Hi,

Searched, found a nice polishing comound, but came up empty on the above.

Bought my RX-8 used, noticed the other day that the exhuast tips are caked in heavy carbon buildup.

How can I get it removed without hurting the plastic body around it?

Thank you,

Brian

You can remove the plastic trim around the tips, just be careful with the clips. http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqrx8/exhfinish.htm
How well did you check the rest of the car? This is just my opinion but if the last owner let the tips get that bad there could be other things he / she neglected.

It suprised me as the car was imaculate inside and out. All fluids looked good also. Guess they just neglected that part.

I see how to remove the plastic shrouds now. What would you use chemical wise on it? The tips, not the shroud.

Take care,

Brian

www.nevrdull.com is cheap & popular thing to use. Might not get perfect right away but constant use will keep them clean. As for the soot itself I just use a old rag and car wash soap. Before I started to Pre-Mix they would get very dirty I would just use a sponge with a abrasive surface.

Nevrdull is great for removal, but you will also want to protect the metal with something like Eagle One Nano Aluminum Polish.

Also check out this (http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/hotchrome.html) stuff. It works awesome on the tips.

Nemesis is right IMHO....................click that link!

Hi,

Well I went out and got Nevr-Dull. They had it by Eagle. While it sort of worked it didn't get down to the base.

So I got a bucket of hot water with dish soap and a kitchen pad. Scrubbed the he*$ out of it and got it down to looking nice.

I then dired it and applied Nevr-Dull. I used a lint free cloth to polish kit up with.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/BBQdDude/SANY1488.jpg

I wish I took a before picture. Imagine thick, rough, black...no silver at all.

Take care,

Brian

Also check out this (http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/hotchrome.html) stuff. It works awesome on the tips.

that stuff works wonders

They look better Black

I used Mothers-mag and aluminum polish came out great tips looked perfect. Plus i've used it for years on the bikes exhaust. It takes a little elbow grease the first time but it comes out perfect. Just a thought but if you get bored one day. Sand the rusty azz exhaust with 600 grit POWER SANDER then proceed to 1000 then finally 1500 wet if you want an extreem shine. follow with mothers then stand back and admire. gives that aftermarket look. repolish about once a mth to keep it shiney. should take about 3 hrs with a power sander to make it perfect. BTW do not sand the tips.

A simple bottle of Meguiars Chrome Polish ($4.99 at Wally Mart) a good scrubby sponge, a polishing cloth, and about 10 minutes was all I needed.

You didn't search very well.

try again so you can brush up on your skills.

English custom polish, almost anything but that photo above has scratches on the pipe.

www.nevrdull.com is cheap & popular thing to use. Might not get perfect right away but constant use will keep them clean. As for the soot itself I just use a old rag and car wash soap. Before I started to Pre-Mix they would get very dirty I would just use a sponge with a abrasive surface.Pour a little bit of Brasso on the Nevrdull pads and it becomes a much easier process. Learned this over at Miata.net. But don't let it go for too long. Nothing will work after its been baked on for years.

Pour a little bit of Brasso on the Nevrdull pads and it becomes a much easier process. Learned this over at Miata.net. But don't let it go for too long. Nothing will work after its been baked on for years.

See Nemesis8 post..................that stuff will, but it will take a little bit of time.
You can fart around with all the other stuff in this thread, but English Custom Polish is the best!
http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/hotchrome.html

See Nemesis8 post..................that stuff will, but it will take a little bit of time.
You can fart around with all the other stuff in this thread, but English Custom Polish is the best!
http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/hotchrome.htmlWell, my 1993 Miata will be the perfect test case! :lol:

Try it.......wear gloves! Follow directions. It will take some time, but I'll bet it works!

Good luck!

try mothers chrome polish with a microfiber, itll take you a good 10 to 15minutes but it get the job done

+1 on neverdull

Once you get them clean, make sure you stay on top of it. Clean inside as far as you can reach every time you wash the car, and a wipe between washings won't hurt, either.

English Custom Polish ROCKS!!! Make sure you use gloves

Jedi's always use gloves.

Kind of like Michael Jackson.

Finally made an attempt to clean out my stock tips. Unfortunately I've taken crap care of them and haven't polished - just scrubbed with soap/water. Since I'm getting a new exhaust this week figured I'd try my hand at it. Turned out pretty good. I've got some rust spots inside that need a lot more work (show up more on the camera than in real life). Those should be a lesson to others why you should detail your car often (especially before you store it for the Winter).

(before polishing, before buffing, from back, very shiny from side)

these are a few pics of the muffler polishing i was talkingabout. polishing took about 1 hour to complete. the muffler actually looks kind of dirty but it's the floor reflection.

I forgot how huge that muffler is... Looks good though. I used to polish my tips with english custom hot metal stuff mentionned above. But then i decided it was easier to lose the chrome rims and vents, buy black wheels, and then let my tips go black from carbon to match the car. MUCH easier.