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Which metal polish is best for exhaust tips?


marquez93

Question

The only use I really have for metal polish is on the exhaust tips on my GTI, which get a lot of carbon buildup from the direct injection.

 

If I were to buy only one of the metal polishes, which one would be best for this? I was thinking number 2 since I shouldn't have to do any extreme polishing on them. Or is it important to have both to properly polish them?

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As a fellow VW owner (wifes got a 14 JSW TDI) and former 09 GLI owner I would say if you had to pick one, get #1. You will have the cut to get the carbon buildup and they will really polish nicely in one step. #2 is really just for extra shine but I dont notice it cleaning much heavy build up.

 

It's kind of like the Correcting and Finishing polish in that sense. You can do most cars with just the orange polish in one step.

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If you've got really nasty stuff that's baked on there good, you may need one of those "non-scratch" type scrubbie pads or #0000 steel wool first.  If it's not too bad, use am old wash cloth or something with a little "bite" to it and then finish it off with a MF utility towel.  I do tips as a favor to most customers and I would guess that most of them I see have never been cleaned.  If they specifically ask me to do them and want them as close to perfect as possible, I charge extra!  :)

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It's probably been the longest that I've left them without a good cleaning, but it's only been 6 months or so. So hopefully it won't be too bad. I've got some cheap microfibers and also some #0000 steel wool. Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm ready to place an order now. I've got to get a 6 pack of leather conditioner air fresheners before they sell out!

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Picked up a used 2012 Veloster for the wife and it gets the same build up (also direct injection). I didn't even realize it had thin chrome surrounds on the exhaust they were so black. I started with wheel cleaner, let that sit for a few and scrubbed with the lug brush and red bristle wheel brush, followed with some APC in similar manner. I hit it with both metal polish 1 and 2 to get them fully revived to chrome. I found the letters on the license plate surround were metalized during this process too.

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I can say I used the wheel cleaner on a friends car. He never cleaned or shined up his exhaust tips. 

I let it stand for a few minutes and used one of my small woollies and it came out really clean..finished with the #1 metal polish until I can see my ugly mug in the reflection. 

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The metal polish #1 and some #0000 steel wool really did shine up these tips.

post-13118-0-00170800-1465439755_thumb.jpg

 

However, the lower part didn't clean up perfectly as seen below if you zoom in and still felt rough while scrubbing it. It didn't seem to be getting better, so I stopped. Is it possible that after only 6 months or so of build up on a 1 year old car that this won't get any better?

post-13118-0-45655900-1465439977_thumb.jpg

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Tbh if the 0000 steel wool didn't help that I would leave it - its possible the carbon was eating into the chrome finish and thats why it doesnt look 100% perfect.

Yeah, I kinda thought so. I'd hate to see what they look like on one that has been neglected for years. I'll have to make sure to keep with it even through the winter. I moved to a new house this past winter and while I did do one or two Rinseless washes, for the most part the car was dirty all winter.

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Yeah, I'm definitely not worried about it. You can't even see it from 12". Kind of a shame that it does damage so quickly though. I ought to put some quick sealant on it. Hopefully that will make it clean up a bit easier. Thanks for the good advice as always.

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I'm thinking of picking up the metal polish, but about my only use would be for the exhaust tips. Whether I'd get one or both is still TBD. What's been your experience with lasting results of either/both polish(es) on your exhaust tips? Is this a monthly thing...quarterly...annually...?

 

While growing (and bank account dwindling ;)), this is only a hobby for me...no clients...so I'm wondering if investing in something that may not get used all that often, and probably only small amounts at a time, is worth it. Not to mention using Adam's exhaust tip cleaning process has worked pretty well for me.

 

Thanks!

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