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Blue Pipes discoloration


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14 minutes ago, FB4004 said:

Using Leo Vince SS pipes.   After awhile (less than 1000 miles) the connector point turned bluish.

What are you all using to polish SS pipes? Looking for suggestions.

Thanks

FB

2020-02-17 14.51.52.jpg

This stuff works the best for me . This bluing happens to all bikes, but if you must remove the Blue, this is the stuff to use.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Job-Chrome-Polish-Perfect-Motorcycle/dp/B015GGY61Q/

 

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If you want to go the industrial route, hydrofloric acid paste. Sanitary (beer, dairy) welders use it to clean the discoloration from tig welding without spending lots of time polishing. Just apply with a brush, let sit till its almost dry, use a wet scotch brite to remove the residue, then rinse with water. Brings the stainless back to a natural brushed look. Just be aware, use good gloves and eye protection and do it outside, the stuff is nasty and bad fumes but gets good results.

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Please, do not use Hydrofluoric acid. It is truly nasty stuff that can penetrate deeply into human tissue upon contact exposure resulting in liquefaction necrosis and very painful burns with deep tissue loss. It can even cause metabolic abnormalities that can be life threatening. Even with gloves, a tear, especially when using an abrasive pad, will result in serious injury. It is certainly not worth the risk to clean an exhaust pipe.

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26 minutes ago, kingfisher said:

Please, do not use Hydrofluoric acid. It is truly nasty stuff that can penetrate deeply into human tissue upon contact exposure resulting in liquefaction necrosis and very painful burns with deep tissue loss. It can even cause metabolic abnormalities that can be life threatening. Even with gloves, a tear, especially when using an abrasive pad, will result in serious injury. It is certainly not worth the risk to clean an exhaust pipe.

I work at a chemical company and this is by far the scariest chemical we have, and we have some gnarly chemicals. Kingfisher put it mildly, this shit will eat your skin all the way down to your bone and then eat your bones it seeks the calcium in your bones. We have a special cream fortified with with calcium that we are supposed to apply in case of accidental contact it’s supposed to pull the hydrofluoric towards the cream and hopefully you’ll  be under a safety shower by that time rinsing yourself off till the ambulance gets there but your still F’d at that point. Pretty sure this is what the stew maker who worked for the cartels in Mexico used to dissolve all the body’s in. 

Edited by whitecrow
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1 hour ago, whitecrow said:

I work at a chemical company and this is by far the scariest chemical we have, and we have some gnarly chemicals. Kingfisher put it mildly, this shit will eat your skin all the way down to your bone and then eat your bones it seeks the calcium in your bones. We have a special cream fortified with with calcium that we are supposed to apply in case of accidental contact it’s supposed to pull the hydrofluoric towards the cream and hopefully you’ll  be under a safety shower by that time rinsing yourself off till the ambulance gets there but your still F’d at that point. Pretty sure this is what the stew maker who worked for the cartels in Mexico used to dissolve all the body’s in. 

And certainly don't use it and then take a piss without washing your hands first. 

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Do you have the AIS system disabled or blocked off? 

I only ask because this is an issue with triumphs and blued pipes, when dumping fresh air into the exhaust to help complete the burn of access fuel for emissions, it causes additional heat build up in the header. Thus blue pipes.
Maybe these engines just burn that hot but something to think about.

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On 2/18/2020 at 7:09 AM, kilo3 said:

Do you have the AIS system disabled or blocked off? 

I only ask because this is an issue with triumphs and blued pipes, when dumping fresh air into the exhaust to help complete the burn of access fuel for emissions, it causes additional heat build up in the header. Thus blue pipes.
Maybe these engines just burn that hot but something to think about.

I installed the Leo Vince system right out of the box and hooked up the O2 sensor.  

I think for $700 (which was a good deal, btw) they could make a better engineered product. The blue dicoloration is happening where the 2 connecting pipes (that tie the 3 downpipes together) are joining.

There's a product called Barkeepers friend which I tried using. it did clean the non colored areas pretty nicely but did nothing to remove the blue spots.

I've been down this road another time with my prior bike and I ended up painting the chrome pipes VHT black header paint. looks muted and blends well and is easy to maintain. It would be a shame to have to resort to this after spending the $ on an aftermarket system.  I love the sound of the pipe but am pretty disapointed with the situation right now. 

Some users may say ride more worry less but I see it as pride in ownership. The pipes look like crap right now. 

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52 minutes ago, FB4004 said:

I've been down this road another time with my prior bike and I ended up painting the chrome pipes VHT black header paint. looks muted and blends well and is easy to maintain. It would be a shame to have to resort to this after spending the $ on an aftermarket system.  I love the sound of the pipe but am pretty disapointed with the situation right now.

Though I don't think your headers look bad at all, (its subtle bluing) If you don't like the color I have found ceramic coating to be very effective and durable on previous bikes. 

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/19/2020 at 5:03 PM, betoney said:

Though I don't think your headers look bad at all, (its subtle bluing) If you don't like the color I have found ceramic coating to be very effective and durable on previous bikes. 

TBH this is the only real answer if you want to actually ride the bike.  It's practically impossible to keep pipes looking pretty and stainless on a bike you actually ride vs. the showroom bike you occassionally take out.  

I mean, you can polish pipes for sure, but *all* pipes discolor.  It's just what they do.  Downside is you don't get shiny stainless looking pipes, but the upside is they end up with a consistent, long lasting, durable finish.

That said, I love me some blued pipes.  Shows the bike is ridden properly, and not just sitting in a garage.

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The blue coloring is good.  This is what you want.  It can be all sorts of colors though, from bronze to blue to red and sort of rainbowed in between.  That is perfect.

What you don't want to see is a sort of DULL crystalley white looking color, tends to show up as spots that get bigger and bigger.  This is bad it means your engine is to hot, aka: to lean,  and its cooking your valves and seats and ... engine.  You also don't want a really gasey smell in the exhaust that means it is too rich.  Which is choking your engine and the extra gas laying around in the cylinder >>can<< get forced around the rings and into the oil.  Which degrades the oil and is really hard on your rings.  You break rings you buy a new bike and the subsequent slow down when you break a ring is scary as hell.

Edited by stoggy
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