How have you cleaned your original headers

[SinisterMatti]

I have a 78 xs650, and the headers are a mess. they are tinted tan with specs of rust. I've tried several different chrome cleaners, one of which claims to remove rust, and have been unable to produce any significant improvement. What have you found works well, and what methods do you use to clean, and then maintain the look of stock headers?

 

[gggGary]

White then red buff bars on a cotton wheel work on chrome that is kinda rough to start. If it just needs a little help, start with blue then red for a high luster.

 

[jussumguy]

Naval jelly and steel wool?

 

[fredintoon]

- - - I've tried several different chrome cleaners, one of which claims to remove rust, and have been unable to produce any significant improvement. What have you found works well, and what methods do you use to clean, and then maintain the look of stock headers?

Hi Matti,
what Gary implies but don't say right out is that chrome polish on a rag ain't gonna do it.
You gotta take the pipes off so you can get at them all round and then clean them up with a cotton polishing wheel & compound.
I've found that a 4" wheel in a power drill will soon burn out the power drill.
I use two 8" wheels mounted back to back on one end of my bench grinder.

 

[fredintoon]

Naval jelly and steel wool?

Yeah, or that. Wear rubber gloves and use eye protection.

 

[SinisterMatti]

The previous owner welded new pipes onto the headers, so using them on a wheel would be awkward. What material are the headers made of? Here it says naval jelly is not recommended for chrome. http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/s_trmt_naval/overview/Loctite-Naval-Jelly-Rust-Dissolver.htm

 

[650mark]

against my better judgement and that of many of my biking buddies I bought some Blue Job with which to clean the stock headers on my newly acquired "80 special. my headers were very gold, dirty and almost blue in some places. this "snake oil" Blue Job was a lot of tedious work, but the stuff works. I had to go over the headers 3 times, but they now look like new. well worth the $15 and about 2 hours of my time in the garage, working hard but helped by a few cold ones no kidding, the stuff works.

 

[fredintoon]

The previous owner welded new pipes onto the headers, so using them on a wheel would be awkward. What material are the headers made of? Here it says naval jelly is not recommended for chrome. http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/s_trmt_naval/overview/Loctite-Naval-Jelly-Rust-Dissolver.htm

Hi Matti,
welded-on aftermarket pipes? AKA mufflers?
It may be can-of-worms time for your exhaust unless the PO did it right.
Unless whatever was welded to the stock double wall headers was welded to the inner pipes NOT the outer ones you'll get little puffs of exhaust gas coming out of the headers' vent holes.
If the chrome won't clean up, matte black is always an option; hi-temp manifold paint is only BBQ paint with delusions of grandeur.

 

[SinisterMatti]

Hi Matti,
welded-on aftermarket pipes? AKA mufflers?
It may be can-of-worms time for your exhaust unless the PO did it right.
Unless whatever was welded to the stock double wall headers was welded to the inner pipes NOT the outer ones you'll get little puffs of exhaust gas coming out of the headers' vent holes.

Is there any danger to the bike if it was done the wrong way, or is this just causing my pants to smell like exhaust after riding?

 

[fredintoon]

Is there any danger to the bike if it was done the wrong way, or is this just causing my pants to smell like exhaust after riding?

Hi Matti,
to be sure, that's XS650 exhaust we're talking about?
Not the exhaust you might get in a close encounter with a visually impaired cell-phone yabbling soccer mom in an SUV?
Nah, a leaky exhaust won't harm the bike although it may make it sound funny.

 

[angus67]

sos pad.

 

[650Skull]

Get a container large enough to lay the headers in it. Get some molasses and make a solution of about 10 parts water to 1 part molasses. Use warm water to properly dissolve the molasses in. Soak the headers in the solution until it starts to form a foam on top. remove the headers and use steel wool to clean. Some WD40 or similar, and spray and wipe and it will be ice and shiny.

Solution needs to be kept in a warm environment to work the fastest, will work in a cool area but could take a couple of weeks or more. yes it will make your nose curl but hen you know it is working. Environmentally friendly a well, just dilute more before diposing.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

If you soak them in that molasses soup for two weeks or more, save the molasses.

Then distill it.

Make yer own "Rusty Rum"...

 

[glennpm]

I made up my own polish from a couple of small polishing bars I bought at HF, mixed it with paint thinner and put a nut in the bottle of the bottle to agitate it and get the solids back in suspension after it has set for a while. When I started I had about a half bottle of the mix shown attached. I got the idea of the web when I was looking into aluminum polishing tips. Apply with a small soft cotton cloth and wipe off with cotton or microfiber.

Don't use steel wool. It may look good immediately but your scratching the chrome up and embedding carbon bits from the wool into the chrome so sure to rust again quickly.

Maybe half a bar of this green:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-lb-green-polish-compound-96778.html

and the same of white:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-lb-white-polish-compound-96780.html Next time I'm going to mix up green and blue.



Some before and after Pictures below and it didn't take much time at all to do it! Does it color again, yes but easy to clean. Subsequent times aren't bad at all to keep it looking good.

 

[Brassneck]

I made up my own polish from a couple of small polishing bars I bought at HF, mixed it with paint thinner and put a nut in the bottle of the bottle to agitate it and get the solids back in suspension after it has set for a while. When I started I had about a half bottle of the mix shown attached. I got the idea of the web when I was looking into aluminum polishing tips. Apply with a small soft cotton cloth and wipe off with cotton or microfiber.

Wow, that looks fantastic! So do I understand correctly that you're simply wiping it on (Not buffing with a wheel or any hard polishing), then just wiping it off? How long do you keep it on there before wiping off?

 

[glennpm]

Correct, no machine polishing. I put it on with moderate hand pressure, like polishing your paint, worked it until I got it drying and getting gray and then wiped it off.

When I put the new pipes on, I coated the insides with used oil and made sure it covered everything on the inside. It was an old trick I learned. Later though I had trouble with my ignition and even though running a fan, I couldn't believe how my pipes turned. I had the polish from when I did my wheels and cases so I thought I'd give it a try and was amazed how good it worked.

 

[Brassneck]

Fantastic! I'm going to give it a try.

Thanks!

 

[glennpm]

Good, I just ground it up pretty good by hand or screwdriver, poured in the paint thinner and shook it up. Overnight it was all dissolved well. Use odorless thinner ... I didn't.

 

[Brassneck]

Good, I just ground it up pretty good by hand or screwdriver, poured in the paint thinner and shook it up. Overnight it was all dissolved well. Use odorless thinner ... I didn't.

How much thinner, I imagine you want it more like a paste? or is creamier better?

 

[glennpm]

No not paste. Mine is pretty thin. before I use it I shake it up well and then as I'm using more, I just give the bottle a little circular swirl to keep it mixed up. I think I used about half of each stick and then filled that bottle you see about halfway. Its easier if its more liquid then paste.