downpipe cleaning question

[solorider]

the set of downpipes i bought have some discolouring which wont remove using autosol,what is the best stuff to use that will allow me to get the pipes looking good or am i better off painting them? i need to paint the top mounts as they are rusty,what a stupid idea,make stainless steel pipes and fit mild steel fittings

[esetest]

Hi Solorider ,
                  For the downpipes i used hot chrome metal restorer and hot chrome metal polish , i ordered it off the internet ,
it took about a month to turn up , but it was worth the wait , brilliant product  .

[seangee]

Gel type spray on oven cleaner

[chitsu]

Or 'YOSHIMURA STAIN MAGIC' that is if you can find somewhere that sells it 
 
http://shop.yoshimura-jp.com/en/product/syousai.php?id=1553
 
It is truly amazing stuff!!!!

[Fazer 1000]

Have a go with some Wonder wheels that work for me. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_195615_langId_-1_categoryId_255235

[bludclot]

 
wet'n'dry (start with say 600, maybe to to 400 for stuborn areas) with plenty of water then rubbing compound then finally polish. mine came up gleaming like brand spanking! and it didn't take long.
 
i wire wooled my collector box and sprayed it using simoniz engine aluminium silver. it has lasted and still looks good today. i was doubtful when it was first done (thought it looked a little odd) but on the bike it looks the nuts!

[PieEater]

I used some Astonish oven cleaner that I found in the back of a cupboard, required a bit of elbow grease but not a huge amount and I was pleasently suprised by the results, it's £3 for a 500g tub off of Amazon including delivery.

[Capt]

Are we talking here about general grime or the tempering heat colours? 
Both I feel as I use the wonder wheels form grime on my cars alloys & thats what its for.
As for the Yoshimura stuff, that looks as if its for removing the tempering colours & what I need so the search is on unless anyones knows a supplier??

[solorider]

here is a pic of one of the worst pipes,i did try some 1200 grit and it did remove some but will require a bit of elbow grease

[chitsu]

1200 is way too fine for that, I would try 240 (carefully) or probably 400's. If there are some of marks left over from the 240/400's (they should'nt be too many) work your way up with 600, 800's & then 1,200's .
 
And yes the YOSHIMURA stain magic does take ALL discolouration off of the metal, but obviously the heavier the tarnishing the more you need aswell as a little more elbow grease.

[Capt]

 I have just sourced a tube of Yoshimura stain magic when I give it a bash I will take some pictures before & after.  The instructions state wearing gloves when you apply it so it may have some chemicals in to help shift the tempering colours.
I have tried allsorts even a slight abrasive paste & nothing seems to work, will see how we get on with this stuff.

Till later.

[Capt]

 Well,  I wouldn’t have believed it fi I hadn’t done it.  The Stain magic works, granted my headers where not bad, but had brown marks & the light straw tempering colour at the mouths which means the temperature got to 220/230C.
‘Feckin’ camera was discharged & got impatient so I started with the radiator on before taking any ‘pics.’  As I couldn’t reach the pipes higher up I took off the radiator…..result.
Took appox 3 hours of elbow grease with a final polish with P21s.
Have to say, not bad.

[Ian-man]

I used 'optiglanz' from Heine Gericke to take the straw tarnish off then 'autosol' to polish up.