Polishing 500E Exhaust
 

I'm going to be polishing the tips of my S/S exhaust on my car this weekend and had a few questions.

What type of sand paper would you suggest using to remove the paint from the exhaust? I'm really picky about this and I don't want to leave scratch marks or swirls on the exhaust. Let me know if the sanding is a multi step process which includes different grit levels or will one type of grit suffice.

I already have a really good metal polish which I will use for final shine so thats not an issue.

Has anyone needed to put any type of protection on the exhaust tip after polishing to prevent surface rust?

Thanks for the help everyone.

Hi Placo

I used multiple step set/dry paper in the 3 of the finest grits, then pro-grade 3M 'Finesse It', and some wax/metal polish....all by hand (wife thought I was crazy!)

The tips came out great and are an improvement- - -not a showroom perfect look of a new ss exhaust and definitely not like the mirror 'chrome' finish on wheels etc.

hope this helps
-fad

Hi Placo,

Can I polish my exhaust tips also? They look black to me.

-fad,

Thanks for the tips, I'm heading to Home Depot tonight to get the fine grit wet/dry sandpaper. I'll post the results when I'm done.

Doug,

When looking at your exhaust you'll see that they have been painted in a flat black. Since the 500E has a Stainless Steel Exhaust you can remove the black paint without harming the metal. From the information that -fad posted the best means of removing the paint is a fine grit sandpaper so as not to scratch the stainless.

After using the sandpaper you can use a metal polish to shine the metal. If you want you can take a look at mine and see if you like it.

no problemo- - Placo

look to get the super fine grit and the super super super extra fine stuff too

as soon as you break the black stuf and start to see metal evenly all around, you can start using the super super extra fine stuff to start developing the polished finish

finally - - move to the polishing compound and wax to finish lustre the job

the tips are easily maintained with a bit of wax to keep them shiny

-fad

Only a suggestion.Why not use a paint remover?
I think its easier and leave no sand paper
marks.Does it makes sense?

just a quick thought on paint thinner, its extremely flamable, so make sure there is absolutely no heat in the exhaust, and make sure its all dry before you turn on yoru car, otherwise your gonna get 4 foot flames straight into your spare tire....

also, does anyone know if the 300E has a stainless exhuast setup? I am planning on getting the whole system changed sometime late in the summer, but untill then I really wanna change out the black pipes...

Badinfo,

I actually did this same procedure on my 190E ten years ago. I know for a fact that that didn't have a stainless exhaust on it.

You certainly can do the same procedure on your car however you'll need to maintain it more often since it isn't stainless.

By maintenance I mean you'll want to make sure you clean the tips when you wash the car and you'll probably have to apply polish more often.

By the way I scratched my exhaust when I did on my last car thats why I figured I would ask before doing this again.

is there some type of special wax that you use for high-temp applications? I would imagine that regular wheel or body wax would evaporate away....

I really don't know. I never really used wax on my old exhaust when I polished it. I just wiped it occassionally when it looked dirty and if it was stained I would just repolish it.

Does anyone know if a high temperature wax or protection exhists. I would actually like to find something for my front wheels, its amazing how much heat the front brakes generate on my car.

hrrmm... on the front wheels of my car I just used some meguirs that comes in solid form, it seems to hold up very well despite the heat from the brakes... on the exhuast im just afraid that the wax would catch on fire... which would be very bad indeed...

...ah, you guys are worrying a bit too much re: the waxy flames!

after all, there's not enough waxy/ polishy build-up you'll be able to put on those little pieces of exhaust for it to catch fire

...since I Zaino the paint now, I just used the ample supply of now defunct wax/polishes I've acquired: Meguire's, Turtle Wax, Zymoil, you name it - I've got it!

-fad

Brake fluid works great for removing paint:p

Just a quick update on the polishing. Home Depot actually has a sanding kit with three grades of sandpaper starting at 280grit and finishing at 400grit. They worked great to remove majority of the surface rust, paint and primer. I then used a metal polish for the final touch.

The tips look good but not perfect. I'm going to use the polishing bit on my Dremmel to really get them shiny.

Looks great though, before the tips were hidden and not really noticeable, now they stand out and you realize just how large they are. Gives the rear end that muscle car look.

Thanks for the help everyone!