ok, so the 4" exhaust hasnt been cleaned since christmas when it was installed- the stainless is an absolute mess, i spray the dirt off, but grime is baked on black chunks, dirt circles- without going mail order, to get some of rp's and boss's magic pipe cleaner stuff -yes i searched-, what can i use (from your everyday car care aisles, to basic stores) to get them fairly shiny again- i think to get the crud off, they're gonna need scrubbing, but with scrubbing come scratching- should i worry, or will further detailing (rp's stuff) take care of the scuffs? these are my first shiny things that ive needed to take care of, so this field is new to me...
appreciate it!!!

Justin

 

I'm in the same situation right now, and have been weary about trying rubbing compounds and such on them without asking....any body have any ideas?

 

Clean all the excess dirt and crap off with soap and water or all purpose cleaner. Then try Mothers' Mag and Aluminum polish.

It's not as good as some of the "magic" stuff, but it should get them cleaned up fairly well. Stainless is a very hard metal, and it's takes some elbow grease (or power tool) and the correct products to really make it shine.

 

The wadding? Silver can?

 

sweet, thanks guys!

 

The can... man!

I know some like the products with wadding... I don't care for them.

 

I really like the wadding from Heavy Metal Polishes but, I can't really compare it to their liquid as I haven't tried it... *shrugs*

-RP-

 

well, just gave it a shot- washed the black beast, scratch-x'd it, then nxt'd it- it looks horrible- i dont think scratch-x did a thing- the nxt makes it glow still, but the scratches and chips from winter are all still there
as for the exhaust, well, the black chunks are still on it, dunno how im going to get them off, the mothers did i nice job making it pretty shiny- its pretty scratched up though, i think i need something more abrasive to really churn out some of the grime, then a high grit to bring back the full lustre? (heavy metal medium, and high???)

thanks
justin

 

RP,

I'm sure the HMP wadding is excellent. I just like to be able to vary the applicator/application according to the need. With wadding, you don't have much of a choice. Of course, the HMP is so good, that it's probably not that big of a deal.

 

Again, I would concentrate on getting the "black cunks" ( tar? ) and stuff off there "before" polishing. Maybe a good all purpose cleaner allowed to soak for a while. Maybe some mineral spirts?

Then, the HMP medium, followed by the light should bring them back to excellent shape.

The condition of your paint is probably another topic all together.

 

thanks boss- just finished my order for heavy metal, got some ultra fine, and some medium on the way
as for the black crud- i dont think its tar, i think its just crap from the roads, just baked/ cured to the exhaust- the smaller chunks came off with pressure- the others some high powered cleaner should loosen up enough to scrub off- I'll give it another go when my HMP comes in next week I assume.

thanks for your help,
Justin

 

Use that nonabrasive cleanser Bon Ami or whatever it's called. There is another good one used by bartenders called Bar Pal or something like that. chrome is very hard to scratch.

 

You're thinking of Barkeepers Friend... It is an amazing cleaner... works on just about everything without any sort of harm.

 

BKF is an abrasive cleaner though... isn't it? I mean, comes in a can and is in a powder form? Actually, I'd consider it to be very abrasive... kind of like Comet.

 

on my tips i used nevr dull and it worked really good. i think its kinda the same stuff you guys are talking about. BalogUK i had the same stuff on my tips but they look way better after the nevr dull. it you wanna look at them my truck usually parked in front of the contruction thing on campus or close by.