Hey guys,

Over the winter I noticed my Apexi titanium tips were loosing their lustre/blue. I just had the chance to really get under and polish them using a microfibre rag and some WD40.

It seems as though the blue finish of the burnt titanium has faded and almost been washed right out in spots.

How do I refinish the burnt look? Is it going to involve me stripping down the exhaust and taking a torch to it?

If I do have it refinished what should I go about cleaning the tips with? a light metal polish?

Update with Pics

Here are some pics of my tips... disappointing to say the least from a *Premium exhaust and this is coming from a guy who has every Apexi part currently made for our car installed.

I spoke with Apexi and they aren't willing to do anything for me; apparently I live in the wrong climate and should automatically assume that rubbing alcohol is to be used to clean my exhaust.

 

I'll see if I can find a post from S2Ki on this. I know a lot of the S2000 owners had issues with the Ti exhaust tips fading as well. I can't recall if there was a way to get it back 100%, but I know the threads existed over there. I'll post up something if I can find it.

It would be a shame if it can't be restored. I love that look with that exhaust.

 

I spoke to A'PEXi about this before I ordered my catback and they told me the Ti should not fade, as a matter of fact, the rep was surprised I was bringing this up to their attention. He asked me to email him pictures of other exhausts I had seen online that were faded. I've had my exhaust for 2 months and have not noticed any significant fade. He advised me to clean the tips with rubbing alcohol as opposed to soap and water. This has worked pretty well in maintaining the blue hue.

 

Those do look Awesome, Especially on the Blue Mica cars let us know what you find out.

 

Well thats comforting... However I will have to clean mine up and show you that they are definitely faded.

 

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information regarding restoring the burnt look, and without experience doing so, I would hate to steer you the wrong way. It seems most polishes will indeed strip the burnt color away, and most recommend basic soap and water for cleaning, but it appears Apexi themselves are calling for rubbing alcohol. There seems to be some writeups on how to use a blowtorch to restore the color through heating as well.

Let us know how it turns out. Winters can be brutal to our car's exterior.

 

Try speaking with APEXi, if you can't get a solution from them, PM me and I'll speak to them for you. They are local to me also..

-Josh

 

PM sent.

Jeff

 

updated with pics and a touch of a rant

 

That's pretty disappointing to hear and the kind of stuff I wanted to wait around for since there's a healthy number of forum vendors pushing their goods. The real test of good customer service is what do they do when things don't turn out quite right and it'll cost them time/money to make it right?

Though I personally don't care for the Ti razzle dazzle, having planned on ceramic coating the muffler + tips black, I will continue to observe how Apexi behaves. Please keep us apprised.

Thanks!

 

Pm'd you back on the current issue.

-Josh

 

There is no more razzle dazzle... now the exhaust just looks like ****

I may pull it off and have it all bead blasted and either powder coated or sent to Unobtanium welding to have the blue returned with a torch.

That is if someone from Apexi doesn't help with the situation at hand.

 

Damn, man, $2k exhaust should NOT look like this after years of running! But the first winter killed the ti finish Oo Tons of salt on the roads?

 

They barely salted this year! the winter was so moderate.

There is no excuse

 

Hello!

I saw this posting and spoke to APEXi about it, they've asked me to chime in about it since i've had some experience in the past with Titanium Exhaust Manufacturing.

For anything metal related it is best to avoid any chemicals directly on the metal as it can fade the color, any chemical cleaners or lubricants generally do have mineral oil or some solvent based chemical in it that can affect the color of the metal, just one of those inherent qualities of metal surfaces.

However what is good about this system compared to others is those tips are REAL Titanium from their factory in Fuji Japan. Other cheaper brands often use Stainless Steel with a chemical coating which they apply to stainless steel and burn it. When those cheaper brand "Ti like tip systems" fade there is nothing you can do about it, they go a light color.

SO.... What you can do with this system since it is real Titanium is apply heat to it. If you take a blow torch to it, it will shift color being real Titanium however if you want to maintain the gradient you will have to be careful while doing it so its even, but even if you don't do it even you'll have a deep purple color which looks incredible, i highly suggest also cleaning it thoroughly with alcohol to ensure there are no other chemicals that can affect the color as you apply heat.

I've personally worked on some Porsche 911 Turbos and helped to produce Full Titanium Turbobacks in the past and those pie cut exhausts always shift color after driving it really hard from exhaust fumes being hot and it makes this really great bluish purple.

This isn't an exhaust and it is just spoons, but this random link I found quickily on youtube might shed some light on how to do it.

Ti Spoons (No idea why he has Ti Spoons/Sporks)

I hope this helps shed some light on your situation, and maybe a fun solution for you to try out! If you have any additional questions or need some more advice feel free to email me at Steven@modinjapan.com or pm us here!

Regards,

Steven @ Mod in Japan