...What type of maintenance is there?
STAINTUNE stainless steel exhausts require nothing more then routine cleaning of the exterior of the pipe. This can be done during routine vehicle washings. You should avoid any cleaners with abrasives. Abrasives will scratch the surface and cause the mirror-like polished finish to become dull. If the surface does become dull or accidentally scratched, it can be repolished back to its original finish by a good machine shop.
Spotting on the surface of the stainless steel can occur and will typically happen on pipes that have extremely high exhaust tempuratures. While it looks bad, it is nothing to panic over. This again can be removed by repolishing the surface back to its original finish. If spotting does occur, it will require more routine surface cleaning and polishing to maintain a spot free appearance. If it is repolished by a machine shop, the spots can re-occur. It is advisable to maintain the pipe more regularly than a system that has cooler operating tempratures. Spotting is an indication that the exhaust tempuratures are extremely high.
Several companies make polishing compounds that we can recommend. S100 Total Finish Restorer, Flitz, Simichrome or a host of other metal polishes will work well. All of these polishing compounds do require a little "elbow grease" as the main ingredient. The easiest, least time consuming way, is to have a professional machine shop handle the heavy buffing if the muffler was severely neglected. Again, avoid any compounds that may contain abrasives.
There is never a need to internally service or repack a stainless steel muffler because the packing material is a spun stainless steel wool. It will not disintegrate or blow out, ever. There are no rivets and there is no way to open the muffler up to get to the internals.
On carbon fiber mufflers, you should check to see that there is not an excess amount of heat on the carbon sleeve. You should be able to grab the carbon fiber section with your hand after a lengthy ride. If excessive heat is felt, it will signify that the fiberglass packing has diminished and it is time to repack them. If left unchanged, over time, the carbon skins will become exposed to the direct heat of the exhaust and begin to discolor and then eventually melt.
