Watch this amazing transformation from an old, pitted and rusty exhaust system on my MV Augusta F4, to a showroom condition exhaust system. This video will show you some great techniques to clean, polish and protect your exhaust pipes.
1 important step I wanna add: when assembly the polished exhaust you should use gloves, or after assembly you should clean it with degreaser, cuz oil from your hands easily could burn on if the exhaust will heat up, leaving slight discoloration. Good job on making you MV prettier Sir!
Can be done much cheaper with Harpic Power Plus, or without, some very fine grades of sandpaper and metal polish, but nice way to do it if you already have a polishing and buffing wheel at hand already.
Wow the results speak for themself looks amazing. During the hand Autosol metal polishing process you look like you are using an abrasive pad or is that just a cloth pad?
Good pick up. Yes, it was one of those slightly abrasive pads used for cleaning metal pots and pans. I needed it particularly for the welded areas and crevices. It helps to make the job a little easier.
Amazing job. I just got a used Ducati multi 1200s and the exhaust looks terrible. At some point I am going to pull it all off and give this a shot. Such a big difference.
The citric acid will help with future corrosion, but the process I’ve used to apply it is not the preferred method. To get maximum corrosion resistance, it should be dipped in nitric or citric acid baths. Also depends how you maintain it, store it, etc.
Great video although some suggestions Try Autosol Bluing Remover or alternatively Autosol Pickling Agent to removing oxidation on the exhaust as long as it's not a chromed exhaust Goes faster and easier Before using Autosol Metal Polish you can use Autosol Senator This will save you time when polishing with Metal Polish For Super high Gloss use Autosol Metal Super Gloss For extended protection finish with Autosol Metal Guard Effective and powerful degreaser, use Autosol A99
Hi, thanks for your awesome suggestions. To be quite honest, I have never seen any of those other Autosol products at our local Automotive stores in Australia. Generally, I've only ever seen the metal polish in a cream and a liquid. I'll look online. I'd love to try those other products out.
Instead of having to do any hand work as a final step you could use a 1 or 2 inch ultra fine polishing foam pad on a handheld rotary polisher and get just as good results with less time and effort
From start to finish, it took around 7 hours in total. 3 hrs disassembly + machining, 2hrs hand polish + passivate, 2hrs polishing pipes, cleaning underside + reassembly.
Hi, I bought the Autosol many years ago from an Automotive retail shop in Australia. It wasn’t expensive then. I believe California metal polish is also good if that’s cheaper. All the best.
Thanks, appreciate the advice. I just used what I had already. The Autosol I had was probably 15yrs old 😂. I also have the liquid Autosol which I’ll use for 12 monthly cleans.
Did you consider bead blasting or CO2 cleaning as a first step. These process get into even the smallest areas. Then follow-up with passivation and polish.
I don’t have a bead/sand blasting machine, but this would be a good option. The whole idea of my video was to do the job for under $100, so didn’t want to go hiring machines or paying bead blasting shops. Appreciate your feedback.
Anything you'd recommend for someone that has an oil stain on their exhaust? TLDR: oil got on my exhaust while it was hot and now seems to be permanently stuck on there. Would I need to go through this whole process or is there a way to just remove the oil?
People have had amazing results with Harpic 10x cleaner, which has 10% hydrochloric acid as the main constituent. Be careful though, and wear gloves. But before trying that, I would try Autosol metal cleaner if it's just an oil stain and only try the Harpic cleaner if that doesn't work. The whole process I've shown in the video is only necessary if you have deeper pitting and gouges in the surface of the metal, but not for stains.
Wipe them down with methylated spirits after each ride and use Autosol every 6 to 12 months, depending how often and where you ride, and they stay really clean. Good luck!
Citric acid is used for the passivation of stainless steel. Nitric acid baths are most commonly used, but I didn’t have any nitric acid baths 😁. Also, it’s better to dip the product in a bath for best results, but again, I just worked with what I had.
I have loads of food grade citric acid that I use to descale the kettle, espresso machine and shower. Can I use that instead of the non food grade stuff?
I think food grade should be fine. Remember, spraying the acid onto the pipes is not ideal, so any benefit you get is good. The most effective way to passivate stainless steel is to dip it in a bath of Citric or nitric acid. And a good quality stainless steel will form chromium oxide naturally anyway. So I wouldn’t worry too much about this part of the process. Like I said, any benefit you get is a bonus!
Have a look at my other video showing my pipes 1 year after polishing them. They’re still in fantastic condition. The best protection by far is to keep them clean, even if it’s just to wipe them down once a week or after each ride.
Whose got the time or workshop to do all this? Swapping this high maintenance exhaust for a single low silencer would be very desirable. It would save a tonne of high up weight as well.
Yes, I do not disagree. Someone also suggested ceramic coating the pipes as it lasts much longer. However, my channel is for people who don’t have thousands of dollars to spend, and perhaps have the time and workspace for a low cost alternative. Appreciate your comment though, very valid point. Thank you.
Harpic toilet cleaner from the pound shop will get all that shit off, then you just have to polish them with Solvol. Only doing half the job if you don't do the headers though.
Yep, the main constituent in harpic toilet cleaner is sodium hydroxide isn’t it, the same as draino? That would definitely work. My pipes had a lot of road rash and scratches, so a mechanical polish was necessary. I take your point about the headers though… maybe a job for another day.
Have you considered Ceramic Powder-coating the exhaust? There are ceramic powders that look like polished Stainless, last years and provides performance gains by creating less turbulent gas flow inside the exhaust = faster flowing exhaust.
Yes, ceramic coating is far superior to hand polishing. However, the purpose of my video is for someone on a budget. You can’t ceramic coat two pipes and muffler sets for less than $100 😄.
Very true Mario. It really depends where you ride, how often, which months you ride, and how often you clean it. My Ducati remained shiny for years, but I’d clean it after every ride and only ride it on nice days. It also wasn’t a track bike. Thanks for your comment.
I’m not using anything special, but it’s not microfibre, as I needed something a touch abrasive. I find microfibre to be the cloth you do a final polish with. I’ve just used the average dishwashing towel, and as you can see it did a decent job! 😁
You've got a point, but I borrowed that workshop from a friend, and there's nothing fancy there. He's got a simple bench grinder that seems to be part of an old lathe, and an air compressor with a dremel air tool. You could probably skip the air tool step and just use any old bench grinder. But thanks for your comment. I will be more aware of this in future videos.
Hey I didn’t have much either. Used my father in laws bench grinder, which looked like it was from the 60’s! 🤣 I was lucky he had the air compressor and dremel, but you’ll still get great results without it. Good luck!
If you consider your bike a piece of art, you should make perfect even it's most hidden parts. Otherwise it is just pretending... Before passivation with citric acid, you must clean the surface and remove any greasy material. Acid must wet the surface and not make drops... And citric acid is no poison...it's edible...and even fun if you mix it with backing soda...
Thanks for your reply. I agree with some of your comments, but there are specific reasons why I did it this way. Firstly, I’m time poor. I have young kids who play sports, so I don’t have time to polish the entire pipe, and there are no performance gains. It is completely aesthetic. Before passivation, I did clean the surface, but didn’t show it on the video. In terms of wetting the surface, I did explain that baths of nitric acid are the best way to passivate, but I don’t have an acid bath setup at my place 😂. In any case, even if spraying the surface helps 10% in the formation of the chromium layer, it is better than not doing it at all. And finally, Citric acid is a generally safe acid, but as I explained, I have children and it can still cause irritation of the skin or eyes, especially for children and exposure to sunlight. So I’ve taken caution to label it, even though it is a safe, food grade, mild acid. I’m planning to do a video to show everyone my pipes after more than 12 months. I have not polished them again at all and only clean them with a damp rag, then a dry rag, after every 2 or 3 rides. They still look fantastic and have not discoloured at all. So you might not like my method, but it works and works well! Have a nice day 😁
Yes, I definitely agree. I was not wearing safety glasses when testing the polishing wheel, but during polishing you will notice I had glasses on. The wheel was turning anti-clockwise, so pushing particles towards the floor, but you’re right, I should wear a mask. Appreciate your comment, thank you.
Wipe them down with methylated spirits after each ride and use Autosol every 6 to 12 months, depending how often and where you ride, and they stay really clean. Good luck!
@@diymoto3952 I get it. It wasn't personal, just saying. Perhaps you could do no sound, speed up the video a little and make voice over commentary when wanted or needed to explain any part of the process. But what do I know, I haven't made any videos before. It was a good informational video however, thanks.
I hate videos like this. "Do iT yOurSelf" and then you show 40k worth of equipment?! When we search for DIY its because we don't have a garage, let alone all the other crap
Appreciate your comments and perhaps in future I will explain the equipment I used. I actually borrowed a friend’s workshop and equipment included a very simple bench grinder, air compressor & dremel air tool. If you don’t know anyone with the equipment, there are workshops you can rent for an hour or so, but by that stage you could just get the pipes ceramic coated, so I completely see your point. It was my first video, so many lessons learnt. Thanks for your comments.
Titanium pipes normally discolour from the exhaust heat, so I can’t guarantee they’ll remain polished. Most people love the discolouring, as it adds some nice shades of purple and blue, etc. Are yours coloured, or are they black and disgusting like mine?
