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About a month ago I picked up an ATLP V1 exhaust (J-pipe, Race pipe, and catback) from Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist). It was in really rough shape with a few dents and scrapes, but it still sounded amazing, and I knew with it being stainless steel I could have it restored with some elbow grease. Well, that's how I spent my weekend. I decided against restoring anything more than the mufflers and tips, since they alone took about 3 hours, and the other parts cant been seen unless the car is on the lift.
once the exhaust was hung on the car I did a quick polish on the tips, but still couldn't stand the spots of road tar or dirty mufflers if you took a few steps back. Beginning the project, both mufflers looked like the one on the right.
Materials needed:
Windex/Window cleaner
0000 Steel Wool (I used 000, but left some minor scratches where I needed to scrub deeply to get tar off)
stainless steel polish (I used Mothers)
shop towels
Lint Free Shammy
Optional: Power-ball, drill, power polisher
I began by removing the mufflers and hosing them off outside. It's winter here in Alberta, so getting the mud and dirt off with the hose was an easy way to start. I then sprayed them liberally with window cleaner, which reduced the friction and provides a solvent for the discolored stainless steel and road tar. Scrubbing each can took about 60 mins for all side and the tips. I then applied a liberal amount of polish, and buffed it out with the powerball. Here's both of them finished:
Nice! I did this with my stock mufflers a while back now. It's a lot of work but it's worth it in the end. The beauty of metal is it can usually be brought back to life from even the worst of conditions.
for upkeep and keeping them nice, use barkeepers friend (2 bucks at a hardware store) with a wet rag in the future. super easy and makes a huge difference
Nice! I did this with my stock mufflers a while back now. It's a lot of work but it's worth it in the end. The beauty of metal is it can usually be brought back to life from even the worst of conditions.
Definitely. That's why I wasn't worried when I say that it was filthy. It's a small thing, and it took most of my day to do it, but I had a great time and every time I see them I'm proud of them.
Originally Posted by sockr1
looks great man, you put in a ton of work.
for upkeep and keeping them nice, use barkeepers friend (2 bucks at a hardware store) with a wet rag in the future. super easy and makes a huge difference
Definitely plan to keep then this way now that I've restored them. It was clear that the previous owner didn't touch them after the install. Thanks for the suggestion! I'll keep an eye out for it.
I know it's a couple months after the last comment, but man this is great! Just what I was looking for, I have the ATLP dual tips on mine, and they look about like what yours did before the polish. I think I'm going to do the mufflers/tips, and just the back of the Y-pipe going to the mufflers (after it splits off into 2)
03-10-2016, 11:59 AM
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll keep an eye out for it. 
