Luster Lace on Chrome pipes..not what I expected

pt91

pt91

New member
I tried out the my new wide Luster Lace strips on my stainless comptech exhaust tips tonight. I was hoping to put the mirror finish back. I have very fine swirls marks on the otherwise brilliant tips.



I ended up with more swirls. The herringbone strips must be more aggressive than I thought.



I also have a nice metallic taste in my mouth (no I didn't taste it!)

My other metal polishes are too fine to get these hairlines out.



Any suggestions?



I didn't want a satin finish. I could get that with steel wool.



I have:

never dull (seems more like a cleaner)

Blue magic

Mother's Billet
 
Look into heavy metal polish. Its a line of metal polishes that are very good. I have used quite a few metal polishes and thus far this stuff is amazing. You will not be disappointed with it.
 
I've been using FLITZ for sometime now and have good results.



If the finish is that bad, you may want to look into Wendol polish, one is red (cutting) and one blue (polish). The red removes stains and marks. The blue does the high polishing. The red CAN remove chrome if worked too hard!



Flitz is more of an "AIO" type. Removed some marks on my tips and left a nice poilsh. Still shiny after several weeks!



Another thought is the applicator/towel you are using. Clean the pipes first really well, then get a 100% cotton towel cut into strips to use as buffers just like if you were to shine your shoes.



Monitor the area, if you see just one more mark, the towels/applicator may be your problem. Some chrome is very soft and easy to scratch, were others are harder to scratch.



So far, I've tossed most other polishes except Wendol and Flitz.



Regards,

Deanski
 
Yes the tips were 100% clean before I used the luster lace.

I don't think that billet will budge the satin finish that luster lace just produced. I use the billet on my polished aluminum because it is so mild.

Stainless is quite a bit harder, isn't it?:confused:

The polishing strip is a great idea for round metal like exhaust tips, it just happened to give the opposite effect from what I anticipated.
 
That is the write up that made me buy the luster lace!!!

Mine is almost reversed. I had the after and got the before (not quite that bad).

How long did you polish and how much pressure?
 
As I recall, I did not spend more than 20-30 minutes per side.



If you use LL correctly, you really don't apply much pressure. You wrap it all the way around until you have a full loop and pull gently back and forth on the two ends.



What part number did you get? Is it pink or yellow?



db
 
I rcvd the wide yellow strips. part # 21640 50803.

I realized why I hv the metallic taste in my mouth. Figured it out when I had a smoke in the garage.
 
Deanski said:
I've been using FLITZ for sometime now and have good results.
Click to expand...



I'm a very big fan of Flitz as well, its a permanent keeper in the metal polish collection. Nice thing is it's availible locally in hardware stores :up. I'm also very fond of the P21s multi surface restorer, like Flitz but with a kick, I really need to get this product again. One of the tops I've been most impressed with :up
 
Does anyone know if Flitz, Wenol or other polishes will remove hairline scratchs (like swirls in paint) from the stainless tips?

Wenol sounds like a cleaner. Does it have abrasives?

This may seem like a dumb question, but has anyone tried IP or other compound on metal?

Tks in advance
 
I just tried 3m Super Duty RC for my mid exhaust pipe, I think I could've made it look better if I could reach further, however, the strongest thing that I have that I would TRY on tips is Flitz
 
Does anyone know if Heavy Metal Green (mid) would have the level of abrasion that I need? I don't need a cleaner.

Is Flitz less agressive than heavy metal green?

I may mask off the rear end and use the green/blue stainless compound that I have on a dremel felt wheel.

I used rouge to polish an engine part once and got a few melted drops of it on my paint. That was a very bad thing!:mad:
 
pt91 said:


Stainless is quite a bit harder, isn't it?:confused:

Click to expand...



pt there are many alloys of stainless all varying in nickle content and other alloys type 201 right up to type 635 etc .. A lot of the exhaust tips are not a high quality SS this they tarnish .. kind of kills the *stainless* portion doesn't it.



As for the hardness .. it too depends on the grade used.



I have tips I made from 316L .. I turned them and polished them and none of the polishes I have will even touch them they are that hard. Yes emery paper will but cleaning them of the ocassional bit of tar just takes NeverDull.



Good SS like 316L won't even pick up exhaust carbon or other crud that nomally deposits on the tips .. Kind of nice for the car shows .. even the *inside* of the tip is clean at all times.





SS tip



BTW the ugly muffler the tip is on is also SS .. the quality is not condusive for show polishing but it is corrosion resistant.
 
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