Metal Experts
 

OK I have some black pitting on the up pipes to my exhaust cans, I would also like to polish them up to be more of a stainless/chrome kind of finish.

Is it possible to achieve these results with the standard pipes (Ducati 748).

If so what's the best way to achieve it?

Thanks

They can be polished, quite hard work and you need a decent drill and a polishing kit from M&P with different grade polishes and mops. You can also send them off to be polished.

Darren

I'll look into that then, I like to do most things myself as I get more satisfaction from it.

Thanks :D

I think it was Derek who gave a good tip on the ST forum about using Wonder Wheels on the exhaust to help get rid of the discolouration. On ST's the horizontal cylinders exhaust lives out in the open and runs under the engine where it's exposed to all manner of road dirt. Even though it's stainless steel (although not a fabulous grade of stainless) the exhaust gets discoloured to a dull brown and looks a bit pitted in places on nearly all ST's.

Haven't had time to try Wonder Wheels out myself yet, but it seems a good tip. Could help trying that before polishing to save a bit of elbow grease

[Edited on 19-9-2005 by Jools]

Thanks but it's not just the pitting I'm wanting to polish them up for, I'm wanting to get that see your face in it high polish effect, I believe you can get a different finish on the metal by applying a high polish to it??

For the pitting so far I haven't tried too hard as I want to do a full polish job on them but I have tried Autoglym Tar Remover, which normally rids most things but didn't seem to touch it, I also tried petrol which also rids most things. Again didn't have much affect.

I'll try the wonder wheels though thanks for the tip.

I have been quite succesfull polishing up my stainless pipes but offen wondered if the same effect can be had with the alloy parts on my bike. I have seen for sale on ebay polished, yokes, foot pegs ect. Are they just standard items polished?

[Edited on 19-9-2005 by Col996s]

They maybe standard parts polished as I know a lot of company offer services to send parts away to be high polished.

I'm thinking of getting a polishing wheel so I can polish up a lot of my own standard parts.

I think the service is there for those who can't or don't want to be bothered with the hastle of doing it themselves. Apart from the initial outlay on the polishing kit, it's just time so it's a lot cheaper to do it yourself and personally I get more satisfaction from that, than just buying an already polished part.

I'm with you on that one. It's just that I tried a small area of alloy and it didn't seem to come up as it should

I tried polishing my footrests. Chuffing impossible! Pay someone to do a propper job!

It is a bit more than just applying a buffing wheel to the items.

I've found a link that may help.

http://www.finishing.com/0800-0999/800.shtml

Think footrests need to be chemically stripped before you polish them as they are coated in a protective paint, not tried it but Nitromors (something like that anyway) might be what you need to use first :)

Darren

Yep i found that out Darren! Its very hard anodizing and Nitormors doesn't even touch it (gets any laquer off though).

I assume you rubbed it down with various grit wet and dry?

This often needs doing first from what I've been reading to get a really smooth finish before the polishing can even begin.

I polished the pipes on my SS to mirror finish ( well nearly). I used various wire brushes on an electric drill to start with. This stripped off all the brown discolouration. I also used a few flap wheels to help remove the pitting and smooth out the original finish which isn't particularly smooth. I followed this with emery cloth in a medium grade then #150 wet & dry, #400 wet & dry and finally Solvol Autosol chrome polish and lots of elbow grease.
After a week or so of use the pipes will start to take on a bronze hue again. This is where the Wonder Wheels comes in. Applied once a week when you wash the bike will keep them looking silvery.

As for the footrest hangers. These are anodized and to polish them you will need to remove the anodizing first. Easiest way is to spray them with oven cleaner and leave them for a few hours. Naval jelly type rust remover will also do it - it's the phosphoric acid in it which does the business aparently.
Once you have removed the anodising you should be able to polish the hangers using the normal abrasive method of emery and/or wet & dry followed by metal polish. Remember though that once the anodizing is off they will tarnish quite quickly especially if you get road salt on them so you may want to lacquer them to keep them looking good longer.

Just wondering what people thing I would be better with? A fixed grinding wheel or a drill?

Also for using wet and dry would I be better doing this by hand?

Thanks

Using a brush head on a bench grinder is easiest but it may not get into all the corners and nooks and crannies. Using a drill with assorted shapes can get at all of the bits but you will have to hold the pipe steady in a vice with soft jaws.
Emery cloth and wet & dry is best done by hand. It takes a while.

I would check out how much it costs to have them done professionally. I dont't think its that much (i've heard of people who pay £50 i think).

It's nothing to do with cost etc, anybody can just pay to get something done, where's the pleasure in that?

I want the results yes but I also want the experience and knowledge that I did it all myself.

Far greater sense of achievement that way.

[Edited on 20-9-2005 by 748IOM]

After my attempt do do it myself i would glady pay someone to do it properly! Some jobs are just not worth trying do do yourself in my opinion.

If everybody thought like that, then you'd have nobody to pay to do it.

There's no reason why anybody can't do a professional job but it takes time, patience and most of all an active interest and pleasure from what they do.

To me it's a hobby and I get as much pleasure from working on my bike as I do riding it.

[Edited on 20-9-2005 by 748IOM]

Have them vapour blasted to give a nice satin finish then just gently wipe them over with some wire wool and you end up with a slightly shiny satin effect, works very well on alli to.

I polish mine with the mandp 3 mop kit great results then I use autosol to keep them shiney :cool::cool:

Nothing seems to touch the anodising for me. Bought some oven cleaner (Mr muscle) didn't seem to do anything to it. Ended up cleaning the bloody oven.

I did a Google search and came up with this.

"Stripping anodized aluminum is fast and easy. You need sodium hydroxide to do it. It is available commercially at chemical supply places. You can use Crystal drano (29% sodium hydroxide). Use you hot water and about 1/2 cup to a gallon. Let part sit for a few minutes, part will start to bubble. That is when the anodized coating if off and now your going into the aluminum. Use gloves and well ventilated area!! Wash part immediately in cold water. Now to the restoration part. You can sand and polish at will, that takes a good buffer, compound and know how. Which I will not go into now. I restore parts professionally, including the reanodized process. I recommend anodizing the part. I put the hard protective coating back on the part for years of trouble free cleaning."

And this response to it!

"Fast and easy, maybe. Dangerous, absolutely. Just one more reminder that every year trained professionals wearing protective gear are seriously injured when something goes wrong making up solutions of sodium hydroxide. It has an enormous "heat of solution" / "heat of dilution". This means when sodium hydroxide is mixed with water, it heats up the water. Not a big problem if a small amount is well mixed into a large amount of cold water. But if a small amount of water mixes with a large amount of sodium hydroxide (which can happen even in a large tank with poor mixing), that small amount of water is instantaneously turned into steam and erupts the contents of the tank all over the operator.":o

Maybe safer just to polish it off with abrasives and elbow grease.:(

The exhaust will polish to a chrome like finish if you do it right.

I used the following method on my supersport.
Using a DA sander, sand the pipes starting with around 180 grit and going up through the grades to around 800 grit. This will remove all the tarnish and smooth any flaws out of the pipes. If there are any nadgy bits or crappy welds then you may need to use coarser grits to start with. Once that's done the pipes will be lovely and smooth and silver in colour, with quite a good shine already. I then used a proprietary polishing wheel and block set mounted in a drill to polish the pipes. I mounted the exhaust in a vice and simply moved it around as I went.
This method gives a much nicer finish than just using polishing wheels as you don't end up with that slight ripply look that you always seem to get if you do it that way.
Once done, simply give the pipes a quick buff with autosol whenever you wash the bike, easy. :P

Sounds a good method Desmojen although perhaps not everyone has access to a DA sander [dual action] and 800 grit discs like you and me.Work in a bodyshop by any chance?
Going to need to do some polishing on my new DP Titanium hi level exhausts.My boots have melted on the upswept section!
When i polish carb tops at work i use a buffing head on a bench grinder and polishing soap.

I'd imagine a Random Orbital Sander would be similar?

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/product/product.jsp?tb=&CATID=8580010&entryFlag=false&PROD ID=7905768&paintCatId=

Yep, anything like that would work and the sanding discs are readily available from your local paint factor, or friendly painter!

the secret. well its not a secret:lol: the higher revs, on your mop,creates better heat , thats needed with proper polshing soaps. you need do use a fine grit. to start with then you use a polshing mop with polshing soap. then finesh with a polshing mop which takes the soap off. any soap can be buffed with lime. to remove excess. you . well with pratice find ,which way to run the mop. metals can have a type off grain.. industral polishing spindles. start at 75000.revs..have fun. ware safety gear.:D

opps 7500.revs:lol::lol:

polishing
 

Yorkshire Puds right its much easier with industrial polishers and soap.
it takes half the time and gives a far superior finish but you do need proper safety gear as the dust from polishing mops is very fine and isnt good for your lungs at all.
the grade of stainless steel has the biggest effect on the finish the better the grade (316L quality is the best but costs mega) the longer it holds a mirror finish,but even the best quality stainless will bronze eventually but they are easier to buff up.
Double skinned pipes are the only lasting cure but very expensive.
ian