Polishing exhaust heat shield ??

[NSXAU]

is the exhaust muffler heatshield ..[in the first pick you can easily see it under 'black' rear valance][I hope my description of this piece is correct !] ....So ...is it made of a decent metal/alloy material that would/might professionally polish to a gloss or bright brushed alloy look ???...I've done a search its never been discussed that I could find other than getting a mention as part of underbody cleaning generally.. aluminium suspension bits etc

Has anyone done it, or tried..again I have attached a shot of my car showing the piece as is currently..

I have fitted polished quad tips and thought that this 'shield' has now become a bit more noticeable and wondered whether anyone has had a go at it...being polished might work in nicely with exhaust tips..

my other option was to just paint it 'out' with a heat resistant flat black...Thoughts, anyone on 'polishing' , anyone done it ??

Regards

 

[ACCD]

I really like the polished look. Much closer to OEM...

Nice NSX....

 

[NSXAU]

Bump !!!
Just pushing this thread back up into the reading list, I'm very interested if the 'polishing' is do-able, any thoughts on how it may come up when polished...as in its std form the metal looks pretty ordinary/average !!

Awaiting feedback, comments, thoughts...someone's prior experience with polishing the plate ???

Regards

 

[Norm]

I polished the heatshield on my 94. I thought it looked pretty good.

I'm pretty sure the part is stainless steel. It was pretty easy but I would recommend a good scrubbing with a cleaner like "comet" or "soft scrub" to remove the first layer of crud. Follow that up with a metal polish and finish with a buffer.

Sorry I don't have a pic but I replaced the exhaust and headers. I always thought it made the view from the rear a little nicer. I would think the combo with your new exhaust tips would be nice.

Norm
94 Red

 

[NSXAU]

Hey Norm ..thanks..its a shame you didn't get a pic of it, but at least I know it can be done...soo anyone else polished it and have a pic

Regards

 

[mr_spanners]

I used Autosol metal polish on mine and it came up really well .... I didn't over-polish it (so it wasn't chrome look!) but the more effort you put in and the longer you buff the shinier the finish.

If you want a serious shine then use 1500grit wet and dry with the autosol at first and then change to a cloth\autosol before buffing to a shine.

~Phil.

 

[NSXAU]

mr spanners ..[Phil] any pics of your workmanship on this piece ..I'd luv to see it..also when cleaned and polished are we talking 'shiny/ mirror', or brushed aluminium look, or flat... or polished alloy like the lip on a rim..??
I'm getting keen now to try for myself...just want a benchmark to shoot for..

Thanks again

 

[white93nsx]

FYI, any polished metal may possibly stain from the exhaust heat so if you plan on doing it, be prepared to polish it often to keep up it's good looks. Some metal polishes add a layer of protection so it may last long enough to be worth your while. A matter of choice but being polished would give it a nice look and bring some more attention to the NSX rear.

 

[NSXAU]

white93,
Yeah i have had some thought about heat discolouration, but generally my NSX as you can see from her mileage is a 'garage queen'..but yeah I'll watch for that ..I never as yet have checked to see how hot that plate gets..but if it can be polished and hold its look with a regular touch/buff up, then I'll go for it...altho I'd still like to see a pic of someone's with the plate polished, if poss..but if not I'm going to go ahead and give it a go myself..the car goes in on this Mon 6 to have the NSXBOX rear spats fitted with a little other paint work, so when I get her back, that'll be one of the first things we'll play with..


Regards

 

[mr_spanners]

mr spanners ..[Phil] any pics of your workmanship on this piece ..I'd luv to see it..also when cleaned and polished are we talking 'shiny/ mirror', or brushed aluminium look, or flat... or polished alloy like the lip on a rim..??
I'm getting keen now to try for myself...just want a benchmark to shoot for..

Thanks again

I just went for the brushed aluminium look as I thought it'd looks more 'stock' (but super-clean!!!). I'll see if I can find some photos of the cover and I'll post them here - I don't have a (working!) digi camera at the moment so I can't even take any!! :frown:

~Phil.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

The heatshield for the OE exhaust as well as the one above polishes out easily.

 

[NSXAU]

I've done it,
car is in the paint shop getting NSXBOX spats fitted but prior, i parked the car on the driveway as per 1st pisc and got under there and started polishing...not bad result ..will take pics when she's back form the paint shop..but the finish of the polished plate I'd describe as the finish of the underneath of a Coke or Pepsi tin..

David

 

[NSXAU]

Spat ..and polished [sorry]

here it is, heat shield polished, I'd like to do more polishing on it ..but this will do for now ..

 

[AU_NSX]

Re: Spat ..and polished [sorry]

here it is, heat shield polished, I'd like to do more polishing on it ..but this will do for now ..

That's not the only thing that is different to the pics above David... :wink:

Looks great mate! Glad you resisted the temptation to paint the rear valence! The polished heat shield stands out more now!

Well Done!

 

[fkong777]

Just to tease you.. it would have looked something like this.

 

[Hapa88]

I painted mine with Hi-temperature Flat black paint. Everytime I see an unpainted muffler/heatshield, I think of how it makes the car look like it just came back from a really cheap muffler shop. But that's just how I feel. Here's mine with it painted black:

 

[NSXAU]

Hey Fkong

Thanks for the 'photoshop' but I was really in 2 minds whether to do or not, in the end the the paintshop guys convinced me, to leave as it is now ...but i do like the look as is as well as per your pic...hmmm...choices !!:smile:

 

[NSXAU]

Hapa
man I love the look of your car [I nearly ordered your wheels, needed to import them etc etc], ....the heat shield does look better polished..but as the car is so low :biggrin: its only really visible sitting up on my driveway, and is better polished now than scrumpy and dirty as it was prior

 

[Doc308]

Dave--what brand quad exhaust tips do you have on your car. They look great. Did you have to cut the exhaust pipes shorter to install them properly--ie, w/o having them stick out the back too far?

 

[NSXAU]

Hey Doc
I can't remember the brand but they are a high quality s/s tip [cost ~$150AUD each], and yes the ovals were cut off where they started to attach / meet to the pipe, and then the quads slipped on to the exhaust pipe further in till to just before the pipe started to bend..here is 'pre spats shot' from the side, you can see the tip fitment...which i wasn't as happy with, as you could see it fitted IMO a bit too clearly..

..but after the NSXBox spats were put on they cover this quite nicely..[which is what I was always going to be doing anyway]

I'll see if I can get a part number for you...thanks for +ve comments

PS the swept up tip does blow a bit of exhaust muk up onto the rear bar, just above the tips..not the usual grit that sits on the bar, but a little darker misting above each tip after a good run..when I first saw it my heart stopped thinking that the hot exhaust had marked the rear bar paint, but it does seem remove simply after a quick wash...but I'd keep a closer eye on it after longer trip [hour + drive..]

 

[Doc308]

Thanks, Dave.

 

[clembeauch]

Hey Dave DU;
Check out my photo of my rear end shot - parked my car over a grassy bank
to get the shot - I polished my sheild my hand while doing oil changes - when
I put the car up on ramps (wear sunglasses of course) I use a cotton wadding called wizards It is empregnated with a polishing ruge that really
does a great job polish/polish/polish & wipe off with clean peices of toweling
or buff of with polisher & micro buffing pads..
check out my 130.000 mile heatsheild = has a tad bit of rust at the right edge.. yours looks good but more effort will make the difference..
see my photo clembeauch click and enlarge the photo to the max.. good luch
your tips are awsome.. Regard - clem :smile:

 

[710]

Ok, this is what I’m going to do with mine, thanks neo. Polish, red and shorten the huge licence plate base too. UK plate fits fine (for once).


But I have searched and I can’t find the price of those rear spats anywhere. Does anyone have a ballpark price for these, are they affordable for pathetic little ol' me?
Are they from J racing?
Peter

 

[710]

What do you think of an exhaust tip like the left one?

seen that somewhere before...