Exhaust tips: It’s all in the details
Exhaust tips are often overlooked when detailing a car. Many people just focus on the big picture: paint, wheels and windows; not realising that one overlooked area on a clean car will stick out like a soar thumb.
Advertisement
Cleaning and polishing your exhaust tips will not only complete the look of your car, but also protect the tips from corrosion and caked carbon build up.
Different types Of exhaust tips
Exhaust tips are primarily made of three different types of materials: mild steel, mild steel that is chrome plated and aerospace grade stainless steel. Mild steel is the least expensive and easily the most hideous.
It’s prone to cracking, unlike the flexibility and durability of stainless steel. Mild steel rusts easily, which makes it a poor choice to have exposed under your car where it will regularly see rain, snow and salt.
Mild steel that is chrome plated is the next step up. It’s more durable and has the same characteristics as other chrome surfaces. It looks hundreds of times better than mild steel, producing a mirror like shine. Its downfall comes in with durability, if not taken care of properly. It’s prone to corroding and the coating can flake and peel.
Stainless steel is the best material used for making exhaust tips. It’s extremely durable, lasting roughly four to five times longer than chrome and not prone to cracking. It is resistant to corrosion and when polished properly produces a similar mirror shine as chrome. The only downside to stainless steel is its cost, but if you consider its durability, you will never need to replace it if taken care of properly, unlike the other options.
Cleaning products and tools
There are a wide range of safe cleaners to use on exhaust tips such as degreasers, all-purpose cleaners, dedicated wheel cleaners and different metal polishes. Experiment around and find out what products work best for you
After the initial cleaning, you will need to polish the metal. I’ve tested several products and Chemical Guys Metal Shine is so far my favourite. Ever since using it, cleaning my exhaust tips has been quick and easy. After polishing, you can use a metal wax to help protect the tips. I’ve never had a need for this type of a product so I can’t speak to its effectiveness.
Microfibre towels, wheel cleaning brushes and steel wool #0000 are all necessities when cleaning exhaust tips. If it is soft enough not to mar or scratch the surface of your wheel (metal or clear coated), it will be safe for your exhaust.
Do not use steel wool on any painted or power coated surface; you will damage it. Also, be careful using steel wool #0000 on chrome; lots of lubrication is needed so you do not damage the surface. A way to check your products, tools and technique is to preform a small test spot on the exhaust tip to check the results. Pick an inconspicuous area, as there is a chance you could damage your exhaust tips.
How to clean exhaust tips
I had recently broken my ankle and this was the first time detailing my car since. It had been six months since I had washed it last and as you can see from the pictures it definitely needed it.
Soak your exhaust tips with cleaner and let it dwell to start breaking down the road grim and carbon build up.
After the product has dwelled for a minute or so, start agitating the surface with whichever cleaning tools you have available.
You can use steel wool #0000 during the initial cleaning step as well. I didn’t have a lot of time while making this guide so I wasn’t concerned with removing all the caked on carbon build up courtesy of the previous owner of the car. It would have taken me an hour to rub out all of the black build up you see inside the pipes. I’ll do it in the future and add the results to this guide.
The next step is to use a microfibre towel or steel wool to polish the exhaust tips.
Wipe off the used product and check the results. After using steel wool #0000, it is a good idea to polish again with a microfibre towel.
As you can see, cleaning and polishing your exhaust tips makes a huge difference and really brings the look of the car together. By adding exhaust tip cleaning to your detailing routine, you will prevent corrosion and caked carbon build up, while making cleaning next time faster and easier.