Brightening stainless exhaust

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by VFR Love, Jun 4, 2014.

  1. VFR Love

    VFR Love New Member

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    As you can see the exhaust riser has seen better days. I picked up naval jelly to try to brighten it.

    Any advice? I wasn't planning on removing the pipe to do the work for no good reason other than it's hopefully easy to do the job without turning it into a project.

    That said- what do I need to do to remove and reinstall the pipe properly on a 6th gen? Any gaskets needed?

    Thanks for any advice

    [​IMG]


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  2. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Naval Jelly is a rust remover. There should not be any rust on stainless steel.
     
  3. Outboard John

    Outboard John New Member

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    I'm very nit picky with my 07 garage queen and have had great luck with 0000 steel wool and a mixture of "Blue Away" and white vinegar. I haven't had to remove the mid pipe but mine was not in the shape that yours is. I hope this helps. Best luck.
    John
     
  4. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Cosmetically and functionally that riser pipe might look good in a flat black ceramic coating.
     
  5. Scubalong

    Scubalong Official Greeter?

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  6. VFR Love

    VFR Love New Member

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    Ok metal polish and steel wool or wet sanding it is!

    Just curious- is this a factory pipe? I noticed it's missing the heat shield.

    And the roundish black metal heat shield in back has seen better days too. Hopefully it comes out easy.

    [​IMG]


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  7. vfrcapn

    vfrcapn Member

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    Steel wool or wet sanding will leave scratches you'll never get out.

    Non-scratch sponge with some light polishing compound.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  8. fatshoutybloke

    fatshoutybloke New Member

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    Good luck with the heatshield, in my experience they tend to rust through from the back. :frown:
     
  9. VFR Love

    VFR Love New Member

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    That's an insanely beautiful set of pipes and rearsets brother!! My bike sadly cannot be kept in a garage. Any idea on the longevity Id get from my elbow grease?

    Also is that a custom heatshield?!


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  10. Arnzinator

    Arnzinator New Member

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    The trick is to not let the stainless steel get very dirty. Its not the stainless that rusts, its all the foreign material that gets kick up on to it. Once you get the pipe cleaned up it'll require cleaning on a "semi regular" basis. Something you'll have to work into your regular cleaning routine. I had good results with just wiping the system (Leo Vince) down with WD40 & micro fiber towel. This just keeps the surface clean & doesn't polish the metal. If you do polish the pipe you"ll have to periodcally re-polish. How often can depend upon the environment your bike is in. I polished the tips on my Leo's. About once a month a quick pass w/ some Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish keeps 'em looking good. I wipe the system down w/ WD40 anytime it gets wet.
     
  11. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    I like the mothers metal polish. That round black thinky was starting to turn a dull grey on mine. Not pitted like yours. I cleaned it up well and painted it with BBQ paint a few years ago. Still looks great.
     
  12. vfrcapn

    vfrcapn Member

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    That was almost 4 years ago and the finish is about half way between the before and after pics, without any maintenance.

    Stock heatshield.

    Here's a vid of the ss exhaust as it is now, it's held up pretty well. (Just did a motor swap)

    [video=youtube;XBNMVbOd4TU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBNMVbOd4TU[/video]
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2014
  13. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    +1 for a metal polish. Mothers is very good and so is Meguiars products. - No sanding or steel wool....
     
  14. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    I have had good luck using a white scotch brite scrubbing pad and Autosol metal polish. The Autosol comes in a tube about the same size as most toothpaste tubes and should be available at many auto parts stores. You smear some of the Autosol on the white scrubby pad and then scrub the pipe clean. Once happy with the way it looks, use a towel to buff off the residue. My friend Pete and I also used Autosol to keep all the stainless parts on our sailboat all clean and shiny and the stuff works great. I might recommend getting some disposable rubber gloves to wear when using the stuff though, just not the ones your significant other might use for washing dishes, as that decision might leave you in the dog house. LOL

    http://www.autosol.com
     
  15. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Abrasive Equivalents


    Steel Wool – Abrasive Pad – Sandpaper Equivalents

    Steel wool: None
    Pad Color: Pink-Use with wax or buffing compounds
    Sandpaper: None
    Grit Equivalent: None

    Steel wool: None
    Pad Color: White
    Sandpaper: Extra Fine
    Grit Equivalent: None

    Steel wool: 0000
    Pad Color: None
    Sandpaper: Finest
    Grit Equivalent: 400-600

    Steel wool: 000
    Pad Color: Gray
    Sandpaper: Fine
    Grit Equivalent: 280

    Steel wool: 00
    Pad Color: None
    Sandpaper: Medium
    Grit Equivalent: 180-220

    Steel wool: None
    Pad Color: Maroon
    Sandpaper: Medium
    Grit Equivalent: 180

    Steel wool: 0
    Pad Color: None
    Sandpaper: Course
    Grit Equivalent: 120-150

    Steel wool: None
    Pad Color: Green
    Sandpaper: Course
    Grit Equivalent: 100
     
  16. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    Hey Zoom -- Thanks for the info. I am a polish tryout addict. On the Valkyrie, there is always something to work on.
     
  17. VFR Love

    VFR Love New Member

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    I didn't have time for much - too busy replacing head bearings. But I did manage to rub some mothers chrome polish with a rag. It came up a bit but I think it really needs either the high speed of a drill buffing bit or more likely the bite of some scotchbrite.

    Before:[​IMG]

    After: (note the freshly painted round black exhaust shield)
    [​IMG]
    Pretty anti-climactic photos - like a pretty fat before and not-nearly-so-but-still-lard-ass-after

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  18. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    For a couple years, I worked with my brother at a Western Star truck dealer in Calgary and we were the detailers. We spent a LOT of time polishing stuff and making everything shine on the semi's. The aluminum wheels and tanks we always used a sewn cotton buff on a high speed polisher set to 1600-1800 RPM and we polished using jewelers rouge. Most often we started with red, then green and finished with white (I think in that order anyhow, it was many, many years ago). If the pipe was removable on VFR Love's bike, I would suggest using the jewelers rouge and a sewn cotton buff attached to a corded drill (you would kill the battery on most cordless drills pretty quick otherwise), and do the polishing with the part off the bike, but I'm not sure if that piece of the exhaust is easily removable. A winter project for sure and it would come out soooo shiny it would be silly.
     
  19. mello dude

    mello dude Administrator

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    Hey Zoom -- what about an aluminum sealer. I am looking at something called Zoop Seal and also have read some good things about Optimum Opti-Seal.

    --- Gotta recommendation?

    md
     
  20. zoom-zoom

    zoom-zoom Member

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    When I polished the rear sets on my last bike (my 97 VFR) I used Zoop Seal to treat them afterwards and the stuff was GREAT. After 4 years and 30,000 miles they were as shiny as the day they were polished. Once the Zoop Seal was applied I never touched them again. I was however under the impression that Zoop Seal had gone out of business, or at least was no longer available under that name. I had found a product last year when I polished the rear sets on my wife's 96 VFR called Shine Seal, which from the looks of it, is exactly the same product. Here's a link to their website.

    http://www.shineseal.com

    The wheel repair company that is located a few shops down from mine has been polishing aluminum wheels for a number of years and he swears by a product called Sharkhide Aluminum Sealer. I have seen the stuff applied and it seems a bit more finicky to use as you have to be careful not to overlap too much at differing angles or you can see some visible marks like brush strokes in fresh paint. He buys the stuff direct from the manufacturer since he buys it in large quantities but said you can get it from Eastwood.com. I checked and sure enough, I found it on their site. The stuff has a fairly obnoxious odour IMHO but it does work well, though I think the Shine Seal or Zoop Seal is easier to work with, especially for your average individual.

    http://www.eastwood.com/sharkhide-aluminum-protectant-quart.html

    Te Zoop Seal when I purchased it was about US $75.00 for a small kit which was good for about enough to do about 8 wheels. It comes with a special cleanser that you need to apply to the freshly polished parts, then rinsed with distiller water (tap water decreases the effectiveness of the sealer apparently). You then apply the Zoop Seal allow it to dry to a haze, buff to a shine (just like any wax) and I think you were suppose to rinse it again with distiller water and dry with a soft cloth.

    they said not to use harsh cleaners or degreasers on the parts afterwards or you would have to re-apply the Zoop Seal, but after four years of degreasing the chain, washing the bike and spraying degreaser around the rear sets, I never had to re-apply the product. THE BEST $100 (with shipping) I spent after doing the polishing. I had more than enough to the rear sets on my bike, and more than enough left over to do the rear sets on two friends bikes, and two sets of wheels. One of my riding buddies had a Hayabusa with a custom paint job and a chrome plated fuel tank. He didn't want to go to the expense of plating the wheels so he asked me of I could polish the wheels after he removed the paint from them and they turned out great. He still has the bike (a 99 Busa) and he still hasn't touched the wheels since I applied the Zoop Seal, and it has been about 10 years now. They could stand being redone in my opinion, but they are still shiny enough that he doesn't care, but I notice the difference.

    After checking out the Optimum Opti-Seal you mentioned, I think that particular product is more of an automotive paint sealant as opposed to an aluminum sealer. Might still work mind you. Hope this helps.
     
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