Topic: Dealing with rusty pipes

[cb650 bobber]

anyone have a good source for exhaust tape I have picked up old rusty 4 into one exhaust and wanted to paint them then wrap in exhaust tape. or if anyone has any good paint or other ideas to bring these rusty pipes back to life. thanks in advance.

[eldar]

Well you can get exhaust wrap which completely covers your pipes. As for repair tape, I have not come across any that actually work.

[tmht]

anyone have a good source for exhaust tape I have picked up old rusty 4 into one exhaust and wanted to paint them then wrap in exhaust tape. or if anyone has any good paint or other ideas to bring these rusty pipes back to life. thanks in advance.

You can take them to a muffler shop and ask them if they can weld up the holes... but be aware that depending on the age and the amount of corrosion they may not be able to do anything for you.

[Rsnip988]

i've seen it at local autozone and advanced auto parts stores in the tan and black


wont stop too much leakage though i dont think

[merc2dogs]

 best thing I've found to do is sand them to bare metal, set them out long enough to get an even coat of surface rust, spray with phosphoric acid (stops-rust, rust conversion coat etc) let that sit till it's dry, most often that will turn into a very durable heat proof black, but it isn't always even, so spray it wth high temp paint of your choice

 sanding is optional if they have a smooth coat of powdery surface rust, can't be flaky though, that phosphoric likes rust, I buy it in quart spray bottles, and use it on anything that I want to prevent from rusting.

 DO NOT SPRAY OR SPILL ON CONCRETE it reacts with the lime, and the next thing you know you have a big pile of grey foam and a hole in your driveway. I knew about that, but didn't think it would hurt to set the bottle down on the drive, till it got knocked over and spilled...

 Did my pipes a few years ago that way, and they've held up real well, just went through and touched them up a couple weeks ago because it raining and they were starting to look dirty, had a few stone chips on the lower side and a slight bit of fading I never noticed till I sprayed them.

ken

[merc2dogs]

for some reason didn't see the pics when I answered first, but going by the pic, my pipes were at least as bad when I first got them.
no dents, no holes, but rusty as all get out.  Embarassingly so.

 as long as it's clean and dry, the remaining paint should hold up to repainting.
 if you have holes, and if you are wrapping them, pick up a couple chunks of pipe the same size and split it in half to lay over the hole, tack or braze in place then paint and wrap. will need a slight bit of pressure to squeeze over

If you're not going to wrap and want the patches to look good, cut the extra pipe in half, and then into a chunk large enough to cover the hole, lay it over the hole, trace it out and cut out the hole, make the hole fit the patch not the patch fit the hole, much easier like that. Use magnets etc to hold the patch in position till you tack corners etc

ken.

[cb650 bobber]

what was the stuff you sprayed on the rust.

[brandon]

Reggie,

There is one critical issue that hasn't been addressed so far. When you heat wrap any type of metal, the fiber glass wrapping will attract and hold in moisture when the pipes are cold enough to do so. Over time THIS WILL form rust and eventually lead to failure. The only method I've experienced thus far is to have the pipes jet coated or powder coated. This ensures a nice uniform and very thick layer to keep moisture from reaching the bare metal.

Another trick to do is to soak the heat wrap in warm water before applying. This makes it easier to handle and prevents fiber glass particles from going all over the place (and they will). Wear latex gloves to prevent your hands from getting trashed. Wrap it nice and tight too.

[merc2dogs]

what was the stuff you sprayed on the rust.

 the brand name of the stuff I have is 'right stuff de ruster' essentially it's phosphoric acid, it turns the red oxide into black oxide, could say turns red rust into black rust which is true, but the black oxide resists any further corrosion. it was around $10-$12 for a quart spray jug.

 pretty much any phosphoric based product works, the stronger the mix, the better it seems to work, some cheap stuff doesn't have a very strong mix, and you don't smell the acid, this stuff has a distinct acid oder, not sure if it's actually the acid that does it, or something mixed in with the acid, but it's always been the strongest 'acid' smelling ones that work best.

good stuff. one of the few chemical problem solvers that I think works as advertised.

 may leave spots on aluminum too, so carefull when spraying it.
 
ken.

[Daves_76_SS]

I have had my header wrap for about a year now and I have no complaints!  And it looks tough as hell too!!

[cb650 bobber]

any votes for rust stop products for exhaust.....

[cb650 bobber]

looking to get a good exhaust stop for exhaust it would be awesome if it turned black like I saw some paints do but I havent seen them for the temp rating i would need.

[mkramer1121]

You could try electrolysis.  Just google it, it requires water, a battery charger, a large tub you can submerse the pipes in and an activator (its a salt of some kind)  turns the rust to bare steel/iron (black).

[cb650 bobber]

WHAT IS THE BEST PRODUCT FOR GETTING RID OF THE EXHAUST RUST TO PAINT IT. ALREADY CLEANED THEM UP AND PAINTED THEM AND IT RUSTED THROUGH.

[altf4]

You could try a product called SafestRustRemover (www.safestrustremover.com). Supposedly it removes rust from anything, but is a little pricey for the amount you would need to dunk the exhaust.

Not sure where you are located, or the exact finish you are looking for, but you could send them out to be coated. Jet-Hot is a company that I have heard does very quality work.
www.jet-hot.com

donny

[Geeto67]

wire wheel and patience. Naval Jelly. Evaporust. Sandblaster. Pick your poision

[wesniles]

i second sand blasting....nothing left but fresh bare metal

[cb650 bobber]

WOULD THE WORKS...BE A POSSIBLITY

[silentone]

Stop yelling please.

[altf4]

Stop yelling please.

 

[cb650 bobber]

sorry my work computer is set on caps for our system.

[merc2dogs]

Tried to sand and paint mine, which had real nasty red-brown fuzzy rust spots all over when I first bought the bike, didn't work too well.
 sanded it smooth, then let it rust a bit, then sprayed it with several apps of phosphoric acid rust stop, (get it in a quart spray jugs or gallons) let it dry and convert the rust to shiny black oxide. it holds up well and looks good alone, but spraying it with ceramic high temp paint gives it a more even look Only thing I've done to it since is touch up stone chips. Which is great, because before I tried the rust converter I was repainting once a year.

this pic shows the header after about 3 (?) years:
http://picasaweb.google.com/merc2dogs/Bike/photo#5063305879708807362

 seat's been changed, but I haven't updated pics there yet.

ken.

[rbirkhan]

Cermachrome. Its the component of ceramic coating. I had a buddy order it for me they wont sell it to consumers as if you pour it down the drain it creates hydrogen in your septic tank. You sand blast the pipes spray it on with a paint gun and bake it at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. After it cools you rub it down with metal polish. I did a set of headers 3 years ago no rust. Any painting job is only as good as the prep work. Almost looks like chrome but it doesnt flake off or rust and can be polished over and over. It looks like dried clay before you bake it.

[cb650 bobber]

I have a rust inhibitor not sure if that might help out and if I should use it before or after the high heat paint.

[youngerthanmybike]

So I just bought a used Kerker 4-1 for my '77 550K, and I'm trying to figure out how to best clean it up. I used 000 and 0000 steel wool on the pipes from the 4-1 junction back, and they cleaned up pretty good. Two of the header pipes and most of the junction are going to need some serious sanding or rust removal to even look presentable. The muffler has some stains on it from what looks like battery acid. Here's my questions:

1- Is there any way to restore the stainless steel look to the headers even though they are thoroughly rusty?
2- If not, I can just sand and paint them with VHT or Duplicolor hi-temp paint, correct?
3- Is there any way to clean up the battery acid stains on the muffler and rear pipe sections?