Tried something similar with less effort. I used toilet cleaner which contains some form of diluted acid just repeatedly brush it on for a couple of minutes all the surface stain and corrosion will come off leaving it quite shiny. You can finish it off with autosol or brasso or any car polish really to really get the extra shine. Also a fellow 2007 Fz6 rider. Thanks for all your videos =)
I also have an 07 FZ-6, have had it for about 4 1/2 years now and, just like you, I've never tried to REALLY clean the headers. But now I'm gearing to head to autozone and grab what I need to do this. They look WAY better.
Zep Acidic Gel Toilet Bowl Cleaner is the magic stuff, pour into a spray bottle, apply and scrub a few times and your back in business. Hit it with some polish and you're ready to go in 20 min or less!
I've got an 08 fz1 and my pipes have started to develope some rust spots and some discoloration, I'm most definitely going to attempt what you've done to yours, thanks for the advice.
Thanks for the video. I was using the toilet bowl cleaner but I didn’t like the results and just read that it’ll harm the headers due to its acidity. I’m going to use autosol, looks like the effort is worthy.
Good stuff! Just a note, I'm not sure why people try polishing with microfiber towels. That material is designed to wipe away gunk an dirt, so it does that effortlessly with the compound too. The compound is removing the ridges of the tiny scratches from the surface. While rubbing against the surface it breaks down and gradually becomes finer and rounds those micro ridges further. It can't do it if the MF cloth wiped it away promptly. IMHO it would be more effective using a thickish cotton rag or maybe a piece of natural felt (more aggressive) for cutting/polishing. Use the MF cloth for cleaning and buffing. It's excellent for that job.
AWESOME DUDE, I've been waiting for this video! In your next video or in a Short could you give us a follow up so we can see that nice bronze color after the first startup?
Just to add. I used Harpic toilet cleaner on the manifold first to remove the rust easier. After rub with scotch brite and clean with water, follow with autosol. So we can remove the rust and faster to get the manifold shines. However its a must to wear gloves during applying harpic since it is very sensitive to skin.
Wow looks great I have a new ducati monster and because of all the construction and mud near myy apartment the exhaust has already started to turn brown and soap isn't cutting it.
I think it's more discolouration on the metal than "rust" - sure the pipes are in direct line of water/dirt from the front wheel when riding, and this hits a hot pipe and "bakes" onto the surface. All single pipe headers will discolourin a short time, thats why some manufacturers add another chrome pipe as a sleeve outside the header just for show, and this stays chrome!
Learned more from your 3:30 video than others I watched that were 10 times longer! When you say the bronze color returned, was it as bad as the before photo? Did they still have a reflective look?
Thanks for the kind comment. The bronze color wasn’t rust or corrosion it is just a little discolouration in the steel from the heat. They still had the reflective look for a few months easily.
They look stunning Calvin, thanks again, for another great vid, I was hoping I didn't have to take my headers off to do it, now after watching the vid! I'm good to go! 👍🏽
Found this really helpful, it would be even more helpful if manufacturers made motorcycles with fully functioning front mudguards, the headers wouldn’t get nearly so scutty then.
A few months. Depends mostly on the weather you ride in. If you ride in the rain you’ll dirty the pipes quicker. But only a light cleaning will bring them back to shiny.
I have a question, do you know what settings you had in fz6 in the Co1 and Co2 diagnostic option, what were the values. If you would give it in the comment, I would be very grateful. Thank you and good luck
It lasts a least a season of riding. Riding in the rain will make the pipes tarnish quicker. Even after two seasons of riding after this video the pipes still looked good, although not at shiny as they could be.
Depends on the weather you ride in but they will stay nice for almost a year. Or a season of riding. Then they only need a light touch up to bring back the bright shine.
Subscribed, why ?, you put the effort in, I am in England and have a 14 year old son who always needs cash= clean the headers, so he will earn around £30 ( $37 US).
Howdy boss,my name is Wes. Love your vids bro great work. My rear brakes are like non existent and the pedal was soft so I tried moving the bolts on the master cylinder and bleed the system with no change, help pls.
I need better supplies. i need to EITHER order the stuff online and let it arrive or get off my arse and get to walmart. Since my local stores don't carry scotch brite.. go figure. Did my headers with a 1200 grit sand paper, it was ok. I'm still not happy with my finish. I also tried an angle grinder to get the hard rust off.. it worked for some parts but my grinder is too bulky and won't fit for the higher places. Mines a work in progress still. I'll likely finish the job this week after a few work days. I'm excited to have stellar headers. On the flip side, i've done so much work to my 750 gixxer that my fairing actually fell off while riding. so she's kinda care. all parts are exposed (including rectifier) but I've replaced all the electrical on her, once again. wow, i replaced everything, just realize6 months later.. the MAIN issue was a faulty stator. fixed that a few weeks ago, been running strong since. Great video i love the fact that you did this all by hand no power tools.
@@anteater555 I meant that after you polish the pipes they look a silver color. Then after riding the bike and getting the pipes hot they get a nice bronze color that is still very shiny.
love the short format. no need for a 5 minute in depth video really. great results too
Thanks! I agree, no point in five minutes of non-sense to get a simple job across.
Just bought an FZ6 and been binging your videos. Please don’t stop your content as absolutely amazing and soo helpful. Thank you soo much!
Tried something similar with less effort. I used toilet cleaner which contains some form of diluted acid just repeatedly brush it on for a couple of minutes all the surface stain and corrosion will come off leaving it quite shiny. You can finish it off with autosol or brasso or any car polish really to really get the extra shine. Also a fellow 2007 Fz6 rider. Thanks for all your videos =)
Can confirm toilet cleaner is the winner, spent years using autosol but toilet cleaner took less than 5 mins to bring it back to shining!
Ya I read about the toilet bowl cleaner method. Maybe I'll try that next time! Glad you enjoy the videos!
Hi! May i know what toilet cleaner you use??
@@burpingass anything with acid in the active ingredient... normally HCL (Hydrochloric acid).
error, this will remove the chromium, they will never shine like chrome again. Also, do not scrub vertically...
I cleaned mine up really good and sprayed them black. Had it 1 year in all weathers and they're still the same colour. Looks really stealth.
I tried autozol with just towel and i love the shining bronze/ gold color of it!
Harpic X10 Action does the trick ! Then Autosol for the mirror look !
I loveee the bronze color personally
I just bought an FZ6 today, I'm loving it! Your header came out real nice looking.
Thanks! Enjoy the bike 👍
The bronze looks great!
Sure does! Thanks 👍
I also have an 07 FZ-6, have had it for about 4 1/2 years now and, just like you, I've never tried to REALLY clean the headers. But now I'm gearing to head to autozone and grab what I need to do this. They look WAY better.
A splendid job with much elbow grease! 👌🏻
Thank you! 👍
Was just planning to get a nice XJ 600 but it had janky looking pipes. Perfect video!
I grabbed a header pipe once. I didn't know the bike had just been shut off. My skin literally sizzled. Fun lol
Been there.
Zep Acidic Gel Toilet Bowl Cleaner is the magic stuff, pour into a spray bottle, apply and scrub a few times and your back in business. Hit it with some polish and you're ready to go in 20 min or less!
I've got an 08 fz1 and my pipes have started to develope some rust spots and some discoloration, I'm most definitely going to attempt what you've done to yours, thanks for the advice.
Good luck with the polishing! 👍
Use Autosol Bluing Remover or Autosol Pickling Agent first
Then use the Metal Polish followed by Autosol Super Gloss
Thanks for the video. I was using the toilet bowl cleaner but I didn’t like the results and just read that it’ll harm the headers due to its acidity. I’m going to use autosol, looks like the effort is worthy.
Yes finally !!! This is the video Ive been looking for since a lot of time !! Thanks again Calvin, youre the best :)
Maybe there is a coat of some solution you can put over the pipes to protected it from getting rusty again so quickly?
I've tried the xcp rust blocker which is a coating but because of the high temperature it burns it and turns the header rust black color
....a credit to your time and determination!
Good stuff! Just a note, I'm not sure why people try polishing with microfiber towels. That material is designed to wipe away gunk an dirt, so it does that effortlessly with the compound too. The compound is removing the ridges of the tiny scratches from the surface. While rubbing against the surface it breaks down and gradually becomes finer and rounds those micro ridges further. It can't do it if the MF cloth wiped it away promptly.
IMHO it would be more effective using a thickish cotton rag or maybe a piece of natural felt (more aggressive) for cutting/polishing. Use the MF cloth for cleaning and buffing. It's excellent for that job.
Looks mega!! I'm going to send my bike over to you, because you did a brilliant job. 🤣😜Lol.
Thank you!!
Big improvement. I'll be doing mine soon.
AWESOME DUDE, I've been waiting for this video! In your next video or in a Short could you give us a follow up so we can see that nice bronze color after the first startup?
Just to add. I used Harpic toilet cleaner on the manifold first to remove the rust easier. After rub with scotch brite and clean with water, follow with autosol. So we can remove the rust and faster to get the manifold shines. However its a must to wear gloves during applying harpic since it is very sensitive to skin.
PPE, baby
This is an awesome video. My bike is so pretty, but the rusted headers look awful. I'm definitely going to be doing this soon. Thank you so much!!
Glad you liked it! 👍👍
Wow looks great I have a new ducati monster and because of all the construction and mud near myy apartment the exhaust has already started to turn brown and soap isn't cutting it.
I think it's more discolouration on the metal than "rust" - sure the pipes are in direct line of water/dirt from the front wheel when riding, and this hits a hot pipe and "bakes" onto the surface. All single pipe headers will discolourin a short time, thats why some manufacturers add another chrome pipe as a sleeve outside the header just for show, and this stays chrome!
The toilet cleaner method seems good but can long term damage the stainless,better to use specific metal polish but each to their own.
Learned more from your 3:30 video than others I watched that were 10 times longer! When you say the bronze color returned, was it as bad as the before photo? Did they still have a reflective look?
Thanks for the kind comment. The bronze color wasn’t rust or corrosion it is just a little discolouration in the steel from the heat. They still had the reflective look for a few months easily.
Great job, I’m going to start on mine tomorrow
What was the material / product used for this result ? Thanks
Looks awesome! Mos def gonna do this on my XJ 600 :)
They look stunning Calvin, thanks again, for another great vid, I was hoping I didn't have to take my headers off to do it, now after watching the vid! I'm good to go! 👍🏽
Thank you! Glad I could show it being done without removing the headers for you 👍 Enjoy the polishing
Found this really helpful, it would be even more helpful if manufacturers made motorcycles with fully functioning front mudguards, the headers wouldn’t get nearly so scutty then.
How long does do the pipes stay clean before they turn brown again?
A few months. Depends mostly on the weather you ride in. If you ride in the rain you’ll dirty the pipes quicker. But only a light cleaning will bring them back to shiny.
I have a question, do you know what settings you had in fz6 in the Co1 and Co2 diagnostic option, what were the values. If you would give it in the comment, I would be very grateful. Thank you and good luck
I wasn’t able to get into diagnostic mode on my FZ6 unfortunately.
@@Calvinm OK thank you
How long does this last my guy how is it looking now we would love to see?
It lasts a least a season of riding. Riding in the rain will make the pipes tarnish quicker. Even after two seasons of riding after this video the pipes still looked good, although not at shiny as they could be.
How long did it take you?
Are these stainless steel?
Yes I believe so
How long did they stay nice and shiny like that ?
Depends on the weather you ride in but they will stay nice for almost a year. Or a season of riding. Then they only need a light touch up to bring back the bright shine.
Subscribed, why ?, you put the effort in, I am in England and have a 14 year old son who always needs cash= clean the headers, so he will earn around £30 ( $37 US).
Looks good 👍
Thanks 👍
Any links to where you can get these products?
Here ya go!
www.amazon.ca/Autosol-Metal-Polish-100g-Tube/dp/B003PHLTOG/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=autosol+metal+polish&qid=1637520063&sr=8-2
What did you use to clean it ?
no power tool were used for buffing?
No power tools were used 👍
You have a video on how to replace steering bearings
I haven’t done that. It’s not a very common service item since the steering bearings are protected by seals.
Nice work!!!
Thanks!
Thanks bro! Very useful video. I did subscribe!! 😊
Thank you!
How much time it took before corrosion was back?
Depends on how much you ride in the rain or dirt. In good conditions I would think the polish would last six months before needing a touch up.
What brand of polish did you use
Howdy boss,my name is Wes. Love your vids bro great work. My rear brakes are like non existent and the pedal was soft so I tried moving the bolts on the master cylinder and bleed the system with no change, help pls.
I need better supplies. i need to EITHER order the stuff online and let it arrive or get off my arse and get to walmart. Since my local stores don't carry scotch brite.. go figure. Did my headers with a 1200 grit sand paper, it was ok. I'm still not happy with my finish. I also tried an angle grinder to get the hard rust off.. it worked for some parts but my grinder is too bulky and won't fit for the higher places. Mines a work in progress still. I'll likely finish the job this week after a few work days. I'm excited to have stellar headers.
On the flip side, i've done so much work to my 750 gixxer that my fairing actually fell off while riding. so she's kinda care. all parts are exposed (including rectifier) but I've replaced all the electrical on her, once again. wow, i replaced everything, just realize6 months later.. the MAIN issue was a faulty stator. fixed that a few weeks ago, been running strong since.
Great video i love the fact that you did this all by hand no power tools.
Just found out there is a product in the UK called Dr downpipe. It is totally bike friendly and make it easier to clean the headers.
Hmm interesting, I'll check it out!
how did this last you ?
Enspires me lol. Mine is a dirt brown. instead of the shiny bronze lol.
my polisher got burned after start bike. how to clean that. wipe dont work.
are you planning to ride that bike? say goodbye to that shine...
It actually lasted for several months. Much longer than I thought it would.
Nice vidéo
So you said all this work was gone within one ride?
No no, the bright shine would last many months if you avoid riding in the rain. The water on the hot pipes just adds stains and splotches.
@@Calvinm oh what was meant in the text at 3:12 with the bronze? It will just be a nice shiny bronze color still instead of chrome?
@@anteater555 I meant that after you polish the pipes they look a silver color. Then after riding the bike and getting the pipes hot they get a nice bronze color that is still very shiny.
Wow awesome 👍
great!!!!!!
Clean the pipes guys ;)
Steel wool with #0000 would've been helpful.
Yes that would be a good method!
Does it take metal off over time?
Any polishing action is subtractive in nature but the amount of metal removed is negligible. No worry of polishing a hole in your pipes 👍
🔥
Are u in boston area can u do my bike plz
Takes less time for a better shine just taking them off ☺️ 💋😘
I used $1 toilet bowl cleaner to clean than McGuire metal polish to polish.
I couldn’t see product that u used😟
This is the product. Link: www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/autosol-metal-polish-75-ml-0392954p.html
W40 make the same.
Почему не начинают с преобразователя ржавчины?
You just bought yourself some time they will revert back to that look before you know it.
Ya… I’ve realized that now haha
@@Calvinm how long did it last before it reverted?
Now clean your filthy engine
Have you heard of nevr dull? Try it, it's easy and effective
Nice job
Come and do mine now?