Rusty pipes and exhaust painting

[Brotato]

1. I have an fatty pipe that's pretty rusted down around where it mounts to the motor. I've been reading up on a few threads on here about removing the rust. Mine is bad, and is pitted. It is also rusty inside the pipe which I'm sire has to affect performance a little. Is there any solvents or something that can be poured into the pipe to maybe break some of the rust down in attempts to smooth it out a bit?

2. I really don't think I'll be able to bring back a nice shine to this pipe and I'd like to be able to paint it black. Are there any good high heat exhaust paints out there that won't fade after the first run and stay glossy?

 

[Blaner]

i would imagine having re-chromed or nickel plated again would do the trick if you can find a place which does that. Mine has the same problem and looks crusty. was thinking about electroplating?? any thoughts? as for the paint, it seems a shame to spray it black, but if you stuck on that idea go to a paint shop and ask there, all your aerosol paints are not petrol safe and it always removes the paint when you mess on it!

 

[royalt67]

Ceramic coating is an option, but for that price you could probably get a new/used pipe.

 

[Brotato]

I just assumed the rust being as bad as it is I won't be able to get it looking good again. Don't really care to have it re-plated

 

[Scrappy]

If you are going to paint it dupla color has a ceramic header paint that works great but make sure all the surface is rust free and clean and spray a good 4 or 5 coats on and it will fill most of the pits. but make sure you do a heat cycle with it or else you wont have a good result. run the bike for about 15 minutes and shut it off and let it cool down for about 45 minutes and repeat 2 more times, what this does is cures the ceramic coating so it wont rust or flake.

 

[super noober]

for the $5 it costs high temp grill paint works ok, good exhaust paint can be had for $10-$20 though..

 

[bagds101]

i have a fmf fatty and live in southern az where it rains twice a year and mine is rusty as well. i think its a fmf flaw. but i was going to try and pour a solvent inside of mine and let it sit. maybe like some clr or something

 

[Joey_Stacks]

not just FMF my Pro Circuit platinum is rusty as hell. It was sitting outside for a couple years though when I bought it

 

[royalt67]

Borrowed from wikipedia:
Phosphoric acid may be used as a "rust converter", by direct application to rusted iron, steel tools, or surfaces. The phosphoric acid converts reddish-brown iron(III) oxide (rust) to black ferric phosphate, FePO4.

"Rust converter" is sometimes a greenish liquid suitable for dipping (in the same sort of acid bath as is used for pickling metal), but it is more often formulated as a gel, commonly called naval jelly. It is sometimes sold under other names, such as "rust remover" or "rust killer". As a thick gel, it may be applied to sloping, vertical, or even overhead surfaces.

After treatment, the black ferric-phosphate coating can be scrubbed off, leaving a fresh metal surface. Multiple applications of phosphoric acid may be required to remove all rust. The black phosphate coating can also be left in place, where it will provide moderate further corrosion resistance. (Such protection is also provided by the superficially similar Parkerizing and blued electrochemical conversion coating processes.)

A trusted source for this would be Eastwood Rust Converter - Convert Rust in One Step If these guys say it works, then it does.

You can buy Naval Jelly at any hardware store but it is so weak it barely works. CLR might work after a month, lol.

These guys promise good results but who knows? They also say non-acid, so I don't know what it is they are selling.
OXYSTRIP - Strongest Rust Remover
Rust Remover | Evapo-Rust | Call: 1-877-220-RUST (7878) | Rust Removal

 

[Luni]

I think a drill with a polishing wheel on it would probably be the best thing to do along with some high temp coating.

SOS pads will do it too, but they require a LOT of elbow grease to get all the rust off, but they DO take rust off metal.

 

[royalt67]

Yeah, but he wanted to clean the INSIDE too. Liguid will work for that.

Serious elbow grease on the outside always leaves some (even microscopic) rust behind. The Eastwood stuff won't do that

 

[Luni]

I honestly wouldnt think theres much/any rust on the inside.

I know every time Ive looked inside mine, its always been mildly coated in oil.

In fact, Im not sure Id want to clean the inside of that out.

 

[Blaner]

nice post royalt67! ive used phosphoric acid before and, well like you mentioned, it works very slowly and generally doesnt give you the magic results you expect. Ive used Hydrocloric acid, aka pool acid a few times on my fatty, it works like a charm but you have to polish it with brasso or some other metal polish to get it silver as the HCl leaves it with a yellowish gold look...sort of compliments the "Gold series" name i wouldnt do my exhaust again with it though as initially i thought it was stainless steel and thus HLC wouldnt harm. But since i found out its only nickel coated, i think HCl is a bit vicious to use...