Cleaning OEM Headers

[hobbs 560]

Hey guys any suggestions on how to clean up the headers on our exhaust? Mine have gotten grimey with a combination of bluing, road grime and a little bit of burnt oil.
 
They look like shet and with Marthys exhaust coming I wanted to clean them up and bring back the even appearance they started out with.
 
Only had chromed exhaust before so I'm unsure what products to use in accordance with the finish Yamaha used.
 
Thanks fellows.

[effzee07 66]

Good question...sorry I can't say for sure, but have you tried never dull? It's a polish/cleaning compound in a silver can, made by eagle one. It is like cloth chunks with the formula built in. I've had great luck with that on most metals, but not 100% on this finish

[vi5a 85]

You could just thermal wrap the headers. I plan on doing that when I can afford an exhaust.

[Quixote 108]

Hey guys any suggestions on how to clean up the headers on our exhaust?

 
Out of most of the anti-blue products I've tried, Bar Keepers Friend together with white Scotchbrite pads worked the best on the pipes on my 2009 Bandit.
It will take a lot of elbow grease just to get the pipes bright again the first time. You might want to go with green Scotchbrite pads in the very beginning, but try it somewhere inconspicuous first and see what you think.
 
Here's what the can of Bar Keepers Friend looks like:
 

[hobbs 560]

You could just thermal wrap the headers. I plan on doing that when I can afford an exhaust.

 
 
My only concern with this is that I've read reports of thermal wrap being potentially detrimental to the integrity of the pipes.
 
Apparently by increasing internal temp and holding the heat in can cause cracking/warping after a period of time.
 
Maybe it only applies to chromed pipes, or certain alloys. I don't entirely know myself.

[hobbs 560]

Can't find my thread about Marthys exhaust.. so I'll post it up here.
 
Final product after some buffing and a few days of riding around.
 

[Quixote 108]

Well, your 'adventure tour' bike has a sweet lookin' set of pipes. Your pic reminds me of when I had the Vstrom.
 
Did you buff out the headers when you had them off the bike, and did you use the Bar Keepers on them?
 
I can imagine all the little critters heading for cover when you fire'd that puppy up.
 
 

[rotaryryan24 149]

You could just thermal wrap the headers. I plan on doing that when I can afford an exhaust.

My only concern with this is that I've read reports of thermal wrap being potentially detrimental to the integrity of the pipes.
 
Apparently by increasing internal temp and holding the heat in can cause cracking/warping after a period of time.
 
Maybe it only applies to chromed pipes, or certain alloys. I don't entirely know myself.

 
 
This really only applies to chrome pipes, but it will slightly shorten their life span if you live in humid\\rainy area's. It holds in moisture, and even stainless steel will rust.
 
Oh yeah a green or red stochbrite pad works well for shinning up those dull pipes.

[effzee07 66]

what did you use to clean them?

[hobbs 560]

If I had better foresight I would have buffed them before installing. I however did it after the fact. An hour or two sitting on a bucket with a spotlight lol.
 
I used green scotchbrite pads and "brasso" metal cleaner/tarnish remover. You can get the stuff at most hardware stores.
 
Disclaimer: Brasso WILL REMOVE the copper finish of the stock exhaust.

[Mide24 17]

Old post, but has anyone tried barkeepers friend? I’m going to put the OEM exhaust back on my FZ soon and would like to clean the headers as they look like crap. I assume they aren’t SS? would BF and scotchbrite be too much for them and will they start to rust at some point? 

[CarGuy7a 112]

On 7/1/2021 at 7:03 PM, Mide24 said:

Old post, but has anyone tried barkeepers friend? I’m going to put the OEM exhaust back on my FZ soon and would like to clean the headers as they look like crap. I assume they aren’t SS? would BF and scotchbrite be too much for them and will they start to rust at some point? 

The stock headers are SS. All you would need is to wipe them down with brake cleaner or degreaser to remove any oil or dirt, then use a hand scotchbrite pad (maroon works fine for me) to remove the discoloration. Then clean the headers again with brake cleaner or degreaser before running the bike. They would maybe rust over a long period of time being neglected and who knows what grade SS they are so it's hard to say.

Edited July 3, 2021 by CarGuy7a

[Mide24 17]

Thanks Guy, I think I have some brake cleaner left and try that first.

[klx678 382]

Once when I worked in a shop a Hawk GT came in with really cruddy pipes.  They used some cleaner and steel wool working around the tube circumferential so that the pipe would have a nice brushed lood that it had originally.    If you find you are scratching the polished surface you can clean in a circle around the pipe instead of up and down, to keep the brushed look if you wish.   Otherwise some serious hand polishing will be in order.