Rusty Header

[deathcorefan2]

my header is full of rust. i wanna know how to clean it up to where it looks new if possible. any tips? ...when i say full of rust..i mean full of rust..

heres pics.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2zf1tl1.jpg

[sprayedgt]

A brillo pad, water, and some elbow grease will do wonders.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by sprayedgt
A brillo pad, water, and some elbow grease will do wonders.

whats a brillo pad?

[sprayedgt]

Its in the kitchen section of any grocery store. It's steel wool with soap on it.

[hondaguy20]

sand blaster will be the quickest and easiest

[ginobili07]

I used osme wet sand paper and sanded it till i got most of the rust and stuff off then painted it with high heat black BBQ paint and have had no problems with it, doesnt look all that amazing but a heck of a lot better.

[Pipeless416]

buy a wire wheel for a drill if you don't have one, then wet sand, wet sand, and wet sand. then polish.

[buck440]

cant believe no one has said this yet but its not rust, the pipe is stainless and its baked on mud, if you can go to the carwash the sprayer will get it all off

[Snipe]

actually the above post is false stock headers are steal. A magnet will tell you. As a mag will stick to steal but not stainless. The stock headers are plain still and WILL rust.

[rcatvrider]

Originally posted by Snipe
actually the above post is false stock headers are steal. A magnet will tell you. As a mag will stick to steal but not stainless. The stock headers are plain still and WILL rust.
Totally agree, they are steel. And even stainless steel can have surface rust. Baked on mud is quite obvious from rust, but I guess we're all that stupid.

[deathcorefan2]

well i started washing them...i used a toothbrush, some sos pads..and warm water.

they are a little cleaner. i got most of the rust off. it doesnt look too good though..i am thinking of painting them..im not sure how good that will look though.

can i get a pic of someone who has painted them? also am going to do something to the muffler too.

can i polish the muffler? its an FMF megamax..im going to paint the clamp the same color as the heat shield.

heres the heat shield..freshly painted..prob needs a couple more coats.
http://i40.tinypic.com/2qjiwpe.jpg

heres the "kinda" washed header
http://i41.tinypic.com/zuh3wl.jpg

and heres the untouched muffler.
http://i41.tinypic.com/fwmvf5.jpg

btw please noone suggest i get a new slip on. i know it sucks, i will buy a new one later, i dont have the cash now.

lol

[rcatvrider]

Skip the sos, that is for finishing it off. You're going to have to use something heavier like 150-220 grit sandpaper if you want to get the rust off and restore the bare metal look. Then go back to the sos to remove the deeper scratched made by the sandpaper. Then if you want you could polish it up and it would look good for a little bit.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by rcatvrider
Skip the sos, that is for finishing it off. You're going to have to use something heavier like 150-220 grit sandpaper if you want to get the rust off and restore the bare metal look. Then go back to the sos to remove the deeper scratched made by the sandpaper. Then if you want you could polish it up and it would look good for a little bit.

hey i actually have 150 grit in my garage. so 150 grit it, then what?

[rcatvrider]

You're best to go in a couple of stages if you want it to look really good. By this I mean sand with 150, then with 220, then with 320, then with sos. But 150 grit will get you down to bare metal and will look alot better than rust. If you only use 150 grit there will be visible scratches from the sand paper, but personally i think that looks pretty cool. After you sand it I would probably apply some high heat clear coat to keep it from rusting again.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by rcatvrider
You're best to go in a couple of stages if you want it to look really good. By this I mean sand with 150, then with 220, then with 320, then with sos. But 150 grit will get you down to bare metal and will look alot better than rust. If you only use 150 grit there will be visible scratches from the sand paper, but personally i think that looks pretty cool. After you sand it I would probably apply some high heat clear coat to keep it from rusting again.

so i could just 150 grit then high heat clear and it would look good? or 150 220 320 then clear? or just sand then paint..

what would be best ?

[rcatvrider]

It all depends what look you want. For a shiny polished look use all of the grits and polish. If you want a brushed look use 150 then clear coat. If you want a color just sand and paint it.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by rcatvrider
It all depends what look you want. For a shiny polished look use all of the grits and polish. If you want a brushed look use 150 then clear coat. If you want a color just sand and paint it.

ok i got another question..
ive heard on the polishing thread that if you polish the 400ex header that as soon as you start it, it will turn brown from heat.

is that true?

[Snipe]

most likely yes as if dust or anything touches it it will burn it off and cause the color distort also the oils from your hands touching the medal will do the same.

I would get some High Heat engine paint and paint her.

[deathcorefan2]

anyone have pics of a painted header?
i want an idea of how it will look

[bbender85]

could always clean it up good then wrap it like i did:

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s248/bbender85/quad/DSC03314.jpg

probably not worth the retail cost of the stuff, but i got it for free.

[katch26]

you could always send it out for ceramic coating....its like 30 bucks and theyll do it for you :)

The header IS stainless steel. Look it up.

It may be a poor grade of stainless, but it is stainless.

[Snipe]

Stockers arent stainless as a magnet will NOT stick to stainless yet on normal steal it will.

I dont care what ya say the stock hearder is not stainless. I work with diesels day in and day out I know my metals lol.

[sprayedgt]

I agree with DMC400. It is a low grade of stainless. A basic stainless steel has a 'ferritic' structure and is magnetic. The magnetic properties of stainless steel are very dependent on the elements added into the alloy, and specifically the addition of nickel can change the structure from magnetic to non-magnetic. No big ATV manufacturer would put straight steel on a bike meant for off road knowing if would be in water/mud. Could you imagine the warranty claims after a few months of heat cycles and a moisture? Oh and BTW, my refrigerator and gas grill are stainless and a magnet DOES stick to them :blah:

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by sprayedgt
I agree with DMC400. It is a low grade of stainless. A basic stainless steel has a 'ferritic' structure and is magnetic. The magnetic properties of stainless steel are very dependent on the elements added into the alloy, and specifically the addition of nickel can change the structure from magnetic to non-magnetic. No big ATV manufacturer would put straight steel on a bike meant for off road knowing if would be in water/mud. Could you imagine the warranty claims after a few months of heat cycles and a moisture? Oh and BTW, my refrigerator and gas grill are stainless and a magnet DOES stick to them :blah:

exactly, this also explains the color change after heat. after they're polished, they do turn a nice bronze color, and they stay nicer looking for quite a while.

Thanks Sprayed that is exactly the point I was trying to get across.

My dad owns a grinding and fabrication shop.. we've been around so many different types of material and stainless. I think I know my metals. lol

[sprayedgt]

No problem man. I don't even think there is one single piece of hardware on a 400ex that is straight steel that is not coated/painted in some way.

[deathcorefan2]

hmm..i picked up some grill and stove paint...i still want to see some pictures of someone who has painted them! i dont want to use header wrap..i dont think that looks that good.

[chadbarger18]

i was wondering would hi temp clear look good ? i dont like the painted look either

[sprayedgt]

I would have them ceramic coated as stated earlier. It looks great, last a very long time, and keeps more heat in the header where it belongs.

[Ntensweapon]

Originally posted by sprayedgt
I would have them ceramic coated as stated earlier. It looks great, last a very long time, and keeps more heat in the header where it belongs.




Out of curiousity....Who does ceramic coat? Like what kindof businesses? Wondering if anyone in my area does it

[Snipe]

whatever believe what yall want

[deathcorefan2]

hmm..i dont think i have the money for ceramic coating..ill ask my dad about it though...

STILL NO PICS OF PAINTED HEADERS?

[Snipe]

Truth is most ppl dont paint them as its a high heat thing and its just not a common thing to be painted usually heated objects are not painted.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by Snipe
Truth is most ppl dont paint them as its a high heat thing and its just not a common thing to be painted usually heated objects are not painted.
but do you think that it will not chip and stuff if i paint it really well like 3 or 4 coats?

[ae13291]

the headers are stainless steel, but a very low grade like how some said. if u guys noticed i dont think anybody every had a problem where it rusted all the way through

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by ae13291
the headers are stainless steel, but a very low grade like how some said. if u guys noticed i dont think anybody every had a problem where it rusted all the way through
..i uhh...really dont care what they are made out of...thats a pointless argument..lol

[katch26]

Originally posted by deathcorefan2
hmm..i dont think i have the money for ceramic coating..ill ask my dad about it though...

STILL NO PICS OF PAINTED HEADERS?

its like 35 bucks. I had mine done through www.moorepower.com

[ginobili07]

I spray painted mine with the BBQ high heat paint last spring and did about 2 or 3 coats of it after sanding all the rust and stuff off of it. It hasnt chipped off or anything, it is more of a flat black look. I would get a picture but it is at my G-Rents for winter storage,

[sprayedgt]

Check on businesses that do performance coatings for racing. A good machine shop should be able to direct you to one that is local that does ceramic coating.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by sprayedgt
Check on businesses that do performance coatings for racing. A good machine shop should be able to direct you to one that is local that does ceramic coating.

im just going with the BBQ paint i have, if it doesnt work well, ill get it coated.

[rcatvrider]

I used high heat paint on my old head pipe and it baked on a different color but did in fact protect ot from rust for a while.

[deathcorefan2]

what color did it turn out?

i just want it to look better than rust..

and pipeless i LOVE the look of your motor. all blacked out looks SWEET.
im gonna show my dad and see if we cant make it look like that.

[ginobili07]

Mine came out like a charcoal black color not exaclty what i expected but it looks a lot better than the rust that was on there before:)

[rcatvrider]

Same here, it was a flat/charcoal black.

[deathcorefan2]

Originally posted by rcatvrider
Same here, it was a flat/charcoal black.

sweet . im completly ok with that. i'd rather have flat black than gloss anyway.