Cleaning My Exhaust Tips
06-19-2012, 10:17 PM
#1
Cleaning My Exhaust Tips
First time post and really my first time doing anything like this besides a basic two bucket wash, clay and wax. (saving up for my PC 7424XP, swirls here I come 
)
I've had the car for about 4 months now but I'm slowly getting hooked on the "detailing bug".
So here goes, my first attempt cleaning out my exhaust tips
(Yes I know, need to get the lawn trimmed. It rains like a mother right now
)
To help get the job done I'm using some P21S TAW, Optimum Metal Polish, (thanks Greg)
0000 Steel Wool, 2 cotton terry cloths, 2 Microfiber Towels and an Oral B tooth brush.
(Forget what you see on the bottle, I swear its P21S T.A.W
)
Hosed down the muffler with my garden house (no pressure washer available) with a strong blast to knock off any loose dirt. I then sprayed on TAW, allowed it to dwell for about 30 Secs, misting in between to prevent the product from drying out.
I then broke out the tooth brush and started to agitate the TAW still misting periodically. Some elbow grease required to help TAW work its magic.
After TAW Wash
Starting to look much better.
Since the exhaust didn't look too bad I decided to forgo the 0000 Steel Wool and went straight for the Optimum Metal Polish. However I must come clean and say that since this was my first time doing anything like this I was a bit chicken and decided to play it safe so I went for the least aggressive method first. (I've been reading a lot
)
Applied the OMP to the corner of my terry cloth after giving it a good shake. I then rubbed it in for a about 4-5 minutes used a decent about of pressure (while still being gentle again for fair of knocking my exhaust loose
).
OMP is a lot more watery than I thought it would be, so I needed to be careful when applying it to the terry cloth. It did turn my cloth black, but I guess all metal polishes do that. Maybe I applied too much, I'm not sure. ???
Wiped off the excess with some MF (they were being used for door jams) and inspected the results. I then applied some more of the polish and went in for another round. The results
I still thought I could have gotten a better result (primarily at the bottom where they may have welded the tip) so I broke out the 0000 Steel Wool. I sprayed the muffler and the SW with some TAW and then began working the TAW around with the SW.
Spritzing every now and then to keep things well lubed up. Rinsed and applied a tiny bit more OMP and worked that in for about 3-4 mins, then wiped off with a MF.
End Results
Total time spent, maybe about 20-30 mins, it stated to rain (AGAIN) - had to run indoors to shut some windows.
Thanks all on here for the inspiration. Its not much, but its my first
)I've had the car for about 4 months now but I'm slowly getting hooked on the "detailing bug".
So here goes, my first attempt cleaning out my exhaust tips
(Yes I know, need to get the lawn trimmed. It rains like a mother right now
)To help get the job done I'm using some P21S TAW, Optimum Metal Polish, (thanks Greg)
0000 Steel Wool, 2 cotton terry cloths, 2 Microfiber Towels and an Oral B tooth brush.
(Forget what you see on the bottle, I swear its P21S T.A.W
)Hosed down the muffler with my garden house (no pressure washer available) with a strong blast to knock off any loose dirt. I then sprayed on TAW, allowed it to dwell for about 30 Secs, misting in between to prevent the product from drying out.
I then broke out the tooth brush and started to agitate the TAW still misting periodically. Some elbow grease required to help TAW work its magic.
After TAW Wash
Starting to look much better.
Since the exhaust didn't look too bad I decided to forgo the 0000 Steel Wool and went straight for the Optimum Metal Polish. However I must come clean and say that since this was my first time doing anything like this I was a bit chicken and decided to play it safe so I went for the least aggressive method first. (I've been reading a lot
)Applied the OMP to the corner of my terry cloth after giving it a good shake. I then rubbed it in for a about 4-5 minutes used a decent about of pressure (while still being gentle again for fair of knocking my exhaust loose
).OMP is a lot more watery than I thought it would be, so I needed to be careful when applying it to the terry cloth. It did turn my cloth black, but I guess all metal polishes do that. Maybe I applied too much, I'm not sure. ???
Wiped off the excess with some MF (they were being used for door jams) and inspected the results. I then applied some more of the polish and went in for another round. The results
I still thought I could have gotten a better result (primarily at the bottom where they may have welded the tip) so I broke out the 0000 Steel Wool. I sprayed the muffler and the SW with some TAW and then began working the TAW around with the SW.
Spritzing every now and then to keep things well lubed up. Rinsed and applied a tiny bit more OMP and worked that in for about 3-4 mins, then wiped off with a MF.
End Results
Total time spent, maybe about 20-30 mins, it stated to rain (AGAIN) - had to run indoors to shut some windows.
Thanks all on here for the inspiration. Its not much, but its my first
Last edited by AllReD; 06-19-2012 at 11:41 PM.
06-19-2012, 11:43 PM
#3
07-06-2012, 10:49 PM
#5
Awesome job! they look good. Dont know what the detail gurus will say but....... I use brake parts cleaner on the insides of my exhaust tips after each wash to remove exhaust build up. Keeps the inside of the tips really clean. I havent had to mess with the outsides yet. Yours look great!
07-07-2012, 11:11 AM
#6
Registered User
NiCce good work buddy, shiny as hell! Would mothers chrome polish work on my st.steel and titanium burnt tips. I wanna shine it up but don't wanna use products that might affect the burnt look. Those are sum shiny @ss exhausts damn.
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07-08-2012, 12:31 AM
#8
You can try asking Greg of Detailed Image he was the one who put me onto the Optimum (loving it). Will be doing my trim with it tomorrow if the weather holds up.
My advice would be to try a small area maybe the underpart of the exhaust and see how it goes.
Good luck.
Last edited by AllReD; 07-08-2012 at 01:05 AM.
07-25-2012, 05:18 PM
#9
Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Marietta, GA
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Excellent job! They look better then new. I use a product called Happich Simichrome Polish. It is a German made product that I first started using on my 1980 Honda Goldwing. I now use it on any stainless or aluminum parts on my G's, my first was a 2006 G35 and now have a 2012 G37 Journey Sedan, Obsidian Black, Premium Package, 18" wheels.
08-24-2012, 11:54 AM
#12
Those tips looks great, glad to hear the Optimum Metal Polish worked out for you! On top of the cleaning power it should offer some protection to help the moisture roll off too! Thank you for the support of DetailedImage.com!
Greg @ DI
Greg @ DI
