How to Get Your Exhaust Tips Shining Again (Mar 2026)

Before you go grabbing the heavy metal polish, hit the tips with whatever wheel cleaner you're using, something like Bowden’s Own Wheely Clean works a treat. It helps break down the initial layer of brake dust and road grime so you aren't just rubbing sand into the metal. I learned this the hard way on a black Commodore years ago; I went straight in with a cloth and scratched the living daylights out of the chrome because I hadn't rinsed the grit off first.

If the carbon is really baked on, we're talking years of neglect, a microfiber cloth won't touch it. Go to the hardware store and grab '0000' grade steel wool. It has to be 'four-zero' though. Anything coarser will scratch. I use this with a bit of soapy water or metal polish as a lubricant. It'll shave that black soot right off without hurting the stainless steel underneath. Just don't use it on painted or matte black tips, obviously, or you'll be having a very bad day.

The hardest part is getting to the bottom and back of the tip where it meets the pipe. I usually cut a strip of old microfiber towel (about 2 inches wide), apply some polish like Autosol or Meguiar’s NXT Metal Polish to the strip, wrap it around the tip, and pull it back and forth like you're shining a shoe. It's the only way to get a uniform finish all the way around without snapping your wrist trying to reach underneath.

Once they're shiny, don't just leave them naked. The heat and UV we get here will dull them down in weeks. I reckon the best move is to chuck a bit of high-temp ceramic sealant on them. Gtechniq C5 is great, but even a basic ceramic spray wax will help. It makes the soot slide off much easier next time you wash the car. My missus' car gets parked at the train station near the beach every day, and since I started sealing the tips, I haven't had to use the steel wool once.