How To: Polish Tailpipes & Aluminum

SVTurbo 98

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My tailpipes are custom made from 3" stainless piping but had a natural finish to them so I decided to polish them. I did all of the sanding by hand and just changed directions as I finished each step. I used a drill with a cotton wheel to apply the polish.

This is what they looked like before I started:

001-2.jpg


002-2.jpg


004-2.jpg


005-2.jpg


natural vs. 220 grit:

006-1.jpg


220:

013-4.jpg


320:

014-5.jpg


015-6.jpg


400:

017-5.jpg


600:

022-5.jpg


019-5.jpg


800:

027-4.jpg


1000:

032-2.jpg


1500:

035-1.jpg


2000:

038-2.jpg


After mothers mag and aluminum polish and mothers billet polish:

042-1.jpg


043-1.jpg


044-1.jpg


Polished vs Unpolished:

046.jpg


049.jpg


048.jpg


045-1.jpg


Installed:

001-6.jpg


006-2.jpg


003-3.jpg


I probably spent 8 hours on each tailpipe but the final product makes this time consuming task worth the effort. My only suggestion is have a buddy polish one while you do the other so it will cut the time in half. Also be patient and don't skip steps or half ass anything because it will show in the end. Thanks for looking.
 

Javi

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good god, 8hrs well worth it.

do you have any pics on the car before polished?
 

Black Ice

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They look damn good man. Great job!! :eek:ccasion14: do you have any more pics of the exhaust set up?
 

NXcoupe

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Custom built taipipes, huh? wow, very cool. That is a lot of work! Had to be cold adult beverage chilltime in front of the TV that evening!
 

justinschmidt1

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nice, I wanna do mine but my tailpipes are welded in and doing all that work on the ground would be a pain in the ass...lol

I still might do a quick run over through the sandpaper up to 2k grit and hit it with my buffer.
 
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SVTurbo 98

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javi said:
good god, 8hrs well worth it.

do you have any pics on the car before polished?

I don't really have any before shots of them. I thought about taking some but didn't for whatever reason.

stangbanger98 said:
They look **** good man. Great job!! :eek:ccasion14: do you have any more pics of the exhaust set up?

Thanks and yes

419.jpg


421.jpg


423.jpg


022-1.jpg






NXcoupe said:
Custom built taipipes, huh? wow, very cool. That is a lot of work! Had to be cold adult beverage chilltime in front of the TV that evening!

I had my fair share of cold beverages during this process....that's for sure

JerZeyStangz said:
I think this thread should a sticky!!!!

:eek:ccasion14:


justinschmidt1 said:
nice, I wanna do mine but my tailpipes are welded in and doing all that work on the ground would be a pain in the bum...lol

I still might do a quick run over through the sandpaper up to 2k grit and hit it with my buffer.

I imagine it would be a pita with them still on the car but it can be done. If you just want shine you could start with a 400/600 grit or higher depending on how smooth they are.
 

NERD

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Looks great


Is that regular rubber fuel lines Ispy under there?
 
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SVTurbo 98

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sxynerd said:
Looks great


Is that regular rubber fuel lines Ispy under there?

Sure is....I had the rubber inside some braided stainless lines deteriorate and blow a motor in march of this year so I went with the rubber pushlock lines this time around
 

NERD

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SVTurbo 98 said:
sxynerd said:
Looks great


Is that regular rubber fuel lines Ispy under there?

Sure is....I had the rubber inside some braided stainless lines deteriorate and blow a motor in march of this year so I went with the rubber pushlock lines this time around

That makes sense, I've heard that happening before.
 

SRT Handz

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those exhaust connectors are fucking legit!!!
 

det_riot

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big cheers to you! for the time you put in, dont think they could have turned out any better!
 

JiMi_DRiX

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I saw your thread, and decided to take a small buffer and some metal polish to my stock tips, and they look great! I'll post pics later.
 

atlanticblue98

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i followed this write up when i polished my new catback. i didnt take as much time as SVTurbo 98 did but i think they came out well. there was only so much i could do to a 10 year old factory piping because of all the pitting and very deep scratches in the old piping.

but this is what i came out with:

Untouched on left, polished on the right

DSC00821smaller.jpg


DSC00825smaller.jpg
 

JiMi_DRiX

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I acid washed my tips first, then metal polished them with a small 3in buffer and a couple different pads.

IMG_0602.jpg


IMG_0603-1.jpg
 

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