What polish for exhaust tips

[The Guz]

Hey guys. I'm getting ready to polish my car. I have an aftermarket exhaust on my car (borla) that has been on it for years. I am looking for some information on what to use on it to clean up the tips. In the past I have used #0000 steel wool with some metal polish. I would prefer to stick with the meguiar's brand as they have never let me down. I admit I haven't polished out the tips in awhile but they are failry clean considering my commute to work is only 5 miles.

This is the information I found on the material the exhaust is made of. It is T-304 stainless steel.

Not all performance exhaust systems are created equal. Borla exhaust products are made of 100% pure Aircraft-Quality T-304 Stainless Steel-inside and out. T-304 grade stainless is austenitic (non-magnetic) and has a high chromium content, which makes it nearly ten times more durable than mild steel and has over three times the life of T-409 stainless steel (an inferior grade of alloy used by some manufacturers). T-304's high tensile strength resists cracking and enables Borla to use thinner wall tubing for lighter weight. This is truly a complete bolt-on system utilizing the factory hanger positions. Tips included

Would a metal polish be preffered or would a compound be recommended? Recommendations on a metal polish would be great as well.

This is what I currently have in my arsenal as far as compounds/polishes:
M105/M205
D300
UC/UP

Thanks
-Mike

[Murr1525]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

they look in good shape, so really UC would probably do just fine...

But if you can find the new Finishing Polish online to order, that would probably be great, esp if cleaned up a little before, then a finishing application on terry cloth.

[The Guz]

They are not as bad but they could use a good cleaning. I'll give UC a try. I'll also order some finishing polish. If I get OCD I may hit the mufflers.

I popped into pep boys as it's near the place I am getting a hair cut and I was tempted to pick up the DUB metal polish lol.

[Eldorado2k]

I bet the DUB would work great on your tips.

I use Meguiars Cleaner Wax with #00 steel wool on my exhaust tips. Leaves em nice and clean. I just wish mine were more noticable..

[h_bomm]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

I was able to find the new Finishing Polish locally at Advance here in central MN so I would bet you would be able to as well. I really like it the few times I've used it.

[The Guz]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

The local auto parts stores around here don't have the finishing polish. There are a couple detailing shops near me that carry it.

My brother has some hot rims all metal polish that I'm going to try and I also picked up the DUB polish to give it a try and a review.

[The Guz]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

Well I washed my daily driver this weekend. I had picked up some DUB metal polish and my brother let me borrow his All Metal Polish to do a comparison. I have to say that both products worked great. They both removed water spots and cleaned up the tips well. I may give the tips a light scuffing with some 0000 steel wool on the interior of the tips. As I was using it I noticed the the DUB metal polish had more black on the towel when applying it compared to the all metal polish. It could be that the DUB metal polish has some more abrasives. Not really sure about that unless someone from meguiar's chimes in. The smell of the DUB polish is great. It's a 5 oz container that will last awhile. I would recommend it.

There were some deep scratches that either was not able to remove. Would the heavy cut metal polish remove those deep scratches?

DUB
Before

After


Before

After


All Metal Polish
Before

After


Before

After

[MTLian]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

Maybe you got the last two inverted, but I find the before looks better than the after. For my tailpipe, I've used mothers claybar and Mother's mag and aluminum polish. I wasn't taken aback by the claybar but I really got good results from the aluminum polish. I even stripped and painted some mags that I polished with 600 up to 2000 grit sand paper for a polished lip look and the mothers polish worked great for bringing out the shine! I've also used steel wool with moderate success. I might try to get the soot out with steel wool...

[The Guz]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

The last two photos are not inverted. The lighting wasn't that great. You can see some water spots on the second to last photo on the bottom of the tip. I just need to figure out the best way to remove those scratches on this tip.

[Murr1525]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

Scratches into metal are tough, without really refinishing it.

Megs does make the stronger metal polish as well now... dont know about it...

[The Guz]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

Yup you are right about that. I have had this exhaust on the car since I believe 2001. It was one of the first mods I did to the car. So it's seen it's fair share of dings and scratches. I have no problem living with them. My brother has the heavy cut polish that he used on his bike. I may try it. But I do like the results of the DUB metal polish. I highly recommend it.

[h_bomm]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

Hey Guz, I remembers seeing this when those new polishes came out and thought I should pass it along. Those tips look great too, by the way!

Michael Stoops
Administrator

Originally Posted by STRIFE
^ hmmm my chrome lips on my G will want this


Quite possibly, yes. Just stay away from the Heavy Cut on chrome as we don't recommend it for that surface. Heavy Cut is great at removing really nasty oxidation and scratches from bare aluminum, but there's too high a chance that it will haze or create very fine scratches in chrome. As you know, chrome is much harder than aluminum, and any haze or scratches you might create with a heavy cutting product will be very difficult to remove. Stick with the Finish Cut on chrome.
Michael Stoops
Internet Technical Specialist | Meguiar's Inc.
(800) 854-8073 xt 3875
mstoops@meguiars.com

[The Guz]

Re: What polish for exhaust tips

Here's another update. I updated my review on the DUB metal polish as well. I used some 0000 steel wool and repolished with DUB. These are the results.