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These are original and cosmetically look poor. I've tried a number of metal polish options by hand but no improvement. I know that they are spot welded onto the exhaust and any reasonable specialist could get them off and replace with a number of aftermarket options but I wondered if there might be a trick I'm missing before I condemn them to the exhaust tip tip?

It may be worth trying some very fine wire wool dipped in Autosol metal polish. It worked a treat on my Alpina.
It will take a while, so patience and perseverance is the order of the day.
Unless they are heat-tarnished, then nothing will help. They don't look it from the pic.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve got Autosol cleaner so will give that a go. I was reluctant to use wire wool in case I made them worse.

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Looks like my tips…as Pondrew suggested Autosol with very very fine wire wool should work…as you may recollect I managed a substantial improvement with just autosol and a cloth…albeit with a bit of labour..

Fine wire wool, Autosol and elbow grease resulted in little improvement. I’ve gone at them with more abrasive paper and it shifted loads but I’ll probably replace them at some point.

peeblezZ4 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:48 am Fine wire wool, Autosol and elbow grease resulted in little improvement. I’ve gone at them with more abrasive paper and it shifted loads but I’ll probably replace them at some point.

Look foreword the cut n shut..

Have/had a similar problem with my exhaust tips. Factory finish seemed to me to be silver paint or powder coat which resists wire wool, polish etc. Also had lots of ‘soot’ inside the tailpipes which was hard to shift so I have had to be quite aggressive with sanding to get down to the actual metal.

peeblezZ4 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:48 am Fine wire wool, Autosol and elbow grease resulted in little improvement. I’ve gone at them with more abrasive paper and it shifted loads but I’ll probably replace them at some point.

I use a coarse wire brush on mine with some WD40.
It cleans all the soot off, and keeps them looking good.

I tried everything with metal polish and soft wool, but nothing shines them like a wire brush.

These are just a slide and press fit, and easy to drift off with a bit of wood from the rear. Cheap as chips from the BMW parts bin.

BTZ461 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 11:53 am These are just a slide and press fit, and easy to drift off with a bit of wood from the rear. Cheap as chips from the BMW parts bin.

Twin outlet ones are 'sprung push fit' but the duals (35 and 35is) are welded apparently. Not so easy then.

I’ve had good results with a wire brush wheel on an electric drill (mounted in a vice)