Exhaust polishing

[Rich420R]

So I have seen the cost of a polished exhaust and it's pretty pricey! Before I jump in I'm wondering is the standard exhaust of the exact same material and construction as the polished version? And therefore can my standard exhaust be taken off and polished to the exact same finish if sent to a metal polished.

I'm currently looking to by a decat from Caterham either way, and the polished one is out of stock till late July, so I'm thinking I can buy the non-polished version then pay to get it polished, along with the rest of my exhaust but I'm not sure if it works like that and if the same finish can be achieved? 

Thanks in advance for any help! 

[Rich420R]

So answered my own question...

But for anyone that's interested, I have spoken to Caterham just now and they said the non-polished is identical and a professional polisher, or even just a good hand polish by myself should start to bring a finish like their polished items. Apparently Caterham started offering the polished exhausts only after seeing customers doing the polishing themselves to the old exhausts. 
 

If anyone has any before and after photos please do share. All the work on my car is done by Rally Prep in Newquay and they have just told me they have someone who polishes exhausts among other parts. I will go down this route and post some photos myself once it's done. 

[John Vine]

Can't do a before, but here's the after on my R400D:

I used a local professional polisher, who charged £120 for 4x primaries, decat pipe and silencer.

I'm told it's not difficult to DIY, just labour-intensive.  My polisher even gave me a bag of polishing compound so that I could maintain the shine in between his 3-year polishing intervals.

JV

 

 

[Nigel B]

Here's my effort. I haven't got a 'before' photo either, unfortunately, but before polishing the exhaust had a matt grey look to it. I didn't do any machine polishing, just an hour or two with some rags & a tube of Autosol.

[K7 VCT]

Took mine off and a local polishing company did it fir 80 quid in paper money.

Looks fab even after 2 years of use. The can is easily a diy job but the primary pipes and catalytic collector a tough diy job.

[John Vine]

Re #3, I've just come across this before photo of the exhaust system during my build: 

Plenty of dull grey there!

JV

[Rich420R]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Your exhausts look great and are exactly what I'm aiming for. Going to have the garage take them off and get them professionally polished. I was going to have a go myself but I'm limited for time with work right now so don't mind getting someone else on the job on this occasion. I just think the polished finish looks great against the paint job and really makes the car stand out, and Nigel is seems we have the same colour car so it's great to see how good it looks! 

[Nigel B]

Sounds like a good plan, I'm sure a professional will achieve a better finish than I managed & it's difficult to reach some areas with the exhaust on the car. 
 

It would be nice to see some before & after photos when it's been done! 

[Rich420R]

I will get some photos loaded on here when it's done, will be in a month when the car I booked in to the garage. 

[Seabea23]

I had a secondhand 4-1 set of primaries and collector professionally polished for £80 by a local metal finisher in Portsmouth a couple of years ago. It has stood up well and is still as bright. I am a bit of a polisher though. Chris

 

[timb2117]

Bit less elbow grease if you get a polishing mop and some wax, that fits on a drill

But for $80 for a pro to do it -you would be out of pocket, and that's not even including the vat of soap to clean yourself up when finished!

[Rich420R]

That has turned out amazing! This definitely seems the best route to go down. I clean, and detail my car almost too often so I will make sure to keep on top of the polishing. I already have some metal polish from Dodo Juice waiting. 

[Seabea23]

Richard, if you get the garage to remove the primaries from the engine be sure they mask up the paintwork around the system. It is so easy to catch the painted body when removing the pipes.

[rob.mcc45]

Hi Rich,

I did mine myself using a bench polisher, it wasn't a 2 minute job but worth it in the end 

 

[Seabea23]

Fine job, very nice.

[Hotfoot]

I purchased a bench polisher just for the job on the basis that once polished I would need to re-polish at least yearly.

Took an afternoon to do satisfying job.

[Rich420R]

Thanks for the heads up, I will be sure to do that! 

[Rich420R]

That's made a huge difference! I'm glad to see how well they can turn out as mine has a really matt look to it right now

[BrettJ]

I partially ceramic coated mine, as the part in the engine bay always discolours first and to aid with the heat.

[Rich420R]

Brett I hadn't thought of that to be honest but it makes total sense really, may look to go down this route myself as it keeps the engine bay tidy 

[Terry M]

No before pictures, but not pretty.  All done in situ with plenty of elbow grease, scouring pads, autosol, time and TLC, oh and bruised knuckles.

[Nigel B]

It's nice to see a well looked after 8 valve Vauxhall Terry! I had mine for seventeen years & loved it! I know what you mean about the bruised knuckles...

[krisfl]

Taking inspiration from this thread, I think I'm going to give one of these kits a go for the bits on display. I'm going to wrap or coat the headers under the bonnet to help with temperature. 
 

there is a number of kits with different sizes of mop but seems quite reasonable to me...

https://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/pro-max-steel-stainless-steel-deluxe-metal-polishing-buffing-kit-3-x-1-2/

might have to wait till some naff weather mind. Having too much fun driving... 

[Drumster]

My effort https://www.lotus7.club/forum/chitchat/while-rome-burns-ive-made-better-use-my-time

[krisfl]

Top effort sir.