

Dab some polish onto sections of the wheel...

Get busy.... a medium speed seems to work best, not too slow, not too fast...

Here comes the big reveal...

Drum roll please...

BOOM! There it is...

Oh yeah.... looking good....

That's what I'm talking about....

But there's more!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued...

I flip to the other side of the car...


I call this the,


Finger Painting Technique

Used your finger to spread a thin film of polish over the entire wheel surface...

Uniform coating of polish...

Then using a medium speed, work you way around the wheel...

Simple Simon - shiny wheels without the hard work...

With a 462 Big Block Chevy shaking the air around the car, this beauty is ready for the Power Tour!

Get yours at Autogeek.com

Mothers PowerCone Polishing Tool

Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish 10 oz.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Don't just read....

Comments, feedback and questions always welcome and encouraged...

 

[Aaryn NZ]

Great review Mike! rops:

I am a fan of the Mothers Power Cone/Ball tools, & to be honest - their Metal Polish is decent too. I do actually enjoy metal polishing (on a wheel size scale) it’s a rewarding task albeit at times messy. Unfortunately most modern alloy wheels are sporting clear coat now days & polishing wheels isn’t something required all that often.

Won’t stop me from picking up a couple of these new Mothers Power Cones in the not too distant future. :xyxthumbs:

Again - Great review Mike, thank you. rops:


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[FrankS]

Nice work and write-up Mike!

That Mothers combo with drill makes things a lot easier.

Looks great :dblthumb2:

 

[sixsix]

Could you use this on factory black painted wheels or clear coated aluminum wheels with something like ultimate polish or is the cone too aggressive?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JustJesus]

I used that same polish by hand with a...get this...a soft MF towel !!! ..and had pretty good results. I only did half a wheel as I was messing around while I waited for the wife to come home.

The Powercone would have made the job SOOOO much easier. Heck, even a cotton towel surely would have made a difference.

 

[forrest@mothers]

Could you use this on factory black painted wheels or clear coated aluminum wheels with something like ultimate polish or is the cone too aggressive?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You can use the PowerCone with a product appropriate to the finish. And the foam is not too aggressive for a painted or coated surface.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Great review Mike! rops:

Thanks Aaryn,

Nice work and write-up Mike!

Thanks Frank, with 49 pictures out of 100 taken, you know exactly what it takes to make the magic happen.


icture:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued...

Actually machine polished out a second set of wheels with the new Mothers Power Cone... another red vehicle, this time an old 4-door Chevy...

This was also the vehicle our February class wetsanded, not bad considering,

A: Most of the people in this class have never wetsanded before.

B: I don't know of any other class where absolute newbies get to wetsand a real streetrod.​

We hold our 3-day classes here at Autogeek the SAME TIME every year,

1. February
   
2. May
   
3. September

The February class sold out, (they all sell out), the next classes for 2018 are,

Autogeek's 3-Day Detail Class - May 4th, 5th & 6th 2018 - Stuart, Florida

Autogeek's 3-Day Detail Class - September 28th, 29th & 30th 2018 - Stuart, Florida

 

[Klasse Act]

I used to have the same wheels on my 87' GN in the 90's but they were 16 x 8's and there was no Powerball, LOL. This would've made life a lot easier but I used Never Dull and to help remove any residue I would spray glass cleaner on the wheel for the final wipe and it popped....why is that?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Pats300zx]

I have those same wheels on my 1967 Nova. The Mothers Power Cone and Powerball is a lifesaver and makes the polishing some much easier. I just got a nice Bosch cordless drill and can't wait to try it out for the wheel polishing.

 

[Desertnate]

How well would the Power Cone work on aluminum exhaust tips or would I be better off just using the Power Ball?

I already use the Mother's polish and really like it, I'm just waiting on a faster way to polish up my exhaust tips.

 

[SWETM]

Seems like the slized foam does a great work to follow contours. Awesome write up and pictures Mike! Shows in detail the use of the products you demonstrate.

 

[ewiesner]

Mike, do you ever clean the Powerball or Powercone? If so, what do you use?

 

[forrest@mothers]

Mike, do you ever clean the Powerball or Powercone? If so, what do you use?

You can use a foam pad detergent if you have it, or we recommend using dish soap and warm water in a bucket. Disassemble for best results (takes a 10mm wrench). Squeeze it in the water to clean well, then rise and allow to dry before reassembling. Reassembly is also a good time to reverse the foam element so you wear both sides of the PowerBall evenly - much like rotating the tires on your vehicle for longest life.

 

[Aaryn NZ]

I used to have the same wheels on my 87' GN in the 90's but they were 16 x 8's and there was no Powerball, LOL. This would've made life a lot easier but I used Never Dull and to help remove any residue I would spray glass cleaner on the wheel for the final wipe and it popped....why is that?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I won't say I 100% Know but in my experience I would say that it cuts through that last residual layer. You will get there by switching out to a clean towel often, or a trick I learnt years ago was - have a small bucket with some flour & put a clean microfibre towel in in & ruffle it around a bit, pull it out & gently shake the excess flour off it & use this towel for the final wipe. Works awesomely. :xyxthumbs: I used this method when polishing an Airstream Caravan to a mirror finish, obviously it took more than one towel . . . . & a fair amount of flour.

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[JMak97008]

How well would the Power Cone work on aluminum exhaust tips or would I be better off just using the Power Ball?

I already use the Mother's polish and really like it, I'm just waiting on a faster way to polish up my exhaust tips.

I have an 06 300C SRT8 with a Corsa cat back exhaust system. I used the power ball on a Dewalt cordless drill several months ago with the Mothers mag and aluminum polish you see Mike using. The tool worked great on the inside of each tip and on the sides and bottom. The top of each tip was tough given the narrow space between the top of the pipe and bottom of the bumper.

I was timid with it and it took me a while as I was overly cautious. But the results were very good. The tips polished up easily and very well. The polish spreads easily and you can work it a while, too.

 

[Desertnate]

I have an 06 300C SRT8 with a Corsa cat back exhaust system. I used the power ball on a Dewalt cordless drill several months ago with the Mothers mag and aluminum polish you see Mike using. The tool worked great on the inside of each tip and on the sides and bottom. The top of each tip was tough given the narrow space between the top of the pipe and bottom of the bumper.

I was timid with it and it took me a while as I was overly cautious. But the results were very good. The tips polished up easily and very well. The polish spreads easily and you can work it a while, too.

Thanks for the feedback.

I too can't get to the top of the tips, but it sound like the ball would work on the lower sides and the lip around the actual exhaust opening.

 

[SWETM]

To get the top of the the tip exhaust. Take a mf towel and hang it over the tip and have a small amount of the alu polish so it's only on the tip surface. Grab the towel on each side and move it down with switching pulling it down from hand to hand. Lol a little complicated way to describe it but hope you get what I mean.