HOW TO: Refresh Crusty Exhaust and Header Pipes...

[hcomp]

Don't know if someone has posted this before or not...

Tired of your old rusty dingy exhaust headers and pipes? Well here are some simple instructions to make them look 100% better....Like New.  When done right, Stainless Headers will patina a golden color.  I will do my best Billy Mays impersonation to show you how easy this is....

And can be done for LESS THAN $10.00!

I have been around stainless car exhaust systems for quite a while now and many of our clients asked how to re-new their exhaust systems.  I am glad I knew this technique when I purchased my Monster.  The dumb F*k who assembled it did not wipe off the headers after handling them...So if you don't know what happens when you do this, you will have finger prints burnt into your brand new shiny exhaust. If my headers were evidence at the at a crime scene, the guy would have been caught due to the fact I had 5 examples of perfect finger prints right on the front header pipe of my 696.


 
This process can be done on the bike, but would be easier with the exhaust removed...I'm too short on time to remove them so I just did mine while mounted on the bike.  

Here is what you will need...

Small Can of WD-40 - $4.49 from Walgreens


These work the best - $1.34 -  http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/3M-General-Purpose-Abrasive-Hand-Pad-4ZR10


Paper Towels - $2.24


And if things are really messy...
220 Grit Sand Paper - $0.92 per sheet.


All yours for one LOW PRICE of $8.99 !


Once you have all of your supplies you are ready to start.  If your pipes are not in bad shape, simply take the maroon scotch brite pads, spray some WD-40 on, and use a twisting motion around the exhaust. Try to twist in an even lateral motion so the "brush" will be uniform. Once you have removed the road grime, rust, burnt on bugs, etc, wipe them down with a paper towel.  Your headers and exhaust should look brushed and silver.  You can stop here, but if you want to patina the stainless, spray some WD-40 on a paper towel and wipe down the headers. When you ride the bike the exhaust will heat and over time the pipes will turn golden brown again.  For the first 5 or so rides, wipe down the exhaust with a paper towel and WD-40 before starting the bike. Also wipe the pipes down after they cool off from a ride and try not to let any water or any liquids get on the headers before they patina. If this does happen, simply scotch brite the small area again.  This only needs to be done once a season, or every 6 months or so if riding regularly.

If the pipes are really nasty, do the process with 220 grit sandpaper and then go over with maroon scotch brite.

Here is a picture of the results:

Right after the first process:


Here is 3 rides in..and gold ti bolts added to the exhaust shield!

[bmonty72]

  I might have to re-finish my headers before next season starts!!!!

[greenmonster]

Nice tip!

[DucatiSTi]

That's awesome!!!

I'm gonna try it next season - thanks for the tip

[corey]

i have that exact paper towel holder.

[sbrguy]

did this last night with the green scotch bright and seems to work fine really does take off a lot of the road grime on it, a bit messy with all the wd 40 but it does let you clean it up.

really cant get to the y fitting underneath the 620 witthout taking off the exhaust but no matter only did the main parts you see and it lookks a lot nicer.

[hcomp]

The green scotch brite should work fine..WD-40 always makes a mess while you are doing it, but the end result should look pretty darn good. WD-40 also makes your hands stink. My wife wouldn'tlet me touch her after I did this...That's even after thoroughly washing my hands...Then again my wife never lets me touch her anyway...

[mojo]

You should move this over to the tutorials section.  Very good tip...now I have one more thing to add to my list of winter projects.

[Spck31]

You should move this over to the tutorials section.  Very good tip...now I have one more thing to add to my list of winter projects.

+1

[Drunken Monkey]

You should move this over to the tutorials section.  Very good tip...now I have one more thing to add to my list of winter projects.

Done 

[Silver King]

The scrolling price "ad" makes this one of the best threads ever!   

[Narflar]

I just saw this over on a buell forum and was thinking I should do this to the Evo.  The headers on that thing are starting to look nasty after a few months already. 

Thanks for the writeup and confirming that this will work wonderfully 

[bond0087]

First off, big thanks to ryanracer! Great tip!
I just did this yesterday, and it worked so remarkably well I thought I'd share some before/after pics.  I have a 2000 M750 w/ 24k, and by far, the biggest thing aging the bike was the exhaust.  I actually looked into ceramic coating prices because I had no idea that they could look like new for a few bucks. So without further ado, here are the pics:

Before:

Close up on one section (this part wasn't actually as bad as other parts of the header):

Making Progress:


After (with a few rides rubbing down with WD-40 for patina):



And a final back-to-back before/after:



It took a while (maybe 2-3hours). I should have probably started with sandpaper, but didn't have any on hand.  I started with a green abrasive pad, then moved to maroon (wasn't scotchbrite, but I imagine that they're the same).  I couldn't be happier with the result; the best bang for your buck out there in my opinion if you want to improve the looks of your bike.

[suzyj]

Hey thanks for the tip.  My 695 spent the first three years of it's life (before I bought it) running way too lean.  The paint on the cylinders and heads has gone yucky, and I thought the headers were a write-off.  Now they look shiny and new again

[Glass_Darkly]

Great tutorial ! mine seem to have gone a really dark brown and sticky ? Nota sure why this is I did spray a lil wd4o on before starting and forgot to wipe it off could that be why ?