What are you using to clean your headers with ?

speirmoor

speirmoor

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I"ve seen some real shiny ones in the pictures so what the secret ? What are you all using to clean your headers ?
 
speirmoor said:
I"ve seen some real shiny ones in the pictures so what the secret ? What are you all using to clean your headers ?
Click to expand...
You can buy cheap felt discs for your angle grinder, use them with compound or some autosol . Works on chrome too . Limited access when on the bike . Cheers
 
speirmoor said:
I"ve seen some real shiny ones in the pictures so what the secret ? What are you all using to clean your headers ?
Click to expand...
Had you been in England, I would recommend a product I use: Harpic 10X household cleaner.
As an active ingredient, it contains hydrochloric acid, and it works extremely well on the 961's stainless steel pipes.
Here's a video explaining its use.
There are comments in the video that give alternative products in the US.
 
Shelby-Right said:
When your stainless pipes need the ultimate clean up use, welders pickling paste , from BOC .
Click to expand...
MMmmm think I will stick to less nasty stuff. 😳 "Pickling paste is a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and nitric oxide, making it a very toxic compound on inhalation. Individual case reports on lung injury due to inhalation of nitric oxide have been reported, and there is scarce evidence of outcomes of exposure to hydrogen fluoride in humans.". As taken from a website info sheet.🤮
 
Used it heaps after welding and for cleaning up of older pipes , use common sense , and well ventilated area etc .
 
I was warned against using strong acids to clean steel parts by a Chemist. When you wash it all off, a small amount of the acid can remain in the pores of the steel. In time this can cause pitting and further corrosion in the metal.
 
It's common for welders to use pickling paste , there is one other way called the tig brush . It uses electrolyte or something, but it's a lot more expensive.

Home - TIG Brush

GUARANTEED To Work For You, Or We’ll Offer A Full Refund. No Questions Asked.
tigbrush.com tigbrush.com
 
Shelby-Right said:
It's common for welders to use pickling paste , there is one other way called the tig brush . It uses electrolyte or something, but it's a lot more expensive.

Home - TIG Brush

GUARANTEED To Work For You, Or We’ll Offer A Full Refund. No Questions Asked.
tigbrush.com tigbrush.com
Click to expand...
Yep we use Tig brushes at work
They work extremely well on stainless steel to take the heat mark out
 
kev said:
Is it just me that likes the blue colour?!
Click to expand...
Yep, think the bluing looks as it should be, adds something for me! However, with various methods of cleaning over the years mine has eventually disappeared. Regrettably. If ya don’t like it try ‘blue job’ as a product.

Staining on the down tubes is just about impossible to eradicate long term I think. I get a reasonable result using Solvo and a drill mounted buffing bit (relatively low speed) - with care. I have used a similar technique occasionally to really bring up the engine casings and sprocket cover.

Think taking the pipes off to clean would have to be very occasional, or before sale etc. Can be a bit of a pain: seized joins; header bolts/gaskets; oxygen sensors off (so tank off?) etc. if ya want to do it professionally I guess that’s the only way though.
 
Last edited:
Stephen_Spencer said:
Yep, think the bluing looks as it should be, adds something for me! However, with various methods of cleaning over the years mine has eventually disappeared. Regrettably. If ya don’t like it try ‘blue job’ as a product.

Staining on the down tubes is just about impossible to eradicate long term I think. I get a reasonable result using Solvo and a drill mounted buffing bit (relatively low speed) - with care. I have used a similar technique occasionally to really bring up the engine casings and sprocket cover.

Think taking the pipes off to clean would have to be very occasional, or before sale etc. Can be a bit of a pain: seized joins; header bolts/gaskets; oxygen sensors off (so tank off?) etc. if ya want to do it professionally I guess that’s the only way though.
Click to expand...
Or you could just get out and ride it.
 

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