conharoo

Hey folks -

Below are current pictures of my exhaust tips on my 2018 Audi A5. The main concern I am having is the inside "lip" looks scratched and filled with heavy soot.

I have cleaned my exhaust tips about 6 months ago with steel wool & barkeepers friend. Did I make a mistake when cleaning? Is the chrome underneath all this carbon buildup? Would really appreciate next steps (proper cleansing/polishing products or if these need to be replaced)

Thanks!

synergize

This will clean those tips up in seconds, an amazing product.

JohnEnglish

I wouldn’t have used steel wool. It’s just a thin chrome plating on the tips. Chances are the chrome has been eaten through on the bottom of the tips. It happened to mine. Nothing will bring back the chrome in those areas since it’s gone.

Tainui

metal polish will clean it up very well. No matter how much better it gets, its an improvement over nothing.

JD15

I have to clean my tips with quick detailer every couple of weeks to keep them looking good. The key with these tips is to clean them consistently so that the soot never becomes too thick and difficult to remove.

huntpsu1

The barkeepers friend is a good product, but as posted above, the steel wool is abrasive and may have eroded your chrome plating.

kctiger1983

In my opinion and experience, steel wool with Borla is the best way of restoring not only the chrome tips, but the pipe itself.

adg44

I am assuming the Borla is full stainless steel, not just chrome plated like these tips.

I use Simichrome polish, works great. https://www.simichrome-polish.com/

KCTiger83

The Borla product I've used with success:

https://www.borla.com/products/borla...rt__21461.html

jjsC6

I agree with the above. Chrome is a a plating on top of the metal, so when you use something as abrasive as steel wool it can go right through the Chrome plating. As adg said, if it was stainless steel metal it could be buffed back to a smooth shiny surface. For the record, I'm just assuming it's Chrome.

They could be rechromed, but it's most likely more cost effective and easier to buy a new tip even if you has to cut that one off and weld a new one on.