1-hour Muffler Detail (Gen-4)

As I progress through my various surplus parts, I decided it was time to bring this 1994-97 VFR muffler off the shelf to prep for sale. This was already a beautiful survivor; no dents, a barely discernible 10mm scratch and original black paint still looking good.

This muffler is for sale; $150 including shipping

(Below) After a general cleaning, I can see the effects of 30+ years; a general dulling and light spotting taking hold. This should require just a light polishing to bring back the stainless finish — I say "light" because I know from experience that excessive polishing will go through the satin finish to a bright shine, and I want to preserve the original satin look.

Today I choose Autosol polish (Amazon), a general metal polish that's been around for longer than me. In fact, any gentle metal cleaner will work, including good ol' Turtle Wax Chrome Polish & Rust Remover. The idea is to gently work the polish, just enough to remove the imperfections…and stop there. Remove the residue and give a final wipe with a microfiber cloth. 

(Below) Some of the heavier spots are superficial, often tar spots, which should come off with polish, and maybe a little help with a fingernail or plastic scraper. There is one spot on the this muffler (arrow) that got chipped deeply enough to cause a spot of rust. I'll try to deal with this after polishing.

(Below) The silver-painted areas surrounding the factory welds can be masked off and resprayed with silver high-heat paint but, again, I want to preserve the original finishes. I first gently pick off tar specks then wet-sand with a 3000-grit sponge, followed by a very gentle pass with polish. This paint is quite easily removed by sanding/polishing, so "gentle" is the approach here.

(Below) The small rust spot remains, so I spot treat it with a rust remover, applied with a cutoff Q-tip. After about 40 minutes it's as good as it will likely get, so I wipe with a wet cloth, dry and apply a dab of metal preservative. Touch-up with a dot of silver high-heat paint would be another option.

(Below) Finally, I want to address the black-painted exhaust pipe. In this case I deem the black finish is useable, so I first lightly wet-sand with 3000-grit and buff with a dry cloth, then apply rust remover to the one bad spot and touch-up with high-heat paint.

This could also be easily painted — remove any rust, mask off, apply four light coats of high-heat flat black paint, wait two days and hand buff with a clean, dry microfiber cloth.

(Right) A final polishing tip: For areas where a polishing cloth is ineffective, like this welded seam, a stiff toothbrush is helpful. I find medium stiffness brushes at Dollar Tree.

Any nicely preserved Gen-4 VFR should be proud to wear this muffler, and now it's ready for the next 30 years.

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