Cleaning exhaust headers.

[meowguy_imp]

I suspect that most of the crud on my exhaust headers is from bugs that have vaporized when they splattered on the headers. (I do live in Maine you know.) I have cleaned them with NOXON metal cleaner and found that using a 3M pad worked best. However, the White Pad which I believe is the most gentle, did nothing. I had to use the Brown Pad to remove the crud. Problem is, the Brown Pad has left a dull finish on the pipes.

What are you using? What do you think I can use to shine my pipes back up again?

 

[HondaJon_imp]

Simichrome and a poweball mini. Plus lots of elbow grease

 

[ron1100_imp]

Check this other thread (in general discussions) out and ease of cleaning the headers. http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=889&highlight=autozone
I plan on trying this method.

 

[Gingersdaddy_imp]

When I first picked up my CB, after about 30 miles or so I noticed what looked like someone had sprayed some thing on the bike and had got overspray on the headers. The headers were clean when I picked her up and she only had 3 miles on her. Today I picked some Mothers polish and tried it out.


After some elbow grease I was able to get them looking pretty good.
[url=http://s974.photobucket.com/user/Mark_Betz/media/Afterheader_zps2430c85e.jpg.html]

Down low on the header pipes was a little burnt on crud, so I used a green scotch-brite pad lightly to get the crud off and used the polish.
[url=http://s974.photobucket.com/user/Mark_Betz/media/Headersdone_zpsd5892e77.jpg.html]
I'm getting ready to cruise around the roads here by the house. Will see what they look like when I get back. I know they will still turn colors, but hopefully the spots will not come back.
Hope this may help someone else out there.

 

[Ole]

So, you used a green scotch brite pad on some of it. What did you use for the rest of it?

 

[calamarichris_imp]

Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

 

[Gingersdaddy_imp]

So, you used a green scotch brite pad on some of it. What did you use for the rest of it?

Sorry, forgot to add that. Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. "Very lightly with the green scotch brite pad". It took a couple of coats and changing up the cloth a few times with the polish.

Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

I did not mind the patina, just those spots. I rode for about 25 miles yesterday and the pipes still look great. If I polish enough to wear through the headers I got some other problems. :excited:

 

[Deanohh_imp]

Why am I wrong on this:

the pair solenoid valve lets air into the exhaust during only a small part of engine running conditions. Since the engine usually operates without the pair valve open, anything that is going to happen or not happen to the exhaust valves, exhaust pipes, O2 sensor, catalytic converter, or muffler is going to happen anyway. Pair hose plugged or not.

 

[Gingersdaddy_imp]

So, you used a green scotch brite pad on some of it. What did you use for the rest of it?

Sorry, forgot to add that. Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. "Very lightly with the green scotch brite pad". It took a couple of coats and changing up the cloth a few times with the polish.

Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

I did not mind the patina, just those spots. I rode for about 25 miles yesterday and the pipes still look great. If I polish enough to wear through the headers I got some other problems. :excited:

Sorry, forgot to add that. Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. "Very lightly with the green scotch brite pad". It took a couple of coats and changing up the cloth a few times with the polish.

Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like [url=http://www.jet-hot.com/]Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

I did not mind the patina, just those spots. I rode for about 25 miles yesterday and the pipes still look great. If I polish enough to wear through the headers I got some other problems. :excited:
To Clearify, I used the scotch brite first, by itself and then applied the Mothers Mag Polish with a wash cloth, After I was done I wiped the pipes down a second down time with a micro fiber towel.

 

[calamarichris_imp]

Why am I wrong on this:

the pair solenoid valve lets air into the exhaust during only a small part of engine running conditions. Since the engine usually operates without the pair valve open, anything that is going to happen or not happen to the exhaust valves, exhaust pipes, O2 sensor, catalytic converter, or muffler is going to happen anyway. Pair hose plugged or not.

I never said you were wrong. But the intake valves are also only open for "a small part of engine running conditions"--does the brevity of that part make it unimportant? That brief moment of air intake is crucial for combusting(/oxidizing) the unburnt fluorocarbons etc. before it leaves the muffler. If it remains unburnt while it's in there, it will result in carbon build-up. I've seen both air and liquid-cooled engines with carbon build-up on the valves that eventually killed the exhaust valve seals, which then leaked oil into the exhaust.
It's a relief when you find out that it's just the carbon-encrusted valve seal leaking oil (and not your cylinder rings leaking oil into the chamber), but it's still leaking oil.

 

[Deanohh_imp]

Why am I wrong on this:

the pair solenoid valve lets air into the exhaust during only a small part of engine running conditions. Since the engine usually operates without the pair valve open, anything that is going to happen or not happen to the exhaust valves, exhaust pipes, O2 sensor, catalytic converter, or muffler is going to happen anyway. Pair hose plugged or not.

I never said you were wrong. But the intake valves are also only open for "a small part of engine running conditions"--does the brevity of that part make it unimportant? That brief moment of air intake is crucial for combusting(/oxidizing) the unburnt fluorocarbons etc. before it leaves the muffler. If it remains unburnt while it's in there, it will result in carbon build-up. I've seen both air and liquid-cooled engines with carbon build-up on the valves that eventually killed the exhaust valve seals, which then leaked oil into the exhaust.
It's a relief when you find out that it's just the carbon-encrusted valve seal leaking oil (and not your cylinder rings leaking oil into the chamber), but it's still leaking oil.

I never said you were wrong. But the intake valves are also only open for "a small part of engine running conditions"--does the brevity of that part make it unimportant? That brief moment of air intake is crucial for combusting(/oxidizing) the unburnt fluorocarbons etc. before it leaves the muffler. If it remains unburnt while it's in there, it will result in carbon build-up. I've seen both air and liquid-cooled engines with carbon build-up on the valves that eventually killed the exhaust valve seals, which then leaked oil into the exhaust.
It's a relief when you find out that it's just the carbon-encrusted valve seal leaking oil (and not your cylinder rings leaking oil into the chamber), but it's still leaking oil.
I'll take your word for it on some of this but I didn't mean a brief moment of air but meant the longer periods of time that the solenoid valve in the fresh air supply line is closed during which no fresh air at all is available to the exhaust.

 

[Gingersdaddy_imp]

OK, The fresh air is introduced to extend the burn of the un-burnt fuel mixture that did not completely burn in the combustion process. You had a lot of this on the 80's era cars with the belt driven A.I.R. pump. It help burn the fuel off before it gets to the catalytic converter. It is totally an emission issue. Carbon build up is not seen as much with unleaded fuels of today, you still have some build up, but not as much. The valve stem oil seals are on the oil side of the combustion chamber and are not affected by carbon build up. They are affected by age, not changing your oil regularly, and seals just wear out over time. Unless, however, if your are referring to the valve seats.
Did some of you notice when you swapped out the muffler when you let off the throttle you had some cool back firing going on? When you changed out the muffler you altered the flow of the system. The pair valve was doing its job, and the un-burnt fuel was popping off in the muffler instead of being burned in the catalytic converter.
Sorry guys, I've been to school on this and use to teach it.

 

[calamarichris_imp]

True, they're on the oil side, but the carbon build up on the valve stem causes wear on the valve seals.
One of the worst offenders is the V-Tec VFR; those exhaust valves that sit dormant below 7000rpm? They get build-up and it kill the seals.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

I find most crud klinks off with the careful use of a razor blade. Following that:

STAIN-Magic by Yoshimura

 

[MagnaRider]

Was trying to clean my headers up last night with some different products with not much success. Is Mothers polish still the go to for this? Or am I just wasting my time as they will oxidize really quick?

 

[rdprdp01]

Was trying to clean my headers up last night with some different products with not much success. Is Mothers polish still the go to for this? Or am I just wasting my time as they will oxidize really quick?

My 2017 CB1100EX has a different exhaust, so I cannot speak with authority about how to clean and maintain a standard CB1100. I do know this product has helped me keep restore chrome that has seen better days.

Heavy Metal Polish Bundle

David

 

[MagnaRider]

I might give that a try. I never really minded the tarnished look on the stainless-steel headers but I recently saw a cleaned exhaust and really really liked the look. Some day I would like to get an actual chrome exhaust but that's out of the budget right now as I am about to buy a second house.

 

[Lord Popgun]

I use a product recommended by a member. It is Autosol Bluing Remover. Made in Germany and I got mine off Amazon.

It contains hydrochloric acid so use gloves and eye protection.

I need to do mine again…

 

[suhawk305]

Was trying to clean my headers up last night with some different products with not much success. Is Mothers polish still the go to for this? Or am I just wasting my time as they will oxidize really quick?

On my ‘14 Standard, I used Mothers Wheel Polish to clean the header pipes. And yes, the pipes will turn a bronze color over a short period of time. Like you, I would prefer to have chrome header pipes, but I did the next best thing. I removed and shipped the header pipes (with the attached catalytic converter) to Jet-Hot for a silver ceramic coating. 
Ceramic Header & Exhaust Coating | Jet-Hot
The coating is definitely not as shiny as chrome, but it does improve the looks of our blacked-out motorcycles. There is minor silver color difference when compared to the muffler. 
At five years, the ceramic coating is holding up well, with only some small road debris chips. I still use Mothers wheel polish to clean off road debris.

[attachment=558]

CORRECTION: The Mothers Polish is “Mag & Aluminum Polish”

 

[Gone in 60]

I'm one of those detail freaks who has to have everything perfect (as many of you know), so keeping my '13 headers polished is sort of a zen thing.

Once I got mine as good as they'll be, I hit them with some Blue Magic polish when they get a tinge of gold. Spending 15 minutes or so after a week's worth of riding while I'm giving the bike a detail wipe-down tends to keep them looking very nice and the black dots don't take over.