How do you clean your header pipes?

[lht]

3M superfine sanding pad with mothers aluminum polish or barkeepersfriend.com
polish will clean them right up. Then just buff them out with the polish.

[chewie]

bradz - yeah I was referring to the Jet Hot "polished" finish not your own polished finish, they state that if you get the polished finish product that it won't bring out the blue hues etc ... is hue a word? ah hell

carry on

[chewie]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

for me, it's an afternoon sitting on the lawn surrounded by pipes, sandpaper and some water/dishwashing liquid. occasionally a beer will sneak up on you.

the last time I spent an afternoon surrounded by pipes and beer, the only thing that got 'done' was the fridge and the kitchen pantry

peace out

[wiggledbits]

Originally Posted by chewie

the last time I spent an afternoon surrounded by pipes and beer, the only thing that got 'done' was the fridge and the kitchen pantry

peace out

Now the thread morphs to bongs?

[u3b3rg33k]

Originally Posted by chewie

bradz - yeah I was referring to the Jet Hot "polished" finish not your own polished finish, they state that if you get the polished finish product that it won't bring out the blue hues etc ... is hue a word? ah hell

carry on

yep.

[phoenixtexoma]

Jet Hot Extreme 1300 is what I used, about $160. Just use a ceramic polish a few times a year. No color change whatsoever after 22K miles.

[Noblehops]

Has anybody done their pipes in black? That might look sinister...

N.

[chewie]

there is at least one black r11 that had it done on here

[Drews323i]

Originally Posted by phoenixtexoma

Jet Hot Extreme 1300 is what I used, about $160. Just use a ceramic polish a few times a year. No color change whatsoever after 22K miles.

Now thats what i'm talking about. Thats worth the $160.

[Supersteve]

After my last post I started looking for that Autosol polish, all I can say is WOW!
Check This:




during

The results...




I am really impressed, took the bike out for a spin and the pipes turned lightly gold by the heads and the rest is still nice and silver! This Autosol stuff is magic!!!

[slparry]

Did mine with "Wonder Wheels" alloy wheel cleaner. It contains an acid that REALLY eats into the brown crud on the headers.

[Buzzz]

I do mine with the Autoglym metal polish. The result is similar to autosol.
The trick is to do it about every 1 or 2 months (depends how much you ride) and your headers will never turn brown.

[Phil Y]

I relly like the polished look but recognize that the headers will discolor again over time, requiring repolishing in the future. Here are pics of before and after Jet Hot coating:





I really like the "satin shine."

[Supersteve]

Is there an exhaust gasket that needs to be replaced if I remove and refit the headers on the 12s?
What torque settings do I use to refit the headers when refitting?
I am thinking of getting the whole shabang off and polishing/buffing right back to the cat.

[darstardly]

Hi STEVE the the down pipes manifold nuts 21Nm O2 sensors 45Nm and no gasket

[motomail]

I got tired of trying to keep them polished, so I had the headers and cat eliminator pipe ceramic coated. I chose to go with black. Best decision I could have made, and looks great!

[Noblehops]

Motomail, how about posting a few photos please?

N.

[leafman60]

I think that Autosol is the same thing as Flitz.

[RIQUE]

Supersteve, did you use autosol directly on the header or did you first sand or use an abrasive and then used the autsol. I ask cause I see some whirls on your pipe...

[Supersteve]

Hi Rique, I had just about given up until I got hold of that autosol stuff. The scratches and whirls are from my previous cleaning method which was using an abrasive cloth everytime the headers got ugly, it looked like brushed aluminium after cleaning. The autosol got almost all those scratches out, I'm almost kicking myself for using the abrasive cloth now as the headers would have looked even better. I took the headers off an polished again and it looks even better!