# Cleaning exhaust tips



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

There have been a few threads here asking about what product to use to clean blackened exhaust tips... I've recommended Happich 'Simichrome' more than once... and I was in 'detailing' mode this weekend, so here's a picture of tips after a 10-minute rub with Simichrome:








-I also detailed underneath the car... including the inside of the wheels...








...-The whole car, including "dazzle-tips"
















Keith


----------



## boostina3 (Jan 8, 2008)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (VWAddict)*

shinyyy


----------



## Megapickel (Dec 18, 2008)

Nice work, where do you buy your Happich Simichrome from?


----------



## brungold (Oct 8, 2007)

*FV-QR*

cleaner than new!


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: (Megapickel)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Megapickel* »_Nice work, where do you buy your Happich Simichrome from?
Last lot was from Germany. -There's a few places online though. -It's the BEST stuff for polished alloys like the ones on the Porsche...
Keith


----------



## Xymox (Jul 1, 1999)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (VWAddict)*

Picked up the following:








3M Extra Fine P400 Grit (lightly wet sanded 3 times)*
Can be purchased at Autozone, Advanced, hardware store, etc...








Happich Simichrome 50-Gram Tube (applied a dozen times or so)
Purchased here for $13 shipped - http://buyitnow64.stores.yahoo.net/sipo.html
End result:








My A3 is 3-1/2 years old, has nearly 50K miles on her and I'm very pleased with the results. So VWAddict had a wonderful suggestion! Thanks. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
*Note: I wouldn't recommend the wet sanding unless your exhaust tips were as old as mine.


_Modified by Xymox at 10:25 PM 5/15/2009_


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (Xymox)*

Nice work!
Mine were pretty black after 15,000 miles, but I've no doubt that yours would have been worse. -I think polish every 10k or so, and you'll never need to use abrasive paper.
After trying dozens of polishes, it's the BEST for polishing my (bare, polished alloy) Porsche wheels.
Simichrome is the Mutt's Nuts -period.
Keith


----------



## iMod.:R (Nov 14, 2005)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (VWAddict)*


_Quote, originally posted by *VWAddict* »_Nice work!
Simichrome is the Mutt's Nuts -period.
Keith

Yes it's the dogs danglies to be certain! Thanks for the suggestion, I gotta cop a glop of that for my dirty pipes too.


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (iModTTS)*


_Quote, originally posted by *iModTTS* »_ I gotta cop a glop of that for my dirty pipes too.

Oh...
..._*PLEASE!!!*_
-You don't keep cars long enough for the pipes to get dirty!








...heck, you don't even keep them long enough for the driver's seat to get warm!!!








Keith


----------



## iMod.:R (Nov 14, 2005)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (VWAddict)*

Duuuude! I had the A3 from 6/2005 to 1/2008. Lordy, I hope I'm not thought of as someone who runs through cars. No BS, I still think about that A3 every time I get into the TTS. It's like cheating with your hot younger secretary, and you can't stop thinking about how good your wife has been to you...


----------



## NeverOEM (Dec 17, 2007)

come now, everyone loves fast women


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: Cleaning exhaust tips (iModTTS)*


_Quote, originally posted by *iModTTS* »_I had the A3 from 6/2005 to 1/2008.

Yeah, I know...
I'm just yanking your chain!
Now, back in England there was a guy who bought a Mercedes every week... -We used to joke that he'd trade up whenever the ashtray was full!
Really, I'm just jealous of your new hotness. -Bet your bottom dollar that I'll be sporting it when I get my next car though! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
Keith


_Modified by VWAddict at 10:06 PM 5/16/2009_


----------



## tdotA3mike (Feb 5, 2009)

*FV-QR*

i had a go at it this weekend.. .
i started off by wet sanding (w/water) with a fine-ish medium sandpaper (my tips were really bad completely black







) then i went to a very fine automotive sandpaper, and used a bit of rotor cleaner lol to get the pesky crap lol... bought some polish...
before hand (photo is about 3 months old) 








after sanding and a poor attempt at polishing.. lol 








thats the stuff i used the first time, and i was unimpressed... i talked to my friend about it he told me to really clean the surface, dry, then really step into it... many coats... wipe off with another rag afterwords to see... and reapply... put a ton of elbow grease... it worked!







i was very happy with the results








oh and yes that is a hockey stick in the background... lol 

























_Modified by tdotA3mike at 9:18 PM 5/25/2009_

_Modified by tdotA3mike at 9:19 PM 5/25/2009_


_Modified by tdotA3mike at 9:51 PM 5/25/2009_


----------



## iMod.:R (Nov 14, 2005)

*Re: FV-QR (tdotA3mike)*

Mike, another approach is to use a very fine steel wool after a thorough cleansing. It can look neato I am sure.


----------



## tdotA3mike (Feb 5, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (iModTTS)*


_Quote, originally posted by *iModTTS* »_Mike, another approach is to use a very fine steel wool after a thorough cleansing. It can look neato I am sure.

ohh i bet, if (the other owner had) and if i did better keep up on the pipes, but i tired using steel wool to help and i just was not getting the results.. so i decided to take a really long route (many hours...) and start from scratch lol there is actually a few spots i am not that thrilled with and in the future i will redo them and either get a finer sandpaper (maybe diamond rouge??) or just take more time on it. I am very happy with the results considering what it came from! and the fact i used an over the counter cheap polish, not anything special like what others have used in the thread. it seems its all about the staged wet sanding that make the difference. it makes sense though if you do not have a good surface for the polish to grab onto it won't work


----------



## tdotA3mike (Feb 5, 2009)

*FV-QR*

ok soo should this happen after 20 minutes of city driving (very calmly... damn construction!







...)








WTF! it wiped off very easily.. my car has not been overly burning oil (just normal amounts...







)
i expected stuff to show after a short time, but not 15 km and one day....


----------



## Xymox (Jul 1, 1999)

*Re: FV-QR (tdotA3mike)*

Turbo car. Fairly normal, mike. Higher the octane the more residue I notice.


----------



## tdotA3mike (Feb 5, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (Xymox)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Xymox* »_Turbo car. Fairly normal, mike. Higher the octane the more residue I notice. 

ahh just checking cause i have seen some tails off 2.0T's after cleaning and they did not get that kind of build up so fast, like i said i expect build up cause like you said turbo + higher octane, i was just surprised, especially cause its almost wet in nature... its not a hard coating... its like a damp film... I tired idling it for a while, with some revs, but it did not start to build up at all...just annoyed cause they look sooo nice and shinny! Not really considered since the car seems healthy, no CEL's or soft codes, oil level topped off...etc... of course i do not have VAG so i am painting a very very small picture...


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: FV-QR (tdotA3mike)*

Ha!
I have a turbo Porsche at home, with almost 250,000 miles on it. ORIGINAL exhaust, and ORIGINAL (wet-jacketed) turbo.
...Suffice to say that I'm only the second owner, and the original owner is the fellow who turned me on to Simichrome!!!
Keith


----------



## tdotA3mike (Feb 5, 2009)

*FV-QR*

yeah it sounds like great stuff Keith! and i was looking into getting it, but i got lazy and impatient so i did what i did lol i plan on ordering some soon! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif i had to use wayyy to many coats of "that ****" i got at crappy tire...


----------



## Gryphon001 (Apr 25, 2008)

*Re: FV-QR (tdotA3mike)*

That soot is normal Mike... mine is like that within 15-20 minutes of driving too. Just have to stay on top of it and don't let it set onto the tips for too long and we should be fine.
p.s. I ordered a tube of Simichrome on eBay... waiting for it to arrive.







... impatiently


----------



## tdotA3mike (Feb 5, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (Gryphon001)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Gryphon001* »_That soot is normal Mike... mine is like that within 15-20 minutes of driving too. Just have to stay on top of it and don't let it set onto the tips for too long and we should be fine.
p.s. I ordered a tube of Simichrome on eBay... waiting for it to arrive.







... impatiently

ohh i had a feeling it would be normal, i was just surprised it came back sooo damn soon! lol its funny i went from pure black pipes (when i bought the car they were already pretty black) to mirror finish! and now i have become anal about it!















where did you order the stuff from?


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: FV-QR (tdotA3mike)*

The soot 'dribble' is -I'm pretty sure- caused by the condensation when the engine is first running into a COLD exhaust pipe after startup. -Particularly under higher engine loads, there'll be quite a bit of condensation which will be blown through the pipe, picking up soot as it goes. This causes it to settle on the bottom part of the pipe.
More frequent polishing = VASTLY less elbow-grease.
Keith


----------



## scandalous_cynce (Oct 29, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (VWAddict)*

This is how you clean exhaust tips


----------



## terje_77 (Dec 19, 2005)

*FV-QR*


_Quote, originally posted by *scandalous_cynce* »_This is how you clean exhaust tips


























That's how I clean mine


----------



## scandalous_cynce (Oct 29, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (terje_77)*


_Quote, originally posted by *terje_77* »_
That's how I clean mine


In a bikini?


----------



## terje_77 (Dec 19, 2005)

*FV-QR*


_Quote, originally posted by *scandalous_cynce* »_

In a bikini?


















It's the only way to get them nice and clean


----------



## brungold (Oct 8, 2007)

*FV-QR*


_Quote, originally posted by *scandalous_cynce* »_This is how you clean exhaust tips


















with glass cleaner? lol


----------



## scandalous_cynce (Oct 29, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (brungold)*


_Quote, originally posted by *brungold* »_
with glass cleaner? lol

Nevermind that!


----------



## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

*Re: FV-QR (scandalous_cynce)*


_Quote, originally posted by *scandalous_cynce* »_









Heyyyyy...
-NICE pair of tips!
Keith


----------



## vwlippy (Jul 17, 2001)

*Re: FV-QR (VWAddict)*

It is in her signature....


----------



## Gryphon001 (Apr 25, 2008)

*Re: FV-QR (scandalous_cynce)*


_Quote, originally posted by *scandalous_cynce* »_

In a bikini?


















Terje in a bikini... now there's a visual I did NOT need at this time of night...


----------



## 2006_A3_2.0T (Jan 11, 2013)

Today I bought the chrome polish and sand papers...
But we have a problem Houston..

My tips are dirty and rusty.. They look impossble..:what:


----------



## Tjtalan (Jan 19, 2013)

I use carb cleaner, works great...


----------



## TBomb (Sep 23, 2009)

I use the Blue Magic metal polish on a cotton rag for normal cleaning these days. The first time I used steel wool with the Blue Magic to get some of the caked on crud off, then the rag to polish it up. Worked like a charm :thumbup:


----------



## BeeAlk (Jun 3, 2013)

I used wadding metal polish.. It's like turpentine or something on some cotton wads. Works a treat. Gets rid of those tar specks so easily.


----------



## krazyboi (May 19, 2004)

TBomb said:


> I use the Blue Magic metal polish on a cotton rag for normal cleaning these days. The first time I used steel wool with the Blue Magic to get some of the caked on crud off, then the rag to polish it up. Worked like a charm :thumbup:


Yep, I use steel wool when its really bad, but typically can get by with Mother's metal polish and a microfiber towel.


----------



## davis_449 (Apr 6, 2011)

BeeAlk said:


> I used wadding metal polish.. It's like turpentine or something on some cotton wads. Works a treat. Gets rid of those tar specks so easily.


I have some Eagle One wadding polish **** from Autozone that I bought YEARS ago that I still have a good amount of left. I use a little bit of that on my current B&B exhaust tips (used it on my former A4's APR B&B exhaust tips as well) and the results are\have always been more than satisfactory to me.:thumbup:


----------

