Dirty Exhaust Tips

[Bit-Image]

What products do you all clean / maintain factory exhaust tips with ?

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[ihasnostang]

for the inside of the quad tips; soapy water and a circular style toilet scrubbing brush

 

[Xpdwheel]

I’m sure there are several products but I use soapy water on a clean cloth and sprinkle baking soda in it. Works like a charm. 22 Mach 1 .

 

[Doc Dee]

Barkeepers’s friend… Really fine pumice. Comes in a liquid or powder shaker.
I’ve used OOOO steel wool as well, BUT THE BARKEEPERS‘S FRIEND IS EVEN FINER.

 

[MAGS1]

Mother’s Mag & Aluminum polish with a Scrub Ninja pad. A wheel cleaner or iron remover will help get anything really nasty off before using the Mothers polish.

 

[darkgoblin]

Someone recommended Flitz metal polish to me for the SS tips. I just got it from Amazon and will try it out this weekend, and post some pics afterward

 

[skinnyb]

P21S Polishing soap for cleaning really dirty tips that won't come clean with just soap... And Dr Beasley's Metal coat to coat them and keep it from sticking so bad, for a while anyway...

 

[Wsvi]

this has worked great for me

 

[lo-fi]

Meguiars 105 or 205 works.

 

[Sean22]

this has worked great for me

"Just the tip...."

 

[S550HPP]

Whatever you use cut a 12-16" strip of terry towel or microfibre saturate with cleaner then lay over tip and pull it back and forth like a shoe polish action. Have a water spray bottle handy and give it a light mist every so often.

Can start with acetone / nail polish remover to get tar, carbon and gunk off then change to any polish.

 

[WD Pro]

Some comments / old posts from me that offer a quick way to clean and apply a satin / brushed look to the OE tips (it’s defo worth expanding the quoted posts) :

For us on this side of the pond, T-cut is great on stainless tips, it’s cheap, easy to get hold of (pretty much every gas station sells it, even supermarkets) and lasts ages.

Get the original stuff that stinks, it seems to have just the right combination of chemical cleaning to dissolve the burnt on tar and abrasive to polish them up

Oh yeah, even though it was intended for it, never (ever) use it on paint … lol

WD

I didn't polish mine, but I smoothed the sharp edges, removed all the underseal overspray (UK car) and applied an even brushed finish :

I suppose for a tip as basic as they are, it's how they should have prepped them from the factory ...

WD

For the sharp edges :

Just the small sanding drum like this :

I used a fine grit and made sure it was pre-used (less aggressive and takes a bit longer, but more forgiving in the case of an error / slip).

It's difficult to get around the tips with the 3M pad but this method works a treat :

• Cut your 3M pad (I used the green type) into a 1" strip.
• Get an old dressing gown tie and lay it out flat.
• Place you 1" wide 3M pad on it (it will stick a bit like weak Velcro).
• Flip it all over and warp it in a U shape over the tip.
• Add tension and push / pull the gown tie ends - kind of like one of those street shoe buffer guys polishing the toe section of a shoe.

The 3M pad will be held on the inside of the gown tie up against the tip and it will give a nice even pattern, that with a bit of manoeuvring can be put all around the tips. The plastics and other tip are also protected from the 3M pad by the outer side of the gown tie.

If have have done a crap job of explaining that just let me know and I will snap a photo - that will make the method very obvious

WD

@wenklaw - I thought you might be interested in this, there is a very distinct difference in the magnetism of the inner and outer tips :




It’s the same on both sides. That magnet is reasonably strong, it was rescued from a kids magnetic dartboard before the misses recycled it.

I know working stainless can alter its magnetism, but there isn’t really any significant change in the forming of the inner and outer tips that could influence that.

The video was pre cleaning, but post cleaning (internal only) with T-Cut on a 3M kitchen pad finishes them like this :

WD

I also fixed the tips up - much easier to do off the car (if you truly want to get all around them) :

People have asked before how I have done the brushed finish, this picture should make everything self explanatory :

Important notes :

A) 3M pads seem to last better than the Asda (Walmart) type, but I couldn't find any in time.

B) The repurposed dressing gown cord is very important - you need to source a red superman version just like mine ...

WD

WD

 

[Nightmonkey]

I use Autosol Metal Polish and some cotton rags from old shirts for more than 20 years (except for the Bullitts black tips): https://www.autosol.com/product_p/1000.htm

 

[Adam the Lighting Guy]

Those factory tips are SHARP !

When I had just gotten mine, I think it was the 2nd time I had washed it the drivers side cut a finger pretty good. I can't recall ever bleeding from washing a car before. I've been much more cautious since.

 

[skinnyb]

Those factory tips are SHARP !

When I had just gotten mine, I think it was the 2nd time I had washed it the drivers side cut a finger pretty good. I can't recall ever bleeding from washing a car before. I've been much more cautious since.

I agree, I have helped several of my friends with the factory finger slicers.... I did a Borla exhaust almost immediately on my GT when I had it and the Mach 1 doesn't have that problem... It pays to be VERY careful

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