Borla exhaust tips-has this happened to you?
 

I have a Borla exhaust and noticed over the winter that some strange spots had developed on my tips. Below is a picture that shows these spots. I have tried to get rid of them using Eagle One Nevr Dull as well as Heavy Metal Medium Abrasive polish. Neither product had any effect.

Are these spots corrosion? Are my tips ruined? Has anyone else had this happen? I'd really appreciate any feedback anyone can give me. I had the exhaust installed in March of 2004 and never expected the tips would only look good for a few months. If this is damage that can't be reversed, I am very disappointed in Borla. However, maybe I'm just not using the correct product to get rid of it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...ips_marked.jpg

Looks like salt corrosion... :( If the tips are uncoated stainless, try 000 or 0000 steel wool followed by 3M swirl remover.

Regards, Art

Thank you for the advice, Art. Will try it tomorrow! I'll report back how it goes.

I have not noticed those on my Borla...but I will keep an eye out for them. Have you sent this to Borla since they have the "million mile warranty"?

I did send them an email tonight with the picture attached. I will see if I can get an answer. I'm hoping I can remove these spots, but if not, I'm going to ask them about replacing it under warranty.

i have the same problem on my HKS...and I live in florida so salt is not an issue. i think what it is is when the tips are dirty with salt and get wet, the water boils and bonds the soot to the metal. i think you'd be able to polish it away with some fine grit sandpaper, but it would only come back. hks is replacing mine under warranty

yeah i have that on my racing beat .i take a sponge and scrub the hell out of it then use polish.

Wow, at least I know I'm not the only one. Thanks for the info, guys.

Just an update:
I tried the 0000 steel wool with the Heavy Metal polish and it helped quite a bit. It did not completely get rid of the spots, but they are diminished to the point where I can live with it. Thanks, Art, for the suggestion.

If the spots keep coming back or get worse, I may still try to go after Borla's warranty. But at this point, sending this one back and having the OEM exhaust put back on and then taken back off when the new Borla arrives, is just too much of a PITA for me.

stainless steel will show rust corrosion if regular carbon steel comes into contact with it, the iron ferrites transfer onto the stainless, this could happen during the manufacturing process or installation

you should never use steel wool on stainless for this reason, but if you do scrubbing it down with a light acid when you're done followed by a good water flush, then dry and polish should remove any iron from the surface

I work for a company that specializes in highly polished stainless steel fabrication

Thanks for the info TeamRX8. The steel wool was kind of a last resort and it seems to have worked for me. I did clean them off well real well with Nevr Dull and Mothers Polish after using the steel wool, so I hope no harm done.

as long as any rust doesn't come back you'll be ok, if it does come back you'll need to do the light acid wash to get rid of the iron followed by a good polishing

Got it. Thank you!

Loco is it just me or is it on the inside edge of your tips as well as the upper outside edge?