How to refinish stainless head pipes

[dsrdave]

The stainless head pipes on the centauro have become stained.  I'm not sure how to refinish them and don't want to ruin them.  I can blast them with glass, sand or walnut shells.  I thought about buffing with scotch bright also.  Any one have success with something?  Thx, dave.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Polish them on a buffing wheel.

[guzzista]

On the Staintune stainless exhaust  for my Duc, I used to take it off every couple years and buff it on the metal polish wheel using stainless compound. It would stay shiny and gradually it would turn golden and darken. Buffing it may work without grinding metal off the surface or scratching it  as with any abrasives. Good luck

[Chuck in Indiana]

Yep. You can buff stainless to look like a pewter dollar. For a while.  Don't even think about an abrasive.

[nobleswood]

This summer I bought some replacement headers which were in need of some polishing. I found a set of polishing/buffing compounds at Lowe's and bought different cloth wheels for each of compounds I thought I'd use.

It took some time to clean the headers but after I got them on the bike they turned a beautiful pale golden colour after the first ride.

Give it a go unless you're using a wire brush it is hard to bugger these up.

[Stevex]

I use Optiglanz, not sure if you can get it in the US.
It's a slightly acidic solution which I wipe or brush onto my CB13's stainless Akrapovic headers.
You can see it removing the tarnish after a few seconds, then rinse off with water.

This is what they look like after a few months on the road:



This is how they look after the Optiglanz treatment:

[rbm]

I followed the following guide when I refinished my stainless headers. They had 25 years of crud on them but came up beautifully after this treatment.  This process requires starting with wet-n-dry sandpaper, which on the surface might be counter-intuitive to a high polished finish but stainless is extremely hard. The key is to remove all prior grit scratches completely when switching grits.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I followed the following guide when I refinished my stainless headers. They had 25 years of crud on them but came up beautifully after this treatment.  This process requires starting with wet-n-dry sandpaper, which on the surface might be counter-intuitive to a high polished finish but stainless is extremely hard. The key is to remove all prior grit scratches completely when switching grits.

this part is really important.

Once re-installed on the car BEFORE starting the engine, grab your brake cleaner and spray the entire header down with it. Then spray some brake cleaner onto some paper towels and give the header a final wipe down, making sure to wipe everything. You do this because the oils from your hands will cause the header to discolour unevenly, once the engine is started. You do not want this. You want it to turn a nice even bronze after a couple kilometres of use.

[Dean Rose]

http://www.amazon.com/OptiGlanz-Stainless-Cleaner-Removes-Exhaust/dp/B007ZO52E8

[Penderic]

I think gold is tarnish resistant.

 

[Rox]

I personally love the look of yellowed or darkened stainless. It's a by product of riding. 

[nobleswood]

Chuck,

 i wish I'd known to wash the pipes off with brake fluid before I started the bike up with the new pipes on. I'd cleaned them off well & only handled them with cloth rags, but still they developed uneven blue areas.

Next time !

[George_S]

Brake cleaner itself is quite toxic. When heated, brake cleaner containing chlorine produces phosgene gas. I assume it's maybe not harmful if you're riding and moving, but if you're next to it while the bike is stationary and the pipes are heating .....

[kirb]

I use Mother's metal polish on the Griso. The griso has the typical 'liver spots' of the shit stainless they use. I do this once a year and they look great for most of the year.

http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-05101-Mag-Aluminum-Polish/dp/B0009H519Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450062043&sr=8-1&keywords=mothers+metal+polish

[Chuck in Indiana]

Brake cleaner itself is quite toxic. When heated, brake cleaner containing chlorine produces phosgene gas. I assume it's maybe not harmful if you're riding and moving, but if you're next to it while the bike is stationary and the pipes are heating .....

You have to get it *really* hot to do that, like welding. Just the same, brake cleaner is not nice stuff. Use the usual precautions.. lots of ventilation, etc.