Cleaning exhaust tips

[BrianT]

My exhaust tip on my ram gets pretty black and is getting dull. The soot comes off easy but how do you get the dull to be shiny again?? The side that faces the tire is dull the other side is still shiny. (Megs SS tip)

 

Adam, on you Ford EX. do you have a Megs exhaust tip on it?? (looking at the video from the car wash)

[FASN8N]

What about using some metal polish and a powerball?

[bigred vette]

i would recommend busch aluminium polish first, that stuff takes off soot and restores the shine super easy, then follow up with some adams metal polish. if you want the inside polished i would use a power ball mini but for the outside a mf aplicator pad to put it on the a old mf towel to take it off.

 

EDIT: forgot to mention...I would clean it off with some APC first and scrub it down with a brush or spounge. Then hose it off, dry it and then start to polish.

[Kwhite]

Jason cleaned his up perfectly on his vette. can't remeber the thread title with his pics, but believe it was just metal polish that he used

[BrianT]

The one side is pretty beat up from the tire throwing everything at it. really dull for SS.

[lawson4450]

in the past i just used polish and a small power ball and it worked fine

[SonicHD]

Anyone got a tip for removing old burnt rubber off my chrome tips??

[FASN8N]

Anyone got a tip for removing old burnt rubber off my chrome tips??

 

Have you tried steel wool?

[SonicHD]

No, not yet. I was thinking along the lines of an SOS pad.

[Rich]

Try this:

 

1Purchase a ball of brass wool. Be sure it is brass and not steel wool, because steel will damage the chrome. Spray a hearty amount of WD-40 degreaser into a small cup. Soak the wool in this cup while you perform the other duties necessary for removing rubber.

Step2

let the engine run for a minute or two. The purpose of this step is to get your pipes warm, which will make the rubber come off easier. Monitor the temperature closely. The pipes should be warm to the touch but not too hot. Once the pipes have heated, turn off the engine.

Step3

Spray the pipes with WD-40 over the areas covered in rubber. If the spray begins to smoke, stop immediately and let the pipes cool more. This degreaser will help loosen the bond between the chrome and the rubber.

Step4

Rub the rubber with a dry rag. Smaller pieces of rubber should come right off and not leave a mark on your pipes. Scrub hard to remove the stubborn spots. If it doesn’t appear to be working, grab your soaking brass wool.

Step5

Use the brass wool to lightly rub the stubborn rubber spots. This should loosen any rubber and take it off your pipes. Fight the urge to scrub harder in order to avoid scratches.

 

Follow up with some BSG to bring back the shine.

[bigred vette]

great advice Rich!

[Adam]

My exhaust tip on my ram gets pretty black and is getting dull. The soot comes off easy but how do you get the dull to be shiny again?? The side that faces the tire is dull the other side is still shiny. (Megs SS tip)

 

Adam, on you Ford EX. do you have a Megs exhaust tip on it?? (looking at the video from the car wash)

 

Hey Brian,

 

I've got a Magnaflow stainless exhaust tip on the Excursion, and it gets absolutely trashed every year. (I put 25K+ miles each year, so I actually swap the tip every so often.)

 

Positioned behind the tire, it gets every rock on the road thrown at it!

 

Here's what I do to restore mine, every 2-3 months:

 

1. Wash with Green Wheel Cleaner and a mild brush.
   
2. Break off a small piece of clay, and use it with the Detail Spray to remove the bumps and crud.
   
3. (You will kill that piece of clay, so be sure to toss it when done.)
   
4. Use #0000 Steel Wool, soaked with our Metal Polish on the edge of the tip, and underside of the tip where the soot seems to be at it's worst. (Don't use #000, or anything coarser!)
   
5. Using a Microfiber Applicator Pad, and our Metal Polish, go to town.
   
6. Repeat.
   

Remove the residue, and the stainless tip will shine like a new dime.

 

[SonicHD]

Try this:

 

1Purchase a ball of brass wool. Be sure it is brass and not steel wool, because steel will damage the chrome. Spray a hearty amount of WD-40 degreaser into a small cup. Soak the wool in this cup while you perform the other duties necessary for removing rubber.

Step2

let the engine run for a minute or two. The purpose of this step is to get your pipes warm, which will make the rubber come off easier. Monitor the temperature closely. The pipes should be warm to the touch but not too hot. Once the pipes have heated, turn off the engine.

Step3

Spray the pipes with WD-40 over the areas covered in rubber. If the spray begins to smoke, stop immediately and let the pipes cool more. This degreaser will help loosen the bond between the chrome and the rubber.

Step4

Rub the rubber with a dry rag. Smaller pieces of rubber should come right off and not leave a mark on your pipes. Scrub hard to remove the stubborn spots. If it doesn’t appear to be working, grab your soaking brass wool.

Step5

Use the brass wool to lightly rub the stubborn rubber spots. This should loosen any rubber and take it off your pipes. Fight the urge to scrub harder in order to avoid scratches.

 

Follow up with some BSG to bring back the shine.

 

Muchas gracias senor!!

[BrianT]

Thanks Adam!!!

[Team Adam's]

I typically use a generous helping of APC at full strength (Simple Green or Adams) to break down any really nasty gunk and break anything else loose using the brass wool and WD40 method mentioned by Rich.

 

Wash completely with car shampoo to remove leftover APC and WD40. Dry and then attack it with a metal polish. Powerball is useful if you've got some real nasty hazing.

 

I then follow up with a sealant to make cleanup easier next time around. I love Rejex for this kind of stuff. Sets up rock hard and lasts a long time also makes subsequent cleanings much easier.

[Chewy]

OK, I set off Saturday to get my tips looking like new again.

 

The winter had taken a toll on them.

 

So I grabbed some 2000 grit wet dry sand paper, some adams DS as the lube and some Adams metal polish #1. The carbon was so thick that I had to sand it off. I'm sure some stainless steel or brass wool would have worked too but I didn't have any. So after some sanding and some polishing the results are below.

 

Before and after...

[Adam]

Very nice Chris!

[BrianT]

That is just crazy! I will have to try that!!!