Exhausts clean up

[cairojay]

Just wondering what to do with the rusty part of my exhausts - obviously chrome is horribly expensive and for HD riders so has anyone got any ideas for making them look all shiny and new again? Could you hammerite them perhaps?

[Zimbo]

Just polish them - they're actually low grade stainless steel and will come up shiny with an application of metal polish and some elbow grease!

[Capo]

This stuff takes out the hard work, check out the video

http://metalwax.com/allproducts

[utopia]

I did mine with strips of coarse emery cloth, then medium wet/dry, and finally autosol polish.
They come up lovely, and then turn a nice champagne colour in use.
Perfection takes a while, but 90% is quick and easy.
Front pipe can mostly be done on the bike, but best to remove the short, rear pipe.
I didn't bother with the crucifix section, yet. It doesn't show much.

ps. for future ref....most stainless steels can be identified by the fact that they are non-magnetic.

[Dukedesmo]

Perfection takes a while, but 90% is quick and easy.


Indeed it is long, hard and dirty work but worth the end result.

Downpipes before polishing;

http://www.ducati.ms/gallery/files/9/3/7/0/p1010083a.jpg

Polished so I can see my face in them (maybe not a good thing);

http://www.ducati.ms/gallery/files/9/3/7/0/exhaust_polished_01.jpg

On the bike;

http://www.ducati.ms/gallery/files/9/3/7/0/p1010093a.jpg

Still got the cans and high-rise link pipes to do, although they're nowhere near as bad as the downpipes were but once done they're not too bad to keep them looking good, plus you get the wonderful 'rainbow' colour effect due to the heat. :thumbsup:

[jerry]

It lasts about 4 years before needing re doing ...I know because i did it and now the s4 needs it again

[utopia]

I'm liking the innovative use of the old upside-down paddock stand there, DD.

[Dukedesmo]

I'm liking the innovative use of the old upside-down paddock stand there, DD.

Needs must, the headstock stand doesn't really work when you've not got the yokes in as the hole is tad large for the pin...

[Dookbob]

I have had good results with a buffing wheel on one end of my bench grinder, and the poishing compounds available on Ebay. Everything that should be clean and shiny goes on the wheel before going back on the bike. You have to remove the exhaust pipework to do it obviously.
capo, is there an outlet in the UK for the metalwax products, and have you actually used this on an exhaust pipe with good results?

[cairojay]

Gives me a good excuse to go and buy a bench grinder and a buffing wheel - I was amazed by the pics, never realised you could take them back to new. I ride the bike through the winter so the pipes take a bit of a battering even though I cover them in ACF. Next job is the oil sump and what to do with that. Heard that its really difficult to get a colour match so I was thinking about silver hammerite the smooth variety again, but then again I would prefer to get some proper advice before mucking it up! More advice gratefully received....

[utopia]

You won't really need the bench grinder and polishing wheel for the exhausts...though its a handy thing to have anyway. Mine came up fine by hand. Its probably a much more messy job with the polishing wheel, due to the 'spray'. A Dremmel or similar might be handy for the intricate bits though.
My polishing wheel set up uses a std bench grinder, to which I fitted an arbor to take the polishing mop. The arbor, mop/s and polish came from 'The Polishing Shop', Cannock. They don't cost a lot.

[Dukedesmo]

I've tried many different polishing setups including hand drills and even dedicated hand-held polishers, the polisher is great for polishing stuff that deosn't move, can be clamped still or held in a vice but my preferred option for exhaust pipes is a pillar drill on a high speed with the polishing mop set at about waist height so that I can stand in front holding the pipework with plenty of room to 'swing' the pipes around to get all the angles.

A bench grinder seriously limits access inside bends etc, but I find a die grinder very useful for the intricate areas.

For the first polish when you need to get rid of crud, corrosion, ridges & scratches I use a flap wheel and then progress through the various grades of polishing mop & soap.

One problem is that it can become obsessive and you can spend days doing it, chasing perfection. But do a good job the first time and the 'maintenance' polishing is much easier next time. I normally give the 916 pipes a quick buff every year to keep them looking decent.

[siandsar]

I've just spent £45 having my Headers painted with something called ptfe?? It is/was supposed to be heat proof and have good corrosion resistance..........Started the bike today after a full nut and bolt rebuild and the paint lasted all of 5 minuets!!!
Words can not describe...........
Back to the drawing board me thinks??!!??

[Capo]

ptfe is teflon and as you have discovered will not survive on an exhaust system.
Whoever did the job should have known this, Ask for your money back

[utopia]

If its a black finish you're after, I'm wondering whether you could use that stuff they sell for use on woodstoves....or even just oil them repeatedly and let that burn black, like your oven trays.
I used to use Sperex vht paint, but since ducati headers are stainless you wont need to worry about corrosion, so any black should do the job.

[analogue_rogue]

I just did my exhaust with enamel black Matt finish and they look awesome.

[the_adam]

I've just spent £45 having my Headers painted with something called ptfe?? It is/was supposed to be heat proof and have good corrosion resistance..........Started the bike today after a full nut and bolt rebuild and the paint lasted all of 5 minuets!!!
Words can not describe...........
Back to the drawing board me thinks??!!??

I can't imagine why anyone would coat header pipes with that, it's the same stuff they coat non-stick frying pans with :eyepopping: It's fairly heat-resistant but starts to degrade if you take it much above 250C - I've heard of it being used as a coating to reduce friction in high-performance transmissions etc but your exhaust is just going to get too hot for it. Think the engine end of the header pipes can get up to 350-400C, someone may be able to correct me on that though.

Capo's definitely right, get them to fix it with something else. Ideally you'd put some kind of ceramic coat on the pipe if you wanted it coloured although it's not the cheapest option. I've heard of people getting away with using bbq paint but not sure that I'd trust it on mine...

[analogue_rogue]

I can't imagine why anyone would coat header pipes with that, it's the same stuff they coat non-stick frying pans with :eyepopping: It's fairly heat-resistant but starts to degrade if you take it much above 250C - I've heard of it being used as a coating to reduce friction in high-performance transmissions etc but your exhaust is just going to get too hot for it. Think the engine end of the header pipes can get up to 350-400C, someone may be able to correct me on that though.

Capo's definitely right, get them to fix it with something else. Ideally you'd put some kind of ceramic coat on the pipe if you wanted it coloured although it's not the cheapest option. I've heard of people getting away with using bbq paint but not sure that I'd trust it on mine...

More worrying is that i have seen the specs for a couple of ptfe coverngs.. (different concentrations of teflon) and the lowest op temp was 100c.......... even my frying pan wouldnt deal with that!

[PaulR]

Fumes from burnt PTFE are toxic too....

[bialbero]

.......and so are the fumes from burnt Viton!!

[big pete]

Burnt Viton is carcenogenic and if you get it under the skin it can mean amputation. We use it in hydraulic systems at work and get constant safety updates on it.

[a7avenger]

Just in the process of polishing mine, they were quite badly pitted so had to be scurfed off with a red scotch pad in a die grinder, followed by 240 grade emery cloth then given a good buffing with white buffing soap on a 5" wheel, which more or less gets in anywhere. -

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3766/cimg1114pa.jpg

I made some Ali clamps that sould set the pipes off nicely, not quite finished in this photo-

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/9701/cimg1110.jpg

[analogue_rogue]

I'll drop mine off then?

[a7avenger]

I'll drop mine off then?

Oh cheers, I could do with a spare set.:devil::biggrin:

[a7avenger]

I can't imagine why anyone would coat header pipes with that, it's the same stuff they coat non-stick frying pans with :eyepopping: It's fairly heat-resistant but starts to degrade if you take it much above 250C - I've heard of it being used as a coating to reduce friction in high-performance transmissions etc but your exhaust is just going to get too hot for it. Think the engine end of the header pipes can get up to 350-400C, someone may be able to correct me on that though.

Capo's definitely right, get them to fix it with something else. Ideally you'd put some kind of ceramic coat on the pipe if you wanted it coloured although it's not the cheapest option. I've heard of people getting away with using bbq paint but not sure that I'd trust it on mine...

Er, maybe that star shaped well in the collector box is actually an egg frier, in which case Teflon makes bloody good sence...............:-)

[Mand]

Yes they do. Settle yourself down, get autosol, plenty of elbow grease and some rag, open a bottle or five of cheap beer, drink beer whilst doing it. I did it before I had a life. Came up a treat they did.

After 5 years thinking of doing it again..... Ahem!