318touring

What should I use to clean and get my exhaust tips back to the original condition if mine is looking like this at the moment? I haven't tried anything out of fear that I'll make it worse.

linderpat

A good polish with a buffer will not hurt them at all. Also, it looks like the finish is chipped on the left pipe edge, and pitting on both, so don't worry too much about making them worse (I don't think you can) For best results, remove them and buff on the work bench. Easy job off the car.

Jaycote

Are they dirty, or are they scratched up? If those are not deep scratches, then you can clean them up good. I spray some aluminum rim cleaner on them and let it soak a few minutes. I then take a steel wool pad and scrub it out, getting all the heavy gunk and deposits off, then rinse clean. After that I'll use a chrome polish and apply/buff out with a microfiber towel. They come out looking great! However, mine are not mirror shiny like yours, so I don't want you to scratch yours up with the steel wool pad. I would consider a high grit sanding block instead, similar to the ones used to clean our headlights with. Good luck!

318touring

They are a little bit pitted and scratched but not deep ones, just superficial.

So I'll try chrome polish as that seems to be the consensus. These hadn't been cleaned and looked after properly hence their conditions right now.

Perhaps with something like this:

Iceter

Thise scratches look pretty deep. I'm not sure a polish will do much. Try a Dremel with a buffing wheel and some compound for stainless (if that's what they're made of).

I usually find Dremels to be useless for polishing, but the exhaust tips are small and the contours are tight and it's difficult to get in between the tips with a larger wheel.

318touring

The scratches are not that deep as I can't feel them when dragging fingernail across the surface.

I was planning to do the polishing by hand as I don't have a Dremel or similar machine ....

Iceter

The fingernail test is only a thing with polishing glass. Polished metal has a mirror-surface. Scratches can be bad and not catch your fingernail.

But, no matter. A machine would just make your job easier. You can polish those out by hand with a little elbow grease.

I am am a little curious how you got those scratches on the tops of your tips?

318touring

I was hoping it was going to be superficial only :-(

Yes, elbow grease and fingers-crossed would be the approach in this case, unfortunately.

I don't how it became like that, got the car with scratched tailpipes thrown in for free! Maybe from gravel being kicked up from road surface? When the car arrived it had a deposit of gravels between the two pipes, complete with tar. People just washed and cleaned the body without paying any attention to things below the body, I guess.

LexVan

Send em out for ceramic powder coating.

318touring

Good idea, and will be a lot cheaper than getting brand new tips. I'll take a few more pictures and get a quote from this crowd as they are not too far away.

It's Sport Tailpipes and apparently costs more than 500 quid new!

gopirates

I did this. Had mine ceramic coated in flat black. Never have to worry about cleaning soot from the inside anymore!

LexVan

Do it!

floatingkiwi

I had the shiny PSE tips cover in Tar and scratched and stuff. Used 3000/5000 grit sandpaper lubed with tar removal compound or wd40 etc. Came out looking really good and easy to redo every so often.

LexVan

I used CCP Coatings in Detroit. The better shops can even offer you colors in ceramic:

LexVan

318touring, I just now looked at your link. Unless they offer CERAMIC coatings, don't waste your time with them. You need the ceramic coating to hold up to the heat, not just powdercoating.