Hi Andy If you have a look at this article I wrote about exhaust gaskets I went into some detail on removing the exhaust. Taking the cat out is quite difficult because you have to remove the crossover pipe from the manifolds in order to access the upper right cat mounting nut. http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/exhaustgasket.html As to refinishing the silencer, over here you can buy high temperature paint in a silver shade - I did my heat stove with it till I decided to leave it out anyway... I can't vouch for its lifespan though. I believe there's a ceramic coating process but I can't see the point *personally*. Martin #1458 #4426 Soma576@xxxx wrote: > Hey all, > > two questions: > 1. i want to refinish my muffler. it looks like it is rusty even though it > really isn't since it's stainless.... i don't need it to look like chrome, i > just want it to look like it is new again. is a muffler best painted, or is > there a polishing job that can be done? i'd obviously bring this to a > specialist. > > 2. i'm interested in the catalytic converter straightpipe since i live in a > state without emissions testing. it would be ideal to do this job when i > refinish the muffler. is this a very difficult job? are the bolts typically > quite rusty and solid? also - are there any downsides to removing the cat > besides higher hydrocarbon emissions? > > any thoughts are welcome! > Andy