[10-42Adam]

So I bought my car about a month ago and overall she's pretty clean. I wash her probably twice a week but one thing that has been bothering me are the exhaust tips.

There's just a buildup of exhaust muck on the tips that I'd like to get off. I've tried a couple of different products but nothing is cleaning them like I hoped for.

Any suggestions from anybody?

[Krells]

Eagle One Never Dull does a pretty good job for me. If it is really bad you might need some 0000 steel wool and an all purpose cleaner.

[fisherbln]

0000 steel wool works great. Available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

[10-42Adam]

The steel wool won't scratch the tips at all?

[jopa489]

I use Never Dull or P21S Metal Polishing Soap. Both work well, but the latter is really good for any metal surface (along with lots of other surfaces around the house/cars). And that $10 container will last you a lifetime.

[shoes]

Originally Posted by Krells

Eagle One Never Dull does a pretty good job for me. If it is really bad you might need some 0000 steel wool and an all purpose cleaner.

Right on the money.

Here's a shot of one of my tips when I was finished:


I used #0000 steel wool and some P21S wheel cleaner (all I had at the time) to kind of 'wet sand' the grime out of the insides.
No noticeable scratching, but I wouldn't steel wool the outside of the tips. It shouldn't be necessary to get that aggressive on the outside.

I followed up the inside and outside of the tips with Nevr Dull polish.
I have heard some people recommend sealing them once they are clean, but I assumed the sealant would burn off from the heat of the exhaust. Might be worth a shot, though I'm not sure.

After you've got them perfect, make it a part of your wash routine to clean the tips inside and out. Should be fairly easy maintenance from there on depending on how much you drive of course.

[egtlover74]

I use chemical guys grime reaper and it work extremely well.

[bob.g]

i use P21S Metal Polishing Soap..and some steel wool to get that black buildup off the inside edge of the exhaust tip. Comes out perfect.

[Professor///M]

I put a tiny bit of Simple Green on a paper towel and clean my tips every day after work.

Takes 20 seconds and keeps them looking amazing.

I never have to scrub or even get a sponge - just wipes right off

[Neutrino45]

Don't use 0000 steel wool on the outside of your exhaust tip. Even if you use it lightly, wet, it will eventually wear down the matte silver finish. I know this from experience...

**Added the part in red

[TiAg335i]

After ~4 years of using Never Dull my right exhaust tip is actually starting to chip...the coating is coming off of them, which is bizarre.....

[Murph335]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

After ~4 years of using Never Dull my right exhaust tip is actually starting to chip...the coating is coming off of them, which is bizarre.....

solution: get the bmw perf exhaust?

[ianbiz]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

After ~4 years of using Never Dull my right exhaust tip is actually starting to chip...the coating is coming off of them, which is bizarre.....

is it due to the exhaust fumes or the never dull

[ianbiz]

Originally Posted by Krells

Eagle One Never Dull does a pretty good job for me.

Ditto. Minus the first time you clean them..... mine were pretty bad and took a bunch of passes to get clean, but since then its been a 20 min job to look like new.

[GarageKeptE92]

I wouldnt use the Steel wool on the OUTSIDE of the tips.. Maybe inside at most.

You would need a product to bring the shine back most likely. Its a little more aggressive strategy and should really be used after more conservative approaches have failed.

[chrisE92]

I'm a fan of optimum metal polish. I haven't used any other metal polish ever since. It's very strong stuff!

http://www.detailedimage.com/Optimum...-P291/8-oz-S1/

make sure you put some elbow grease into it... here's a pic of some exhaust tips I did for a mercedes ML. You may be surprised to hear that all I used was an MF towel and mother's mag/alum polish.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292677

[Cosmop]

I use one of those green kitchen brilo pad sponge combos with car soap to clean the black gunk in the inner rim. It works great. I use the soft side of the sponge to clean the outside of the pipe.

[imageautodetail]

Originally Posted by chrisE92

I'm a fan of optimum metal polish. I haven't used any other metal polish ever since. It's very strong stuff!

http://www.detailedimage.com/Optimum...-P291/8-oz-S1/

make sure you put some elbow grease into it... here's a pic of some exhaust tips I did for a mercedes ML. You may be surprised to hear that all I used was an MF towel and mother's mag/alum polish.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292677

We use opt or master formula metal gloss, both really good products

[JohnnyT]

This is the stuff to get....

http://www.detailedimage.com/P21S-M1...P84/105-oz-S1/

Works very nicely for me.

[gary88]

I spray a little brake cleaner on a kitchen sponge to clean the inside, and finish with an aluminum polish on a terry cloth for the outside. Works great.

[mjsbmw]

Originally Posted by Neutrino45

Don't use 0000 steel wool on the outside of your exhaust tip. Even if you use it lightly, wet, it will eventually wear down the matte silver finish. I know this from experience...

**Added the part in red

Same experience. The matte silver finish started to get very thin in spots.