Exhaust Polishing or Painting

[bscrivener]

I don't like the way the exhaust shows below the rear bumper on my 2000 C2 Coupe Tip.

I have been considering painting it black or polishing it. Has anyone attempted either or anything else with success?

[Loren]

Be very careful if you paint them - those are the cats with the O2 sensors. The cats get very hot and some paints/oils will attack and foul O2 sensors.

Sorry, but polishing might work for a while - Concours guy Orient Express may have a better idea...

[phillipj]

Another solution is to get another bumper cover that covers more of the underside of the car. The stock cats are ugly even if they were polished. I had an NR Automotive rear bumper on my 99 996. It hung down about an inch + more than the stock bumper cover. You could barely see the cats.

Just an idea. :lightbulb:

Or you could buy 100 cell cats from Fabspeed that are polished stainless. Thel will give you a bit more HP, a better look, but are quite pricey. :unsure:

:cheers:

[bscrivener]

Another solution is to get another bumper cover that covers more of the underside of the car. The stock cats are ugly even if they were polished. I had an NR Automotive rear bumper on my 99 996. It hung down about an inch + more than the stock bumper cover. You could barely see the cats.

Just an idea. :lightbulb:

Or you could buy 100 cell cats from Fabspeed that are polished stainless. Thel will give you a bit more HP, a better look, but are quite pricey. :unsure:

:cheers:

I really like the new rear bumper idea. I will investigate NR Automotive (which one did you get?). I have the GT3 body kit (front bumper, side skirts, aero wing and 18" wheels) so maybe there is a GT3 styled rear bumper that is lower too. Thanks for the suggestion.

-Bo

[phillipj]

I really like the new rear bumper idea. I will investigate NR Automotive (which one did you get?). I have the GT3 body kit (front bumper, side skirts, aero wing and 18" wheels) so maybe there is a GT3 styled rear bumper that is lower too. Thanks for the suggestion.

-Bo

I had the same GT3 kit. My NR rear bumper had the little winglets on the sides. I think the bumper is about $1000 to $1200.

I will send you a picture over the weekend. I'm at work now and don't have the file.

Here is a link fir their GT3 body kit. You can see the rear bumper. It is very close to the stock bumper but covers more.

http://www.nrauto.com/sub_index.asp?makeid...p;spage=Bodykit

I'll PM you later

[wross996TT]

you could go with an aftermarket exhaust also...just another option as bumper will require paint as well.

[bscrivener]

Thanks everyone for the input so far.

Another idea I had is some sort of diffuser add-on that would extend below the bumper and cover things up. I've been searching for something like this but can't find anything that seems to be what I need. I don't care about the rear aerodynamics, just aesthetics.

-Bo

[phillipj]

I know they make a diffuser for the 997 but I don't know about the 996. I'm sure someone does. Google all the sources and give them a call.

[Orient Express]

The stock stainless tips polish up real nice.

[xel996]

Be very careful if you paint them - those are the cats with the O2 sensors. The cats get very hot and some paints/oils will attack and foul O2 sensors.

Sorry, but polishing might work for a while - Concours guy Orient Express may have a better idea...

Im also interested in making the exhaust on my 00c2 look better. they are pretty rusted. What kinda of paint can be safely used? is VHT ok? or should I just be careful in painting making sure no paint gets inside the exhaust and foul up the sensor.

[Mother]

My understanding is that VHT is made for this purpose and am going to give it a try, but making sure that the parts are properly prepped using steal wool etc. My only concern is longevity of the paint.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Mother

[bscrivener]

My understanding is that VHT is made for this purpose and am going to give it a try, but making sure that the parts are properly prepped using steal wool etc. My only concern is longevity of the paint.

Longevity has been a concern of mine as well. I think I'll give black VHT a try when it warms up a bit. Darin of FD Motorsports has a ceramic coating option that I am interested in as well.

[bscrivener]

All,

I've made some progress on the polishing front.

I used a number of things:

• steel wool #1, #0, #00 for initial work
• brasso seemed to help
• the best seems to be "semichrome" polish when applied with a drill and mushroom buff

I have spent many hours working on these pipes and still have some more to do but so far so good. I was about to give up and paint them.

[goldenwarrior1]

Definitely an improved look! Did you remove them to clean/polish?

[phillipj]

Wow they look great! This issue is an eyesore for P cars. Let us know the details on your process..

[bscrivener]

Thanks!

I tried a number of things over the last 6-8 weeks or so... Everything was done lying on the ground behind my car with the pipes in place :-)

PART 1:

1. After a good wash... I spent a few hours with some steel wool #1, #0 and #00 and brasso (from Home Depot) and did a pretty good job of getting the first layer of brown cleaned off. I applied this by hand while wearing some latex rubber gloves. That Brasso is pretty strong and stinks a bit.
2. I then tried some 100 grit sand paper with a foam pad. This helped get things to a light brown or almond color.
3. I rinsed things off with water and dried off with some old terry cloth towels.

This photo shows how far I got at this point.

The left side still has some light brown color.

The right side has been polished with steps below.

PART 2:

1. I then ordered some things from Amazon.com and this is where things got noticeably better.
2. The mushroom buff on my drill along with the different polishing compounds took the light brown to a silver color
3. The semichrome polish and the buff then brought out more silver and a bit of mirror finish
4. The stainless steel is not chrome so it is not as nice as the tips, but it doesn't look "dirty" anymore

If I were to start over, I think I would skip the steel wool by hand and go with the drill, buff and compounds.

There are still some areas I cannot get to easily that could use some work but I'm satisfied for now. Definitely learned some things about stainless steel.

Here are links to the Amazon items I purchased:

• http://www.amazon.co...68081358&sr=1-4
• http://www.amazon.co...68081132&sr=1-1
• http://www.amazon.co...68081089&sr=8-1

-Bo

[Mother]

Bad camera pics but used the VHT (Flat Black) from checker. An observation is it looks much cleaner/almost disappear painted, but looses some of the grounding effect of stock cats. Put a few hundred on them and still look great no paint flaking etc.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Mother

[bscrivener]

You are right - it is a bit difficult to see with those shots but the results look good.

I think I'm going to try to keep them cleaned up for a while and see how things go.

Thanks for the input. Great reference.

-Bo

[Mother]

You are right - it is a bit difficult to see with those shots but the results look good.

I think I'm going to try to keep them cleaned up for a while and see how things go.

Thanks for the input. Great reference.

-Bo

I would be nice after the work you have done that there was not a high temp clear coat to keep them spiffy longer.

[jakkay968911]

Looks great! Huge improvement! Just wondering what tires you got on in that pic? Kinda look like my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus's. Thought mine was the only 996 running them tires.

[bscrivener]

Looks great! Huge improvement! Just wondering what tires you got on in that pic? Kinda look like my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus's. Thought mine was the only 996 running them tires.

I am running Michelin Pilot Sports but not A/S's. These have the summer compound on them so I have to be a bit careful when the temp is below 45 deg. I was wondering how the All Seasons compare and have been thinking about them for my next set.

-Bo

[bscrivener]

I would be nice after the work you have done that there was not a high temp clear coat to keep them spiffy longer.

Mother,

I haven't seen any clear coat but the semichrome polish that I used is supposed to provide some amount of durability to the finish. Apparently this stuff is big with the motorcycle crowd keeping their exhaust nice and shiny. I'll see how it holds up.

-Bo

[Mother]

I run Verdsteins sencetta made in Denmark real quit and not pricey.

[johnnyreb2010]

Another solution is to get another bumper cover that covers more of the underside of the car. The stock cats are ugly even if they were polished. I had an NR Automotive rear bumper on my 99 996. It hung down about an inch + more than the stock bumper cover. You could barely see the cats.

Just an idea. :lightbulb:

Or you could buy 100 cell cats from Fabspeed that are polished stainless. Thel will give you a bit more HP, a better look, but are quite pricey. :unsure:

:cheers:

sorry to say they don't make the rear covers for 2002 & up models yet, cause i would have gotten one, rite now their just for 2001 & older.

Edited July 28, 2010 by johnnyreb2010

[J_STATUS]

Bad camera pics but used the VHT (Flat Black) from checker. An observation is it looks much cleaner/almost disappear painted, but looses some of the grounding effect of stock cats. Put a few hundred on them and still look great no paint flaking etc.

What kind of wing is that?