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We've all been subject to a diesel smoke screen before, the car in front gives it a boot full off the lights and you're left staring into a thick plume of diesel smoke.
Trouble is, all that carbon clings to the exhaust tips and gradually chomps away until you're left with a pitted, blackened, sorry excuse for a tailpipe. Unfortunately, well over 160k miles of soot had taken it's toll on my pipes.
The twin down turn pipes on the 330d aren't my cup of tea at the best of times, I'd much prefer straight pipes, nevertheless I'd rather they at least be shiny.
Previously I'd tried in vain to polish them up by hand with some wire wool and Autosol. It helped, but wasn't attracting any magpies.
Take 2 - To do majority of the heavy lifting, I picked up a set of Scotchbrite fibral polishing pads* that could be used in a drill (corded in my case, but equally effective in a cordless).
If your exhaust tips are brand new, or pretty shiny already, definitely don't use these. They are pretty abrasive and will mar the finish, I'm using them as my exhaust tips were heavily corroded and coked up.
On with the job, I started off by soaking the dirt with a bit of left over CarPlan Demon Wheels. This stuff is pretty savage, I can't remember how I came to own a bottle, but I wouldn't recommend it. Instead, I'd recommend soaking with ValetPro Dragon's Breath* first instead.
I followed that up with a pass over with a brutal wire brush my dad had lying around in his tool kit. Do not get this any where near your paintwork! I only used this to tackle the heavily coked area, about 1cm from the tip.
After the worst of the corrosion had been shifted, I moved to the Scotchbrite fibral bits with some Autosol* as the polishing compound.
Due to the amount of corrosion, there was limit to how good I could get it, but I'm quite impressed. Not perfect, but most definitely passable. For the price (£16) and about 30mins, you can't go wrong, a worthwhile job if your pipes are looking past their best.
Now that your exhaust tips are looking good, you'll want to keep them looking that way. Check out these posts to help reduce the amount of black smoke your E46 is throwing out.
- EGR Valve Bypass DIY
- Comma Diesel Magic Fuel Treatment
- Ecotune Decat Downpipe
- How to Clean Your MAF Sensor
Got any tips or products you use to clean your exhausts? Let me know in the comments below!
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