Polishing up the pipes

[Houtman_imp]

I always keep 0000 steel wool on hand for chrome, windows and all sorts of stuff. Very handy!

I've made no secret about being a skinflint. When I was shopping for a CB1100, prices of 2013s were considerably lower than anything else, and I considered that part of that included having to work a bit to keep the pipes perfect. Living where it doesn't rain or snow helps quite a bit. But, since I park inside my shop, my coworkers joke with me when they see a tinge of gold on the pipes..."Getting lazy there, aren't you?"

Just tell them : better to be lazy than being tired ....

[WRXer_imp]

I'm so glad I have Chrome pipes on my EX!

At the time, I missed real chrome pipes.

STAIN-Magic helped ease the pain.

At the time, I missed real chrome pipes.

STAIN-Magic helped ease the pain.
Whats your method? Looks good.

[j3gq_imp]

You may think it’s all about the chemistry (the product) and the final shine. But make sure you do always use ultra soft tissues. Microfiber is not good enough. Chrome is only micro-meters thick. What seems to work well for a long time, can still slowly break the Chrome down.

In this case we are talking about stainless steel headers. I would never recommend using Stain Magic on chrome. It is formulated for stainless steel.

In this case we are talking about stainless steel headers. I would never recommend using Stain Magic on chrome. It is formulated for stainless steel.
I have to admit, I haven't checked carefully. Would anybody know which CB1100 parts are actually made of stainless steel ? On the 2017 and later, Spokes I know, what else ?
And need a little help in translation it seems. What do you call headers ? The pipes from the cylinder heads to the catalytic converter ? Or am I totally off ? Thanks !

[the Ferret]

Yes people here call headers the pipes coming out of the head to the first collector whether that is a cat or just a joint where the pipes connect

[GoldOxide_imp]

I'm so glad I have Chrome pipes on my EX!

At the time, I missed real chrome pipes.

STAIN-Magic helped ease the pain.

At the time, I missed real chrome pipes.

STAIN-Magic helped ease the pain.
Whats your method? Looks good.

Whats your method? Looks good.
Thanks. Since I have no patience for cleaning/polishing, I seek the shortest path.

The STAIN-Magic tube lasts a long time (still not halfway on my first tube after five years). One thing I noticed is the paste will separate while in long term storage. I recommend before opening to give it a good one minute shake. Maybe knead the tube a wee bit.

I recommend wearing the suggested protective hand and eyewear. I have caught myself the last two times not doing so. Nothing fell off me, but to each their own. I reckon the paste is acid-based.

I apply a covering coat on all stainless steel surfaces I wish to restore. It need not be lathered on. Just coat, spread around somewhat thinly with a clean, soft old cotton rag.. I let it do "its thing" for at least 15 minutes at air temperatures at least 15C and higher.

Afterwards with another clean, old cotton (new, if you wish) rag, I proceed to buffer off by hand. My technique is random. Mostly rubbing off. I may wrap the rag around the pipe and polish behind the pipe in a tug-o-war fashion, but again, I may or may not depending on how easily the tarnish is coming off. Stubborn spots get a second treatment.

After maybe 10 to 20 minutes of polishing effort, you should have silver-looking header pipes. In fact, they should look gorgeous.

To give it the "chrome shine", I follow-up with an application of hand-rubbed Peek Metal Polish. This is optional, but it does add surface protection. lol - I think it burns off on the next ride, but for some reason the shine remains. The only difference is instead of a brilliant chrome-like finish, after the first ride it is the showroom brilliant extremely light tinge gold-chrome-like finish. This is unavoidable with untreated stainless steel headers.

= = =

Now, to compare effort without using STAIN-Magic, one could actually achieve the same result with just using the optional Peek Metal Polish. Yes, you can.

But, the labour effort goes up (at least for me) by 5 to 10 times. You use a lot of Peek paste, burn through rags, and most annoyingly: Your hands, knuckles, arms (and if you are crouching), legs, back, etc. take a beating rubbing. Your mind starts to wander with thoughts like, " ... dang headers - why couldn't they have been double-walled chrome pipes ... Honda, jeez". Or maybe, " ... man, I probably should have taken the pipes off for this ... ". In addition, if the weather is hot/humid, your f-bombing goes noticeably up.

All-in-all, your mileage may vary.

[j3gq_imp]

Yes people here call headers the pipes coming out of the head to the first collector whether that is a cat or just a joint where the pipes connect

Okay, headers now understood as header pipes - thank you! Next I've gone though all the above posts again. Are we all really sure of what these header pipes are made ? Chrome, stainless steel, other ? And how about the standard vs. the DLX, or here in Europe the pre-EX vs. the EX and the RS ?
Kiowa seems convinced they are stainless-steel pipes, Sparky talks about Chrome, and so does Tev. I guess it matters (a little ?) if you put the right product on the wrong metal, no ?

[max]

Yes people here call headers the pipes coming out of the head to the first collector whether that is a cat or just a joint where the pipes connect

Okay, headers now understood as header pipes - thank you! Next I've gone though all the above posts again. Are we all really sure of what these header pipes are made ? Chrome, stainless steel, other ? And how about the standard vs. the DLX, or here in Europe the pre-EX vs. the EX and the RS ?
Kiowa seems convinced they are stainless-steel pipes, Sparky talks about Chrome, and so does Tev. I guess it matters (a little ?) if you put the right product on the wrong metal, no ?

So these headers are made of stainless steel on all CB/s ?
Single exhaust system is stainless, double exhaust is double walled chromed headers.
Stainless headers ( only ) are non magnetic, the exhaust can is slightly magnetic ( on the cb 1100 ) but chromed headers ARE magnetic, i have just verified this.

In addition stain-magic is for use on stainless only because of the chemical content and autosol etc. can be safely used on all metal surfaces to produce a high lustre finish.
"Stainless" ( you should see the stains on my header pipes ) is available in a wide variety of alloys with very different properties, for instance stainless 316 is best suited for salt water use above the waterline where the oxigen in the air can form it's thin protective layer and keep it looking good and stop corrosion, no oxigen.....different story.


Thanks to all the helpful contributions and explanations, i found this very informative.

[j3gq_imp]

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you !

[Lord Popgun]

oxygen. Just sayin

[peterbaron]

My exhaust is two-tone.