Bring exhaust tailpipes back to life

[Jack!]

Rightio, my exhaust tailpipes looked like they had never been touched before, so this morning I set about tidying them up. Went at it with Autosol and fine grade steel wool, and it's done a decent job, taking away the vast majority of the carbon. However, now the carbon is gone, it's exposed lots of tiny little indents, like real tiny, only noticeable up close - not sure if I can really capture it in a photo. They're only at the bottom semi-circle of the exhaust where most of the carbon build up was - is there anything I can do about it? The exhaust pipes look ten times better, but this issue is preventing me getting a nice mirror finish.

Not sure if I'm expecting too much.

​Thanks.

 

[JD]

It sounds like the exhaust has pitting in the metal finish. I'm fairly certain these are not repairable.

 

[Jack!]

Pitting is the word I was looking for.

 

[JD]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitting_corrosion

Prevention is the only way. Once the damage is done, it's irrepairable.

 

[Jack!]

Dayum, it'll annoy me - excuse for a new exhaust somewhere down the line though I guess.