170 TDI owners

[steve184]

...are your tailpipes shiny? Bit dissapointed with mine - expect shiny chrome-type pipes and mine are like a dull alluminium look to them and they are all marked and stained already (although not with soot! don't get any soot at all on them due to DPF i guess)

steve

 

[Badley]

I think that is correct, the matt ali is a classier look, like the S3 wing mirrors.

 

[steve184]

yeh i agree it would good but mine look like they come off a car 10 years old not brand new! they got all marks and this course sandy brown stuff on them and it spoils the look - when i got the car i noticed but i just presumed when they valeted the car they idn't pay much attention to detail and didnt clean them properly - cleaned my car today and cant get them any cleaner or better looking???? perhaps i should wire wool them or something abbraisive since they have a textured surface and not shiny chrome anyway

 

[Badley]

Try some Auto Glym Tar remover to remove the brown stain. No idea if it would work but you could give it a try.

 

[RobinA3]

some wire wool or very fine wet and dry sandpaper will remove the soot off the exhaust tips and then give it a wipe over with some metal polish and they will be uber bling!

 

[steve184]

well i was debating on trying that! but i ddnt wana damage them, then find that to replace them means repacing the whole exhaust backbox as they seem to be welded onto the exhaust

 

[steve184]

how do you post an image?

 

[rich1068]

I wouldn't go as far as wire wool or wet and dry. Try Solvol Autosol ( http://www.autosol.com/ ). Proper old skool car metal polish but it's quite 'mild'. It will probably shift the soot but if your pipes aren't polished to start with I don't think you'll change them too much.

how do you post an image?

Sign up for somewhere like Photobucket, upload the image to Photobucket and then just copy/paste the 'IMG Code' into your post.

 

[Gti Jazz Blue]

I wouldn't go as far as wire wool or wet and dry. Try Solvol Autosol ( http://www.autosol.com/ ). Proper old skool car metal polish but it's quite 'mild'. It will probably shift the soot but if your pipes aren't polished to start with I don't think you'll change them too much.

I used autosol on the A3 pipes yesterday and it cleaned them up nicely, however as they aren't polished in the firstplace they aren't what I'd call shiny like the Oettinger ones that dissapeared with my Golf on Saturday when it went to it's new home.

Time to call Danny at RSD for a quote on an Oettinger backbox for the A3, me thinks.

Paul

 

[OutLore]

Apparently, toothpaste is also good at this... and a lot cheaper by all accounts.... Never tried it myself...

You need something "gritty" though, like Colgate original, not one of the gel type.

And, makes your exhaust fumes minty fresh.

 

[coupe-se]

The tailpipes are stainless steel and 'pickling' solution cleans them and gets rid of any staining, they'll look like new after a quick soak. You can get it from any metal facbricating workshop.