Polishing Exhaust Tips with P21S

[Ec1990]

Today I got bored and decided to clean up and shine the exhaust tips using P21S Polishing Soap. P21S Polishing Soap is a clay based polish first designed for silversmiths actually and has been designed for use on chrome, polished surfaces, and many other metal surfaces. As with any product try it out in an inconspicuous spot first.


I started off by cleaning the tips and surrounding areas with Chemical Guys V07, I use this product because it is a hybrid of detail spray while also having some sealant properties.

The exhaust tips and trim itself.

Here's what was picked up with the V07.

The polishing soap comes with a sponge in the polishing container that is quite abrasive.

Give it a good swipe until there's a good layer of soap on it. Be advised a little goes a long way with this product.

Lather the sponge and scrub the exhaust tip thoroughly insuring not to miss any spots and work evenly.

You can see even after cleaning embedded dirt lies within the metal and comes out when heavily worked with. This is similar to paint cleaners affect on paint

After rinsing.

Shiny...

[WhiteFRS69]

or an even cheaper trick

alluminum foil and coke

[Atticus808]

i find that if you use a lot more soap than what you used, it's a lot easier to work with.
i used to use about the same amount as you did until someone suggested using more.

[HaXx]

deciding to bump this instead of make my own thread-

how to polish titanium exhaust tips

i noticed my exhaust tips were looking pretty orange on the inside

before:


I decided to get eagle one nevr-dull, and steel wool.
Finished product:



i thought it was a cream, but nevr-dull turns out to be this wet cottony material. i decided it wasnt abrasive enough for the inside, so i got out some brake clean and put that on the steel wool and got inside harder. for the outside of the tips i stuck with just the nevr-dull, didnt want to rub off any of the burnt Ti color. i then microfibered the tips dry, and TA-DA! it is a bit more overcast when i took the finished pics, so its a bit darker, and i think will look better in direct light. nevr-dull and steel wool are less then $10 combined.
admittedly its still a touch orange, i may get some steel wool more abrasive than the 0000 i used

[DandoX]

I use spray wax and a shop rag, or windex and a shop rag. I mean you dont need to use brake clean or soap unless its super gunked up. I found that you can mostly just wipe it regularly and it cleans it up pretty well.

[HaXx]

Originally Posted by DandoX

I use spray wax and a shop rag, or windex and a shop rag. I mean you dont need to use brake clean or soap unless its super gunked up. I found that you can mostly just wipe it regularly and it cleans it up pretty well.

notice i was trying to abrade the orange pre-rust from the inside of the tips, for the outside, definitely polish and a microfiber would be great, i agree with that.

[DandoX]

Originally Posted by HaXx

notice i was trying to abrade the orange pre-rust from the inside of the tips, for the outside, definitely polish and a microfiber would be great, i agree with that.

ahh yeah I have a stainless steel exhaust so maybe mine doesn't get as rust dirty. I found that tub-o-towels does wonders though, i've seen that cut through some serious build up in my engine bay and on the exhaust tips

[Ernest72]

Just remember polish or never dull can remove metal. So try least aggressive first. Detailer and microfiber usually work for me.