Greddy SP2 Tips - Polished to Perfection
12-16-2008, 10:43 AM
#1
Utopia Taco Bell
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Greddy SP2 Tips - Polished to Perfection
So I've been reading a lot about different polishes and techniques in regards to polishing the tips of my Greddy SP2. Needless to say there are a lot of products out there and a lot of different schools of thought.
First of all, I'd like to say that I have used multiple polishes most notably:
Never Dull (cheapest) - Only shines up your tarnishing - doesn't remove it.
English Custom (most expensive) - I didn't like the consitency (watery), further more this polish was not agressive enough for my semi-bad tarnished tips on another Greddy I used to have. I didn't think it was worth the money. I'd say this is a product that is best used to maintain an already relatively clean piece of metal without leaving any swirling - it's a finishing polish and will dissappoint you if you have bad tarnishing.
For my application on the new (second hand) Greddy SP2 I bought recently, I needed to take a more agressive approach. As you can see in the pictures the exhaust tips are the worst I've ever seen in my life - mostly black and brown, and these stains are not just carbon residue, it's discolored metal. Plus there was melted plastic on them. Out of this world bad....
I decided to use an slightly agressive polish - Simichrome. It's a medium consistency paste that feels slightly gritty. I've also noticed that my tarnishing becomes lessened with this product and I think it's why a lot of coin collectors use this stuff on their coins.
In addition to the Simichrome polish I applied the product with #0000 (extremely fine) steel wool using medium pressure. The steel wool left only extremely light swirls (lighter swirls than in my paint) on the metal but this was only the first step in the polishing. I will be following up the polishing by applying Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish with a Mother's Mini PowerBall to get the smoothest mirror shine possible. I've seen a Borla Video that suggests that Brass wool would be an even better alternative to Steel Wool and can be bought at Marine/Boating supply stores. Brass is softer than stainless steel so it would be less likely to scratch the tips.
Here are the pictures:
Before (with flash)
Before (no flash)
Mid polishing with Simichrome and #0000 Steel Wool (no flash)
After polishing with SimiChrome and #0000 Steel Wool (no flash)
Despite what you may see in the pictures, the tips are completely clear of any tarnishing and gold coloration. They are completely clear and colorless!
EDIT: After using SimiChrome and #0000 Steel Wool, I followed up with Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish using a Mother's Powerball-mini. Though you can't see the results in pictures the final look was smooth as hell and near-mirror-like. Also the light scratching from the steel wool was minimized even further.
Hope this helps those of you with the Greddy and with the RB exhaust who need an agressive solution to a simple problem.
First of all, I'd like to say that I have used multiple polishes most notably:
Never Dull (cheapest) - Only shines up your tarnishing - doesn't remove it.
English Custom (most expensive) - I didn't like the consitency (watery), further more this polish was not agressive enough for my semi-bad tarnished tips on another Greddy I used to have. I didn't think it was worth the money. I'd say this is a product that is best used to maintain an already relatively clean piece of metal without leaving any swirling - it's a finishing polish and will dissappoint you if you have bad tarnishing.
For my application on the new (second hand) Greddy SP2 I bought recently, I needed to take a more agressive approach. As you can see in the pictures the exhaust tips are the worst I've ever seen in my life - mostly black and brown, and these stains are not just carbon residue, it's discolored metal. Plus there was melted plastic on them. Out of this world bad....
I decided to use an slightly agressive polish - Simichrome. It's a medium consistency paste that feels slightly gritty. I've also noticed that my tarnishing becomes lessened with this product and I think it's why a lot of coin collectors use this stuff on their coins.
In addition to the Simichrome polish I applied the product with #0000 (extremely fine) steel wool using medium pressure. The steel wool left only extremely light swirls (lighter swirls than in my paint) on the metal but this was only the first step in the polishing. I will be following up the polishing by applying Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish with a Mother's Mini PowerBall to get the smoothest mirror shine possible. I've seen a Borla Video that suggests that Brass wool would be an even better alternative to Steel Wool and can be bought at Marine/Boating supply stores. Brass is softer than stainless steel so it would be less likely to scratch the tips.
Here are the pictures:
Before (with flash)
Before (no flash)
Mid polishing with Simichrome and #0000 Steel Wool (no flash)
After polishing with SimiChrome and #0000 Steel Wool (no flash)
Despite what you may see in the pictures, the tips are completely clear of any tarnishing and gold coloration. They are completely clear and colorless!
EDIT: After using SimiChrome and #0000 Steel Wool, I followed up with Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish using a Mother's Powerball-mini. Though you can't see the results in pictures the final look was smooth as hell and near-mirror-like. Also the light scratching from the steel wool was minimized even further.
Hope this helps those of you with the Greddy and with the RB exhaust who need an agressive solution to a simple problem.
Last edited by 416to212; 12-17-2008 at 10:23 AM.
12-16-2008, 01:16 PM
#4
12-16-2008, 01:23 PM
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I found it here, which makes me think you may be able to find it at ACE
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(oh...rce=GoogleBase
http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(oh...rce=GoogleBase
12-16-2008, 01:45 PM
#7
Utopia Taco Bell
Thread Starter
I found my Simichrome at a local (no name) hardware store. I've always had a tube of it at home for house hold stuff and back when I used to collect Silver Dollars - truly geeky 
I've never seen it at an automotive store like Pep, Zone, or Strauss....
While I agree that the steel wool does a lot of the work, I do feel that Simichrome is a really good polish and will make the surface more tarnish resistant. With my first Greddy exhaust I once did one tip with English and the other with Simichrome and my Simichrome side stayed cleaner/clearer, longer and was easier to get clean/polish again.
If anyone finds and used brass wool, let me know how it goes.
I've never seen it at an automotive store like Pep, Zone, or Strauss....
While I agree that the steel wool does a lot of the work, I do feel that Simichrome is a really good polish and will make the surface more tarnish resistant. With my first Greddy exhaust I once did one tip with English and the other with Simichrome and my Simichrome side stayed cleaner/clearer, longer and was easier to get clean/polish again.
If anyone finds and used brass wool, let me know how it goes.
Last edited by 416to212; 12-16-2008 at 01:49 PM.
12-17-2008, 06:51 PM
#9
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^^ nice work!
i currently have mothers polish... and though my tips don't look that tarnished yet, i may just have to use the polish on it during my washes as a preventative maintainance step.
amazing work that shows that you don't have to buy new on a SS catback!
i currently have mothers polish... and though my tips don't look that tarnished yet, i may just have to use the polish on it during my washes as a preventative maintainance step.
amazing work that shows that you don't have to buy new on a SS catback!
12-18-2008, 08:37 AM
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I wasn't able to find that particular kind at the store so I went with Blue Magic,.... I was pretty impressed with the results... however I think I may have to look to find something like the Semichrome & steel wool to get a perfect finish like that
12-18-2008, 01:14 PM
#11
why didn't you just sand it then shine it with your choice of polish? Sanding just seems easier than looking for a miracle cream you can only order.
BTW- not a fan of blue magic. I had a polished frame bike and the blue magic did not work near as well as mothers.
BTW- not a fan of blue magic. I had a polished frame bike and the blue magic did not work near as well as mothers.
01-12-2009, 10:57 AM
#13
Utopia Taco Bell
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01-13-2009, 01:59 PM
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Killer results indeed. Wish I had better photos, but I did the same thing with a friends car using Neverdull + steelwool and Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish.
03-30-2009, 01:52 PM
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If it is a tip where the metal has been burnt/heated to get the finish it should be ok as the blue will be throughout the metal. (like the blue titanium tips)
03-30-2009, 02:16 PM
#23
Hmm, I don't know about the steel wool or sanding. I ran home for my lunch break and saw how awful my tips looked after a winter of salt and road grime being baked on. I had bought the Mothers polish awhile ago and decided to open it up... justa towel and about 15 min per tip did the trick. I didn't do as good a job as I could have if I had more time. I didn't take a before pic, but this will give you an idea.
The white crap on the top of the dirty tip photo is snow...
The white crap on the top of the dirty tip photo is snow...
