I work in the metal finishing industry, and while harpic is good to clean your headers I actually find that a good quality limescale remover yields best results due to it's higher acid content which breaks down the oxidised areas much quicker and more effectively than harpic. Best to use some good quality rubber gloves and apply a generous dab of limescale remover to a rag and coat the pipes and leave on for a few minutes. I then thoroughly rinse the limescale remover off with water and then buff after with autosol. Also worth mentioning that using a spray bottle with this stuff inside is not advisable as it tends to get in places that you don't want and will immediately and permanently destroy any nearby zinc plating, mainly bolts and fixings.
@@sandert9897 Harpic limescale remover is probably the strongest. But a homebrand version would be good too. Just remember to apply it to a rag (or an old paint brush) and wipe over the pipes. As said before, do not use a spray bottle.
as you worked in the metal finishing industry i'm just curious to now have you ever used hydrochloric acid on stainless steel as it isn't resistant. have you tried barkeepers friend or phosphoric acid
Hi thx for another top video. Be careful using the harpic with the pipes fitted because it will damage the soft aluminium engine cases pretty quick, its also a diminishing returns thing because as the acid eats the chromium in the stainless steel it will start to discolour quicker and quicker. The water pipes thing when I had my MT07 I took the pipes off cleaned them and resprayed them and they were spot on for the next couple of years when I eventually sold the bike on. Cheers
Thought that might be the case too! Gave it a really good wash after so should be all okay! Good to know about the water pipes, will see what I can do. Thank you for watching!
I think I'm gonna go with the Harpic, followed by a thorough wash with a degreaser and soap liquid and finish off with a hand tool rotating polisher head to apply the AutoSol as a polishing agent.
Great video, very smart the idea of sectioning the exhaust and applying products on bits, enjoyed every shot of it (plus so much pun potential everywhere 😁). Was thinking you'd take off the pipes completely, and soak every hard to reach corner, but nevertheless, fantastic job at the end of the day there, a lot better than I imagined, mostly thought you'd take it off because I was afraid if the products get on the engine block or other bits of the engine, they might harm them, but I don't think it's the case anymore, like you said, a good clean after it's what it needs, great job and video 👍
Thank you mate! I contemplated taking the entire exhaust off but the bolts were looking pretty worse for wear so didn't want to risk taking them off without replacements!
Use the metal polish with a steel wool applicator pad. That will cut right through the grime and leave you with a polished pipe you can see yourself in in one step with less chemicals. A little more elbow grease but less steps so I think it is a wash. In the states I use something called bluemagic, sold in autoparts stores. It stays clean / shiny too . . . until you ride in the rain! All subsequent cleanings are way easier than the first one.
Yes! This was more a test to see which product worked best on its own without having to use a lot of elbow grease. Useful for those areas you can't get into with a wire wool pad
I use harpic. Jet wash off for a good rinse, then autosol metal polish. When the weather is turning, I coat them in gt85. It helps stopping the muck sticking for an easier clean.
Masking tape actually goes bad. The roll you showed has gone bad. It may have been sitting on the shelf for long time before you bought it. Also once you take the plastic wrapper off them they start going down hill pretty fast.
Hi Sam, Good Video You did all the testing for us, I'm not sure i would use the Bleach on my NC as there's too much Aluminium around on it, Think after seeing your video I will use the AutoSol . Many Thanks.
Thank you! Definitely a good choice! I was so curious, especially spending the money over the years and never remember how the last product performed! Cheers
Hi Sam, another good upload and useful info. I have always used Autoglym resin polish and hi-gloss after on paint work with great results, autosol always used on Chrome or stainless. I can't remember what I used on my black fj1200 exhaust but will let you know when I remember. It was excellent but not a bike related product.
Thank you! Ahh good to know! I'm sure the Autoglym would have worked better with some more elbow grease, or even a machine. Love their products! Will be interested to hear!
Good idea. The only reason I didn't was because I'd seen the odd report of people leaving scratch marks on their headers. I assume from them using too course wool, but thought I'd not risk it
I find a good method to clean exhaust pipes is by using a long strip of cloth (old T-shirt etc), wrapping once around the pipe, then "bow stringing" the cloth back and forth so it reaches a full 360 degrees around the pipe as you move along pipe. Not sure what those two black lines are being pointed at at the 11:00min mark. Metal? Rubber? Generally, WD-40 is a pretty good cleaner to take off muck and grime and leaves a light oil on surfaces, which can then be washed off with standard car wash or dish soap. For black plastics/hoses, to reduce effects of sun fading, oxidation, products like Mother's Back To Black are great. Kinda like boot polish really.
Yes! This video was more to test what cleaner works best on its own without too much input from the person doing it. Got a few recommendations from various websites and other videos to see what worked best! The bow stringing works really well after using some scotch brite type abrasive pad! Those pipes at 11mins are the coolant hoses. They are metal but covered with a black coating but known for corrosion annoyingly!
Watched this to get a good idea of what would work to clean my 07 fz6 header the easiest. Last year I stared with 500grit sand paper and worked my way up to 2000 and it looked amazing but took 3 days for it to look right. If I did this I would probably take them off so I could have better access to tighter spots. Nice video man.
Something i was taught many years ago.A fast operator is not always a good operator.Meaning sometimes you have to slow and steady approach to get the best results.
Sometimes they are the one thing that let's the bike down when it's clean. Only need to do it once a year probably. They get rusty so it won't happen quickly but worth doing every now and then
the rubber pipes are done, if you left the for the salt to get too them, but! you could put AF50 OR Mucoff waterproof spray over or WD40 As for your video, am ordering some of what you said right now!b thanks a mill for the heads up sir!
….just put wd on it from time to time. Best not to let a bike get too dry, and a bit of wd helps crud come away at cleaning. Simples. Ps avoid brakes and footpeg rubber if using wd….
Better begin with a scotch brite pad and wd40. Polish it up with autoglym after and it's brand new. In my opinion your starting too soft. It takes ages then
Yeah I tend to do the scotch brite pads when I've done it in the past. This vid was more to test what product does the most work itself, and takes out the most labour of scrubbing yourself
Definitely. The Blue job chrome polish was listed as one of the best exhaust cleaners on a number of websites, and not just on chrome exhausts, so wanted to give it a go regardless
I use an angle grinder with a polishing/buffing mop with a wax to get the worst off then polish by hand First with a fine scotchbrite pads and Autosol/Peek metal polish finishing with a fine cotten rag.
i used to use Autosol like everyone else, but Purple Metal Polish by California Custom is the only metal polish Ive seen that will remove blue heat coloration from header pipes.
Don’t use the harpic on any chrome plated pipes or they won’t be chrome plated anymore 🤗 I use it on my stainless steel headers and it takes minutes to get them clean.
Mate I was using autosol on my exhausts in 1980... and I'm sure others will have used it before me! It's still the best but you have to be careful because it's abrasive.
How did I miss this! Great vid. Very helpful comparison. "Over charge because they are A-holes" LoL. I already cleaned the Staintune stainless steel exhaust silencers of my VFR800 with Autosol, a rag and good old elbow grease. They came up better than new. The link pipe is stainless but the headers I'm not sure, but both have the flat light brown milky coffee appearance. Think I shall try Harpic, then a good rinse with water, dry and then use Autosol and a rag again. Might use a polishing wheel on my drill to reduce fatigue from a lot of wrist action. You were very disciplined and careful to make sure you said Blue Job. Right at the start when I saw the product selection I thought this video could be quite entertaining in the usual Sam Vincent style.
Haha thank you mate! Glad you enjoyed a good old blue job 😂 The harpic, as much as some people seem to curse it, did a ridiculously good job with very minimal effort. So as long as you get all the residue off, I don't see any issues with it!
Nice video mate. Think I'm going to get myself some AutoSol and one you didn't try that I've heard a lot of good things about "DrDownpipe". I might also make a video about it and I'll reference yours too if that's ok?
These are products which have many use cases where people have used them specifically to clean pipes which is why I tried them. 2 years after I did this.. the pipes were still not rusty
Ideally, remove the pipes and get them ceramic coated.... then you'll never have to polish them... but at a price. Harpic is great on SS, but useless on mild steel header clamps. Excellent production. Thank you.
Nice video, thank you. I used 'Dr Downpipe', yesterday. The results were quite amazing. It comes with a spray attachment and nylon pan scouring pads. My 'before' was way worse than yours.
Amazing! I've heard mixed reviews but the negative thoughts were on pipes which weren't incredibly bad! Will have to give it a shot. It wasn't around when I did this video as far as I'm aware
BlueJob (careful how you google for that ;-) ) is meant for removing header bluing from excess lean running....when chrome or stainless gets too hot, it blues. BJ is not sold as a general cleaner. You pipes seem mainly coated in baked on muck., so a different kind of issue really.
I doubt Autosol would because its meant to be a safe formula, but I would avoid getting harpic on anything you don't want to. Be careful and cover things with plastic and you'll be okay
What’s up with exhaust ‘headers’ , that Americanism ‘headers’ are the exhausts pipes on bikes surely. Exhaust , silencer. American , headers, mufflers.
Haha! Everyone I speak to locally normally refers to them as headers, not sure why... not calling it a muffler though haha! I guess thinking about it now, putting headers in the title might help push it with Americans understanding what I'm cleaning
Any negative thoughts on wrapping the exhaust afterwards in an effort to keep heat away from engine? I have a VFR800 and they can run hot with the radiators on the sides of the bike.
There are mixed opinions on wraps, I did it on my custom CG125 and had no issues but some people say it causes the engine to run hotter as the heat can't escape through the pipes. Maybe a better quality coolant would help
Ive used exhaust wrap in the past with good results, however if you ride on salted roads it has a habit of soaking into the wrap and turning them into alka seltzer 😁
yeah sam when i saw your products i knew the toilet cleaner was a winner not used it myself but my pal did on his vfr 750 they came up like new did same as you afterwards used autosol myself keep on top of my bikes like to have them nice and clean wifes plays helll with me !!
I almost didn't believe it when someone told me it works wonders! Not perfect but does a bloody good job to get the base level off, then like you say, autosol to polish up!
@@SamVBikes Hi sam stripped down my early vfr 750 today to do major service did sevice then set about a deep clean on exhaust system which has been changed for a stainless system soaked it in harpic clean same as yours in the clip did it 3 times cleaned it off . Then went over with scotch bright pads a good few times then uesd autosol took a good hour and half now the exhaust system is like a new system plenty of elbow grease more effort you put in the better the shine a winner.
Hey Sam! The pipes you are asking how to clean up. Honestly, mask off the bike then scuff up the pipes and paint them. I dont think there is any coming back from that. I just scuffed mine up and painted them with heat resistant paint. Until now it has worked out great
I ended up doing that exact thing in the end! After a few months of messing around trying to clean them, I just found that to be the best solution. They came up great too
Great video. Thank you so much. I'm sold on the Autosol. Got my first bike earlier in the week and I've been obsessed with scrubbing it when I'm not riding. So using elbow grease for the best shine sounds perfect for me. Also just $8 online right now.
