There is a product called Blue Away that Aerostich and others carry that supposedly takes care of this. I have a bottle I received as a present, but I've never used it because the blue will return very quickly and I also think it is part of the character of the bike.
If you look at the cross-connect where the left and right exhaust pipes come together, I polished the left side slightly, and you can clearly tell the difference.
So, what polish do you guys use to remove dulling and corrosion - not for bluing?
If you look at the cross-connect where the left and right exhaust pipes come together, I polished the left side slightly, and you can clearly tell the difference.
It looks to me as if you answered your own question - whatever product you used to make the balance pipe shine should be fine for the rest of the exhaust.
I never bother with trying to get rid of the blueing. The R encourages you to ride frequently and it's not worth the bother to try and get rid of it. Just one more thing that separates BMW from some of the other marques.
Charlie
'03 R1150R
Life member 365
Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
Steel wool, is how you get rid of the blueing. You scrub off the outer layer metal. Then use finer and finer grades of wool and polish (simichrome) until it is like new.
Lots of elbow grease, and not worth it becuase the blue comes back.
I remember a post where somebody put a polishing wheel on a bench grinder. He took the pipes off the bike, got them like new with much less effort.
I bet they were blue after a couple rides.
I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray...
Byrdguy wrote:The product you want is Simichrome. If that doesn't do it nothing will.
That's what my dealer recommends and sells. I bought a tube and mildly worked at a spot and couldn't see any difference. Either mine are hopeless or I was doing something wrong.
John
Member 293 (I think)
'17 Triumph Tiger 1200 XRX
You need a small amount of Autosol and a large amount of elbow grease to get the job done.
In the first few years of owning my bike I did them about half a dozen times..the blue/brown came back straight away..I have not done them for years now.
It does feel good to see them all nice and shiny but it's a lot of hard work.
Any type of chrome polish has abarsives and eventually will wear through the chrome coating. The outcome being to remove the pipes and chrome them again or live with the blue. Pipes should be cleaned with soap and water, after they are fully cooled down.
Since I don't like chrome or blueing I have mine ceramic coated (high temp) black or dull silver. Have done that on all my bikes for the last 15 years.
Member #312
06 Suzuki Burgman 650 "state of flux"
79 CBX
Getting lost the colours on your exhaust the Dutch way:
Wet sandpaper
Steel wool
Autosol polish
And a lot of elbowgrease....
After cleaning your exhaust and you want them to stay shiny more then a
kilometer, you mustn't ride for about 4 days.
The stainless steel gets a protective corrosionlayer (you don't see it) and it
keeps your exhaust longer shiny!
The polishing isn't the worst thing...
That's the four days of not riding!!!!!!!
The blue will return. I barely can stand the time to wash the bike every month or so, I sure don't want to expend the energy and time to get rid of the blue!
If the weather is nice enough to wash, it is nice enough to ride!
'02 in black - the real BMW color! (Now gone to a new home)
Vann - Lifer No. 295
The blue is OK, but my x-link pipe looks brown/grey. I bought some chemical cleaning stuff and will shine it, although I do not intend to do this too often (once every 12 - 15 months will be OK).
Question:
Are the pipes chrome, or stainless steel? As I bought Stainless steel cleaner.
