PIPES!!!!!!!!!

[Firehawk068]

Since I already had the exhaust system off the bike to fix the Oil Pan, I decided to give the factory Header Tubes the full treatment!

I had already removed the original black coating some time ago using the wire-wheel on my bench grinder. This gave them a brushed stainless-steel look.

Today's process took just over an hour total, to do all 4 tubes.
I started with 800-grit sandpaper, then went to 1000, then 1500, all by hand. This took the finish about 95% of the way.
Next I used my cordless drill with buffing wheel and red compound block.
The last step was a hand-rubbing with Mag+Aluminum polish.
I am very satisfied with the end result! 

[andyoutandabout]

Pat would be proud. Remember to secure the rear can correctly. You don't want that disappearing into the bushes.

[Pat Conlon]

Wowser........Yes, I am proud of you Alan! 

Make sure you wipe down those tubes with alcohol and a clean cloth, get all the those oily fingerprints off before you fire up the engine.

Great work laddie!

[Firehawk068]

Pat would be proud. Remember to secure the rear can correctly. You don't want that disappearing into the bushes.

The Collector-Box and Muffler Cans are factory FJ parts. I no longer have that Kerker 4-into-1 system. I went back to stock.

Wowser........Yes, I am proud of you Alan! 

Make sure you wipe down those tubes with alcohol and a clean cloth, get all the those oily fingerprints off before you fire up the engine.

Great work laddie!

I used clean rubber gloves when I installed them, then gave them a final wipe-down after I was all finished. I remembered someone saying about the fingerprints once, and it stuck in my head.

[Firehawk068]

About a month ago, I did the same thing to the Super Tenere.
The pipes were very discolored, spotted, and stained from whatever had splashed up on them from the front wheel. Not sure if the previous owner rode through some oil, or wet tar, or ?

The first picture is what they looked like before I started.
The second picture is some steps into the process.
The finished result took me about an hour and a half total time using the products pictured.
What a huge difference!

[Old Rider]

Nice work! im in exactly the same prosess and wonder what i shall do with the headers .Dont know if your pipes are made of stainless steel  mine are i got the motad exhaust did a little test and it was possible to make them look like yours.

[Firehawk068]

The pipes I have are the factory FJ pipes.
They are Stainless-Steel, as I believe all of the FJ1200 pipes were?
They originally were coated with a flat black (paint?) coating.
It was fairly easy to remove with a wire-wheel.

They originally looked like this:

[Pat Conlon]

Yes, all the '86-'95 FJ single wall head pipes are stainless.

[Motofun]

The '84/'85 pipes were double wall and they were steel on the interior.  I know because mine rusted through.  I thought the bike had a death rattle...

[FJ1200W]

Nicely done, beautiful!

[andyoutandabout]

They do look lovely. So the headers are stainless, but the collector box and mufflers are regular steel right?

[Firehawk068]

They do look lovely. So the headers are stainless, but the collector box and mufflers are regular steel right?

Correct!  The Collector Box and Muffler Cans are not Stainless.

This is what they look like after literally 20-minutes with the wire-wheel.

[Paul.1478]

wow! shocking difference. may have to add to my winter projects.

[Troyskie]

They are a grade of stainless, not mild steel. This is called 445M2 stainless. It is the grade of stainless used for exhausts for a few decades now. It is one of the few stainless grades you can identify by eye as it has a 'blue' tint. Mild steel will fail within a few hours when used as a header. 445M2 is now being used to clad buildings for the 'architectural' look. Quite good stuff in sheet form, works just like 300 series.