How to polish your exhaust in 2hrs
04-01-2011, 03:21 PM
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How to polish your exhaust in 2hrs I picked up a dual/dual setup recently off the classifieds here and wanted to bring it up to the same luster as my SS LE. I read through the sticky's, searched the threads, and captured a ton of advice and tactics to polishing the exhaust.
I took a little from each thread and did the following in 2hrs. The result versus the effort was well worth it. Some people took 6 hrs and made the whole thing shine, I just wanted to bring it back to life and make the stainless sparkle like new.
What you need: terry cloth rags, steel wool (00 or finer), medium/fine/super fine sandpaper (combo pack at most stores), Mother's Mag Polish, dish sponge (the yellow/green one with a coarse back), dish soap, and a bucket. (I spent $20 total)
What I did:
(20min) Wash the pipes/muffler with soapy water and the dish sponge, using the coarse side to scrape off the road grime, surface dirt, and other big stuff.
(40min) For the aluminum/steel pipes (which will be really rusted over, check with a magnet - if it sticks you have steel) use the medium sandpaper, followed by the fine, then super fine, to bring it back from rust-red to silver.
(20min) For the stainless steel pipes apply the Mothers Mag Polish and "wax" each pipe with the terry cloth.
(40min) Now, once you have all the pipes back to a silver color, use the steel wool and a gob of Mag Polish to target the rusty or pitted spots on both the steel and stainless steel pipes. For chrome tips I would used only the terry cloth and Mag Polish to guard against scratches.
Wipe it down with a clean terry cloth, and bask in the glow of your exhaust.
Before
After
I took a little from each thread and did the following in 2hrs. The result versus the effort was well worth it. Some people took 6 hrs and made the whole thing shine, I just wanted to bring it back to life and make the stainless sparkle like new.
What you need: terry cloth rags, steel wool (00 or finer), medium/fine/super fine sandpaper (combo pack at most stores), Mother's Mag Polish, dish sponge (the yellow/green one with a coarse back), dish soap, and a bucket. (I spent $20 total)
What I did:
(20min) Wash the pipes/muffler with soapy water and the dish sponge, using the coarse side to scrape off the road grime, surface dirt, and other big stuff.
(40min) For the aluminum/steel pipes (which will be really rusted over, check with a magnet - if it sticks you have steel) use the medium sandpaper, followed by the fine, then super fine, to bring it back from rust-red to silver.
(20min) For the stainless steel pipes apply the Mothers Mag Polish and "wax" each pipe with the terry cloth.
(40min) Now, once you have all the pipes back to a silver color, use the steel wool and a gob of Mag Polish to target the rusty or pitted spots on both the steel and stainless steel pipes. For chrome tips I would used only the terry cloth and Mag Polish to guard against scratches.
Wipe it down with a clean terry cloth, and bask in the glow of your exhaust.
Before
After
04-01-2011, 04:12 PM
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Looks good but I can save you at least 40 minutes . Go buy the acid they use for big rig aluminum . $6 a gallon at napa and that will bring it to like new in about 10 minutes . The use sandpaper and polish . My used corsa turned out amazing for the little time and effort I put into it
04-01-2011, 05:29 PM
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Looks good but I can save you at least 40 minutes . Go buy the acid they use for big rig aluminum . $6 a gallon at napa and that will bring it to like new in about 10 minutes . The use sandpaper and polish . My used corsa turned out amazing for the little time and effort I put into it
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04-13-2011, 09:31 PM
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Great work! This technique also works for all sorts of things like brake calipers, non-clearcoated wheels, valve covers, old swing sets, mailboxes, etc. You name it.
