Getting the soot off of chrome tailpipes?

[Ari]

Got my car pretty much perfect now, the only thing left is the exhausts, which are black with five years worth of soot around the bottom third of the pipes.

I attacked them with Autosol and even tried a pan scouring thing on them at the weekend and it's better than it was, but it's embedded.

Any tricks for getting it off?

[V88Dicky]

Kitchen stainless steel cleaner does the job for me

Works fine on polished ss tips, don't know about chrome though!

Edited by V88Dicky on Monday 27th June 15:09

[minicab]

Also try a bit of wheel cleaner.. use it gently though and rinse off quick before it eats into the surface.

[Pistachio]

V88Dicky said:

Kitchen stainless steel cleaner does the job for me :thumbsup:

Works fine on polished ss tips, don't know about chrome though!

Autoglym or brasso works OK as well

[JTXenon]

And obviously be sure to dry it thoroughly afterwards to prevent water spots.

[Ari]

It probably is stainless steel (standard Merc exhaust tips), I was being lazy saying "chrome", I meant shiny

I can't see Brasso or Autoglym being any more aggressive than Autosol to be honest, or alloy wheel cleaner, although it's a thought.

I think the problem is that they've never ever been done so it's baked on over many years.

[weezb]

Wenol used to be good for this kind of thing, don't know if you can still get it through normal retail channels though.

[Pints]

Autosol.

I think Tesco sell it fairly cheap, although it's not ordinarily really a bank breaker.

Edited by Pints on Monday 27th June 15:28

[B'stard Child]

Ari said:

It probably is stainless steel (standard Merc exhaust tips), I was being lazy saying "chrome", I meant shiny

I can't see Brasso or Autoglym being any more aggressive than Autosol to be honest, or alloy wheel cleaner, although it's a thought.

I think the problem is that they've never ever been done so it's baked on over many years.

If it's Stainless steel - Mr Muscle oven cleaner works well on hard baked carbon

Autosol worked fine for me on a MB tailpipe that hadn't been cleaned since car was new (ie 10 years)

[Ari]

B'stard Child said:

If it's Stainless steel - Mr Muscle oven cleaner works well on hard baked carbon

Autosol worked fine for me on a MB tailpipe that hadn't been cleaned since car was new (ie 10 years)

Mr Muscle is a good thought!

Autosol worked to a degree, but only to a degree...

[thetapeworm]

I tend to use fine wire wool with a metal polish and then follow with the same polish and soft cloth.

[Ari]

Pints said:

Autoglym.

I think Tesco sell it fairly cheap, although it's not ordinarily really a bank breaker.

I can't imagine Autoglym metal polish is much different to Autosol.

[Ari]

thetapeworm said:

I tend to use fine wire wool with a metal polish and then follow with the same polish and soft cloth.

That might help...

[Pints]

Ari said:

Pints said:

Autoglym.

I think Tesco sell it fairly cheap, although it's not ordinarily really a bank breaker.

I can't imagine Autoglym metal polish is much different to Autosol.

Ah crap. That's what I meant.
You've tried that, so nevermind.

[EvoSlayer]

I find Autosol works a treat.

[jagnet]

Bar Keeper's Friend works for me (got mine from Sainsbury's) - that stuff is amazing for cleaning crud off polished surfaces. It ate through 23 years of build up on stainless tail pipes this morning.

Followed it up with a non-abrasive chrome polish to leave a protective coating, so hopefully it'll be easier next time.

[Cledus Snow]

Autosol should do it fine, Just a bit of elbow grease required.

As an aside, I recently polished one of my nextdoor neighbours tailpipes. To see how long it would take for him to notice.

[RobCrezz]

Cledus Snow said:

Autosol should do it fine, Just a bit of elbow grease required.

As an aside, I recently polished one of my nextdoor neighbours tailpipes. To see how long it would take for him to notice.
[IMG]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/jackchevelle/FC.jpg/IMG]

You polish your neighbour's pipe? you dirty bd!

[*Al*]

RobCrezz said:

Cledus Snow said:

Autosol should do it fine, Just a bit of elbow grease required.

As an aside, I recently polished one of my nextdoor neighbours tailpipes. To see how long it would take for him to notice.
[IMG]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/jackchevelle/FC.jpg/IMG]

You polish your neighbour's pipe? you dirty bd!

Just imagine getting caught polishing his 'pipe'. Strange person.......

[EDLT]

Cledus Snow said:

Autosol should do it fine, Just a bit of elbow grease required.

As an aside, I recently polished one of my nextdoor neighbours tailpipes. To see how long it would take for him to notice.

I knew detailers were weird, but polishing someone else's pipe is creepy.