Staintunes need a spit shine

Anyone have a home remedy when it comes to polishing up your exhaust?
5 years of chain lube fling and year-round Southern California riding have taken its toll and they're starting to appear rather dull.
Any suggestions on polishing would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

You should wet sand it first with some very high grit sandpaper or #0000 steel wool. Keep the sandpaper damp and add a drop or two of dishwashing soap directly to the sandpaper to help reduce friction and give a smoother finish. Increase the sandpaper grit and repeat as needed until the finish looks dull but not scratched. After you are done sanding grab a 6 pack of lager, a polishing wheel and some metal polish. Just make sure the polish is made for stainless steel or you could risk discoloration of the pipes.

Rollin

 

If you are talking about just the can and short header. Take it off the bike and start by removing the gunk with paint stripper. Don't use the "green" type..It's mostly lye (sodium or potassium hydroxide) and unless it's 70+F pretty useless. What is needed IMO is a quart of one of the gel solvent types from Homers or Wallys.

Dings are there. Don't even try to fix them.. Buff up, polish with a stainless rated polish ect..

If you are not used to working with hot chemicals there is ATGATT for that. Short of that be careful. The stuff is toxic and will burn you. Being outside in the shade and upwind of any application is a good idea.

The stripper will dissolve road tar, clumps of asphalt, old chain lube, any paint, bugs and bugshit and any leftovers from running over somebody elses roadkill.

If you skipped over the part about taking the assy. off the bike, don't.. Also do not use a synthetic bristle paint brush to apply the gel unless you want to add an interesting texture to your can.

 

How about a picture or two so we can see how they look.
John

 

I found that turtle wax bug & tar remover works quite well, sometimes elbow grease is needed. The polish that I used at one point that worked quite well was (I think) White Magic - had a white rabbit with a top hat on. I do remember that. Eagle 1 polish works quite well, and that comes in the can of cotton stuff.

 

buffing wheel or linisher with cloth & a polishing compound

1200 wet/dry paper will scrath or leave very fine lines in the muffler

Staintunes are a highly polished pipe so be careful as the most minor scratch takes forever to polish out to get back to the original mirror finish

I have one pair of staintunes on an old Honda that are now 24 yrs old - a bit dented, but no rust, just a couple of stains from battery acid

 

Seems like the problem is twofold and it kind of follows that the cure follows suit. All that crud from riding through asphalt patches, chain, everything but chicken fat, and lord knows what else in LA needs to come off first. Polishing is next.

The solvent paint stripper will nail most anything. A cold solvent ie paint thinner or mineral spirits if you feel you need to pay more for the same damn thing. will get a lot of the crud.

Steel wool unless cabinet grade is used or one of the more exotic stainless steel "wools" or bronze wool is graded. The fine stuff is 0000. Very close to 400 grit closed coat sandpaper of the wet and dry type. Most of the home and shop varieties of steel wool are oiled to buffer oxidation. the 0000 will leave scratches in those factory polished stainless cans. Same thing on aluminum cans. Probably best done on a buffing wheel and a some practice before going apeshit and messing up a pricy can..

What I can't figure out is why the cans just didn't get washed with the bike unless....

Never tried the stuff from Popiel that they say is amazing.

 

I would go with the solvent first and see how it goes.

If it doesn't get everything off, another good alternative is BarKeepers friend. You can get it at HomeDepot and many other places. It is recommended for stainless cookware that you don't want to scratch up. I use it to regularly remove carbon from my pots/pans and it works great. It does remove a little bit of the sheen when you work it hard, but you can buff anything right back up to high shine with a high speed drill, sissal wheel and white polishing rouge.

What you DO NOT use is actual steel wool. The fibers can embed in the stainless and cause rust. I avoid steel wool in general if the item has a glossy finish.

Jose

 

I'm thinking a little paint solvent to remove the surface ick.
then i'll get in there with a wheel and some polishing compound.
Mirror like finish right?
I'll post some after photos
but in the mean time, here's some before...





yes it's dirty. But that's because she was ridden in the rain yesterday. I know, it actually rained in LA. Go figure.

 

Well, after a full can of elbow grease and several pads of 0000 steel wool, here's the result.
It's a huge improvement but I still think I'm gonna send them to a polishing guy. The cans look great except for some melted stuff on the sides that just wouldn't come off. Barely noticeable but I still see it.
Is it even possible to get the pipe back to a mirror?
I used brush cleaner to get all the road crap off and some metal polish with an orbital wheel to get 'em to shine.

 

yes

looking good too from the before & after shots - well done !!

 

I have used a corded drill with sewn cotton buffing wheel and jewelers rouge to polish up the link pipe and slip on exhaust on my bike and it turned out really well. Put the drill in a bench vise to hold it still and move the pipes back and forth across the buffer wheel. I was able to get the jewelers rouge and the buffs at a local auto parts store. Takes a bit of practice but it was not overly difficult. I used red rouge to get out most of the marks and then put on a new cotton buff and some white rouge and buffed them to a shine. You might also be able to find the materials at a local truck stop. My brother and I used to detail semi's a number of years ago and we used the jewelers rouge to polish the aluminum wheels and tanks on the big rigs. Don't try using a cordless drill though, or the battery will not last very long. If you have a bench grinder, you can generally attach the buffer wheels to those as well.