I know hundreds of bikers who use harpic 10 including myself never had any the issues u are talking about so I will stand by the harpic method thanks, harpic rinse off autosol gleaming EVERY TIME 🤷♂️
Thank you! I figured using acid on SS wasn't a good idea. I'm glad I watched this first and then read a few sites from professional finishers. They all say the same thing: *Acid = Bad* on stainless steel products because it destroys chromium, and chromium is what makes stainless steel shine.
I’ve used Harpic on my bandit exhaust. I get great results every time. Doesn’t degrade the metal or anything, just give them a thorough good soaking afterwards, and buff with Autosol. Come up looking brand new👍🏼
So what you are really saying its great to use as long as you rinse it off well and as long as you protect any other unintended metal around it. Simple.
I’ve been using harpic for years with no issues , no damage to any other part of my bike . Once you have applied the harpic rinse it off with water then polish it with Peek/ Autosol and they come up looking brand new .
'Acid baths' are a completely normal, appropriate and professional approach to renewing metal parts. It's the standard. The Harpic 10x process is effectively a cheap, household alternative as it contains HCI. JUST REMEMBER to reseal and treat your metal surfaces afterwards now that they are bare to the elements.
Reading through comments it seems there is some misinformation in the video (like coating on SS pipes). And some misleading info (like wraping the pipes in the tape) It seems although the acid is bad - when you neutralize it after - no significant problems, if any at all. Best way to test this would be filling a container with Harpic or similar and throwing in some SS with the same mix as the pipes - leave it there and see when it will just dissolve to the point of uselessness. If every "cleaning" takes 10 minutes - that is the ammount the metal sits in the acid - clean every half a year and you have an equivalent of 1 hour acid bath over 3 years. And pipe wrapings seem to keep moisture trapped (accelerating the rusting process), and other stuff like salt even further speeding up the corrosion. And ppl seem to have problems faster with this than with the Harpic thing.
...and causes the pipes to overheat, this can lead to a decrease in engine performance, as well as increased wear and tear on engine components. Also exhaust wraps can be a fire hazard. If the exhaust wrap becomes damaged or frayed, it can come into contact with other engine components or combustible materials. This can cause a fire, which can be dangerous and expensive to repair.
Never had any problem with harpic and Downpipes, does a nice job, been using it for years, it also works wonders on my toilet bowl, and it has never caused any problems with either the chrome handle or any else it comes in contact with, AND I don’t ever need to don heavy duty gloves, safety glasses, respirator, steel toe-capped boots, apron, or any other useless crap, and I’ve never had to take the toilet outside to use in a well ventilated space, So I think I’ll just keep on using it and be very happy with the resulting shine,😂😂
This is fine to use on the headers, paint it on, leave for 10 minutes - agitate with a soft-ish brush, then plenty of water. Been doing it for years, never given any issues
i've not seen any stainless steel headers that are chrome plated , they're just polished and washing the exhaust with bi carbonate of soda after cleaning neutralises the acid ..
So stainless steel is 'coated with a whole buch of other chemicals and metals'. Sorry - no it's not. Headers are not usually coated at all, except with the protective oxide that makes them stainless. If you want to make TH-cam videos at least try and get your facts right
I think that he is referring to headers that are chrome plated or otherwise treated. Never seen chrome plated headers? Ever seen a Harley or the clones? Someone could use this on those headers and wreck the chrome plating. It will also stain nearby aluminum and harm paint if not applied carefully.
@@Racer57 Stainless steel is not coated chromium oxide. Yes some (very little) stainless is oxidized and removed in the cleaning process. Virtually anu cleaning process removes some of the base metal. There is virtually no body of complaints of Harpic (or any other toilet cleaner) damaging the headers. If care is used it doesn't harm anything else either.
@@Racer57 stainless like other metals naturally form that oxide ..... what do you think most of that tarnish is anyways, it's like getting white patches on anodized aluminum thats just un dyed aluminum oxide .....
One thing missed. As a long term option wrapped headers will eventually tarnish/rust if you use your bike in rain. I've seen loads of rotten stainless systems, especially on cars.
Stainless steel is not “layered” with chromium. Chromium atoms are inter dispersed in the metallic crystalline structure with iron atoms (and other trace elements). You really should have researched first
Stainless steel headers are almost never chromed. Parts structurally destroyed? Please. Rinse the stuff off when you are finished. Wrapping almost certainly will cause excessive corrosion by retaining water next to the pipes. So where is the army of victims of Harpic use? I have never heard of anyone complaining about using it. I have used it for years. No issue here, move along.
Don’t wrap your headers with the titanium wrap. My bike is new and paid a lot of money at for it. There’s a heat issue with these particular bikes so I thought it would solve problem, but it did not. It actually caused another problem. The first ten inches of pipe that exit the heads are at approximately 300 degrees, but when you wrap them with titanium wrap, that temperature jumps up so a crazy 660 degrees. This is not good. This is very bad. So wrap your pipes at the expense of the exhaust pipes because that wrap WILL cause the pipes to break down and also cause the heads to over heat over time. Now you’re talking about replacing the engine or at least the top end. Don’t take my word for it. Wrap your pipes and buy one of those laser temperature indicators you point and Che k it out. Just don’t waste your money or your time doing all that work. Another thing about that wrap, it gets everywhere into your clothes, your eyes and your lungs and it itches like crazy and it gets all over your bike makes a mess. And this is the good stuff not the cheap Chinese wrap.
This is very very bad advice and very very bad science in this video Ignore it - stainless pipes are not chromed Harpic Power plus works just fine on stainless headers
What a load of bs. Do you have a clue what your talking about ? If you rinse it afterwards it’s fine. Since most recommend polishing with solval after using Harpic, your cleaning it off anyway. Exhaust wrap in the long run is terrible, it traps moisture, which then causes corrosion.
Nice vid. How about Citric Acid to passivate the stainless? More effective wiith less probability of harming base metals to to overexposure. I am researching the correct temp and concentration. It is readily found in food quality quantities, so is biodegradable... Please shoot a reply. Thanks.
Nitric acid would likely work better and is one of the acids used in picking gels anyway so safe on SS..3 series at least. I know that it gets mineral deposits off of my stainless kettle lol
Hi. I wrapped the pipes on my Firestorm a few years ago. I would never do it again, ever. It ruined my pipes beyond repair I live in the UK and while i don't ride all the time i like to go out for breakfast at the weekend, meet some mates etc. So even in winter I'll go. I wash my bike regularly to get rid of road salt but it gets through the wrapping and sits on the pipes. The pipes are factory headers so a low grade stainless. When i thought I'd renew the wrap i cut it off and couldn't believe the amount of corosion waiting for me. Ruined the pipes.
Issue is saying "oh just leave them dirty" most headers are made from a ferritic stainless, means they will rust, this type of acid is used industrially to remove rust, another thing you seam to miss is the chromium in stainless isn't a coating, it's part of the alloy. While yes this will mess up other things on the bike, this will clean and remove rust from stainless. Only way your pipes won't polish again is of they are actually chromed, you know the electroplated process, allot of us don't run chromed pipes
If only somebody had kept my headers clean in the correct way they woulldn't be a pile of rust. Turns out they are difficult to replace too.. who would have thought? Obviously not the previous owner.
Best way I've found, steel wool 00 or 0000, it's that mild I've used it on chrome for years. And harpic contains only around 10% hci, so it won't do much damage unless you soak chrome in it and even then at that concentration it would take a couple of days submerged. Muriatic acid is much higher percentage but yes, keep the lid on. The vapours on high percentage will rust all ferrous metals in an instant. It will rust every part in a garage over a weekend, just leaving the lid off.
Using the excuse to not clean headers because you want to show that you ride your bike is a horrible point. "I never wash my car bc the dead bugs on it show the highway miles I traveled"
stainless steel is not coated with chromium its part of the composition. HARPIC will remove grime and the majority of rust but must be washed of with copious amounts of water. stainless steel 304 and 316 are non-resistant to hydrochloric acid. a better option would be BARKEEPERS FRIEND which contains oxalic acid
There's a TRICK after usin harpic. After your pipes r nice and shiny.... seal them REGULARLY , WITH mechanic heat resistant SILICONE SPRAY. ALL over the extractor pipes. ( can be used on all rubber and engine areas too , super protective )
Have you ever seen what headers look like after the wrap comes off? Permanently stained, discolored, rust, etc. Wraps just look ugly too. You had me for a while but your "solutions" suck.
So that's what that yellow stain was on my cylinder head when I bought the bike. Fuckers have been using hydrochloric acid to clean it. Well, I don't feel so bad for using it on the bike I part exchanged with them now. At least I didn't spill a gallon of it though and only used on bolts and around the wheels.
Just an idea, use vinegar to rinse acid or any corrosive product, this way you can be sure that the product you used will be deactivated ( I use to clean DPF an EGR with oven cleaning products and always rinse with vinegar)
apply harpic. rinse off harpic. spray headers with bicarbonate of soda solution to neutralise any remaining acid residue. rinse them again. spray with citric acid to re passivate the stainless steel. job done. no harm done cos youve re passivated the steel. now has new top layer of chromium.
Great insight - wondered about this - good to hear the truth of it! Personally, I just ride the shite out of my R1200GSA taking great care of it internally, not so much externally especially since I am off-road nearly every day! Much thanks again for digging into the truth of this and other worthwhile topics!
Not quite right. Chrome isn't a coating on stainless steel pipes. Chrome is throughout the alloy and along with nickel provides the corrosion resistant properties in stainless over mild steel. In simple terms these elements help provide an 'invisible' corrosion resistant layer. Hydrochloric acid solution is actually a good method of cleaning the grime, oxidation and iron particles from brake discs etc. that causes localised reduction in corrosion resistance on the surface of the affected stainless steel through depletion of the 'invisible' barrier layer. Cleaning allows the reformation of a complete 'invisible' oxidation resistant barrier layer. On a microscopic level there's more going on but to put it simply clean stainless is more corrosion resistant than dirty stainless. However you are however correct to highlight that you should keep hydrochloric acid off painted and aluminium alloy surfaces. Also a good idea to wear rubber gloves!
Nice to know, I have a bottle of Harpic in the garage used on my last bike but I was not impressed with the results. In the end they were changed under warranty as they were very bad for a two year old bike. Will be using it for the toilet from now on. Glad you let us know how bad it is so it will be back to WD 40 and Autosol when it gets bad.
Stainless steel is stainless because when the molten steel is poured it is flooded with oxygen which burns off the iron which is the element that rusts. Not because it is treated. Most metal cleaners are either abrasive or corrosive which is how they work. The stainless pipe beneath the chrome plate will always have its inherent protection, the chrome is added for decorative effect not protection so yes you may remove the chrome plate by using Harpic, but at the point your looking at using Harpic anyway the chrome is probably already shot and the pipes would need to be re-chromed if you wanted to regain the initial shine.
Very good!! That's prove again that we have to be careful on the contents on TH-cam and there is a lot of bullshit. Thank you for your intervention. Personally I just clean the headers with hot water and cleaning product for bikes and that's it. I don't have (anymore) a harley that needs to shine when sun is up...
I used a hob bright, no acid and cleans good. Doesn't clean everything off (rust) and requires some elbow grease but now they look shiny in the places they were brown before, rust is still there but I think it just needs more elbow grease as it's not acidic, gonna try wire wool next time.
Thank you for this! I've been telling people for ages that Hydrochloric Acid isn't good on Stainless Steel, but they keep saying "But it's dead easy and it looks great!" Sure, but will it stay looking great? Nope...
So do you clean your headers at all? If so, how do you go about it?
Never clean other than muc off or washing normally
Bar Keepers Friend is recommended for use on stainless steel, won't eat through the chromium.
Naaaah, I like that dirty well-used look. Great video mate.
Autosol and a cloth.
@@davidwarner3152 Same.
I know hundreds of bikers who use harpic 10 including myself never had any the issues u are talking about so I will stand by the harpic method thanks, harpic rinse off autosol gleaming EVERY TIME 🤷♂️
after harpic , rinse off and dry right? and then autosol and leave it on, or rinse the autosol off?
I just used harpic on my pipe and then polished with autosol and its back to its original shine ..looks lovely
Thank you! I figured using acid on SS wasn't a good idea. I'm glad I watched this first and then read a few sites from professional finishers. They all say the same thing: *Acid = Bad* on stainless steel products because it destroys chromium, and chromium is what makes stainless steel shine.
I’ve used Harpic on my bandit exhaust. I get great results every time. Doesn’t degrade the metal or anything, just give them a thorough good soaking afterwards, and buff with Autosol. Come up looking brand new👍🏼
So what you are really saying its great to use as long as you rinse it off well and as long as you protect any other unintended metal around it. Simple.
I’ve been using harpic for years with no issues , no damage to any other part of my bike . Once you have applied the harpic rinse it off with water then polish it with Peek/ Autosol and they come up looking brand new .
'Acid baths' are a completely normal, appropriate and professional approach to renewing metal parts. It's the standard.
The Harpic 10x process is effectively a cheap, household alternative as it contains HCI.
JUST REMEMBER to reseal and treat your metal surfaces afterwards now that they are bare to the elements.
Reading through comments it seems there is some misinformation in the video (like coating on SS pipes). And some misleading info (like wraping the pipes in the tape)
It seems although the acid is bad - when you neutralize it after - no significant problems, if any at all. Best way to test this would be filling a container with Harpic or similar and throwing in some SS with the same mix as the pipes - leave it there and see when it will just dissolve to the point of uselessness.
If every "cleaning" takes 10 minutes - that is the ammount the metal sits in the acid - clean every half a year and you have an equivalent of 1 hour acid bath over 3 years.
And pipe wrapings seem to keep moisture trapped (accelerating the rusting process), and other stuff like salt even further speeding up the corrosion. And ppl seem to have problems faster with this than with the Harpic thing.
wrapping the downpipe will make it more prone to rust
Could've done with seeing this before hand lol harpic works amazing at removing rusted steel
You kinda had me, up until you said it's going to eat the chrome off the stainless steel... Lmao... Wtf
it works!
No one submerged their exhaust in this stuff for hours on end. Just use it guys and polish them up, you wont regret it.
Not all exhausts are stainless steel or chrome,mine a normal steel,i will take rust off, then spray with high temperature paint.
tldr: has hydrochloric acid which corrodes through essential layers on the pipes.
Using natural vinegar?!
exhaust wrap is the worst idea actually, it holds water and destroys your pipes in no time
Exactly 👍
...and causes the pipes to overheat, this can lead to a decrease in engine performance, as well as increased wear and tear on engine components.
Also exhaust wraps can be a fire hazard. If the exhaust wrap becomes damaged or frayed, it can come into contact with other engine components or combustible materials.
This can cause a fire, which can be dangerous and expensive to repair.
Never had any problem with harpic and Downpipes, does a nice job, been using it for years, it also works wonders on my toilet bowl, and it has never caused any problems with either the chrome handle or any else it comes in contact with, AND I don’t ever need to don heavy duty gloves, safety glasses, respirator, steel toe-capped boots, apron, or any other useless crap, and I’ve never had to take the toilet outside to use in a well ventilated space, So I think I’ll just keep on using it and be very happy with the resulting shine,😂😂
This is fine to use on the headers, paint it on, leave for 10 minutes - agitate with a soft-ish brush, then plenty of water. Been doing it for years, never given any issues
i've not seen any stainless steel headers that are chrome plated , they're just polished and washing the exhaust with bi carbonate of soda after cleaning neutralises the acid ..
kawasaki kev that’s right; he is full of shit,
Water neutralises also...
Stainless steels contains around a minimum of 10% chromium, do some research!
@@oddis188 what is in your water? Hydrochloric acid is acid. Water is neutral. All that it can do is dilute an acid as it is washed away.
maybe Harley Davidsons are. Not sure. Your usual cheap motorcycle is not, that's for sure
So stainless steel is 'coated with a whole buch of other chemicals and metals'. Sorry - no it's not. Headers are not usually coated at all, except with the protective oxide that makes them stainless. If you want to make TH-cam videos at least try and get your facts right
I think that he is referring to headers that are chrome plated or otherwise treated. Never seen chrome plated headers? Ever seen a Harley or the clones? Someone could use this on those headers and wreck the chrome plating. It will also stain nearby aluminum and harm paint if not applied carefully.
Stainless steel is coated chromium oxide. Chromium oxide dissolves in hydrocholic acid.
@@alanhassall You don't use Harpic on chrome. Nobody recommends that.
@@Racer57 Stainless steel is not coated chromium oxide. Yes some (very little) stainless is oxidized and removed in the cleaning process. Virtually anu cleaning process removes some of the base metal. There is virtually no body of complaints of Harpic (or any other toilet cleaner) damaging the headers. If care is used it doesn't harm anything else either.
@@Racer57 stainless like other metals naturally form that oxide ..... what do you think most of that tarnish is anyways, it's like getting white patches on anodized aluminum thats just un dyed aluminum oxide .....
One thing missed. As a long term option wrapped headers will eventually tarnish/rust if you use your bike in rain. I've seen loads of rotten stainless systems, especially on cars.
Rubbish! Stainless Steel pipes NOT Chromed. What twaddle. Use harpic rinse throughly and polish with solvol or pink stuff to ensure removal...
Stainless steel is not “layered” with chromium. Chromium atoms are inter dispersed in the metallic crystalline structure with iron atoms (and other trace elements). You really should have researched first
you are selling wrap and wrapped exhaust look awful
Stainless steel headers are almost never chromed.
Parts structurally destroyed? Please. Rinse the stuff off when you are finished.
Wrapping almost certainly will cause excessive corrosion by retaining water next to the pipes.
So where is the army of victims of Harpic use? I have never heard of anyone complaining about using it.
I have used it for years.
No issue here, move along.
Pity it doesn't clean skidders out of toilet
🤭🤭🤭🤭
Don’t wrap your headers with the titanium wrap.
My bike is new and paid a lot of money at for it.
There’s a heat issue with these particular bikes so I thought it would solve problem, but it did not. It actually caused another problem.
The first ten inches of pipe that exit the heads are at approximately 300 degrees, but when you wrap them with titanium wrap, that temperature jumps up so a crazy 660 degrees. This is not good.
This is very bad.
So wrap your pipes at the expense of the exhaust pipes because that wrap WILL cause the pipes to break down and also cause the heads to over heat over time. Now you’re talking about replacing the engine or at least the top end.
Don’t take my word for it.
Wrap your pipes and buy one of those laser temperature indicators you point and Che k it out.
Just don’t waste your money or your time doing all that work.
Another thing about that wrap, it gets everywhere into your clothes, your eyes and your lungs and it itches like crazy and it gets all over your bike makes a mess. And this is the good stuff not the cheap Chinese wrap.
This is very very bad advice and very very bad science in this video
Ignore it - stainless pipes are not chromed
Harpic Power plus works just fine on stainless headers
Spent 15 minutes using Autosol, a cloth and a bit of effort and the initial results were great, glad I watched this video first 😊
What a load of bs. Do you have a clue what your talking about ? If you rinse it afterwards it’s fine. Since most recommend polishing with solval after using Harpic, your cleaning it off anyway. Exhaust wrap in the long run is terrible, it traps moisture, which then causes corrosion.
Nice vid. How about Citric Acid to passivate the stainless? More effective wiith less probability of harming base metals to to overexposure. I am researching the correct temp and concentration. It is readily found in food quality quantities, so is biodegradable... Please shoot a reply. Thanks.
Nitric acid would likely work better and is one of the acids used in picking gels anyway so safe on SS..3 series at least. I know that it gets mineral deposits off of my stainless kettle lol
Hi. I wrapped the pipes on my Firestorm a few years ago. I would never do it again, ever. It ruined my pipes beyond repair
I live in the UK and while i don't ride all the time i like to go out for breakfast at the weekend, meet some mates etc. So even in winter I'll go.
I wash my bike regularly to get rid of road salt but it gets through the wrapping and sits on the pipes. The pipes are factory headers so a low grade stainless. When i thought I'd renew the wrap i cut it off and couldn't believe the amount of corosion waiting for me. Ruined the pipes.
Thanks for letting others know.
Issue is saying "oh just leave them dirty" most headers are made from a ferritic stainless, means they will rust, this type of acid is used industrially to remove rust, another thing you seam to miss is the chromium in stainless isn't a coating, it's part of the alloy. While yes this will mess up other things on the bike, this will clean and remove rust from stainless. Only way your pipes won't polish again is of they are actually chromed, you know the electroplated process, allot of us don't run chromed pipes
Agreed. Stainless steel doesn't need chrome to be electroplated onto it to get a mirror finish. It just needs to be highly polished.
Ceramic coating and wrapping? Which also take away the aesthetic appeal of the chrome. So just the same.
Twaddle, stainless is an alloy the chrome is in mix.
Used it for years. Never had an issue. I wouldn't put it on 'chrome' pipes, but for a couple of minutes on stainless it's fine and it works.
Thank god... I saw your video... I omos wana do it during my day off.... How bout baking soda and finishing it off with high temp paint?
Someone just said the bloke is taking rubbish read the comments above
"heat-resistant header wraps... ...without taking any risks"
You mean aside from how they insulate the headers?
What is the problem with insulating headers? Are they going to melt?
Umm...that's exactly what the wrap is for, it's not cosmetic. It's literally called "insulating header wrap".
If only somebody had kept my headers clean in the correct way they woulldn't be a pile of rust. Turns out they are difficult to replace too.. who would have thought?
Obviously not the previous owner.
Best way I've found, steel wool 00 or 0000, it's that mild I've used it on chrome for years. And harpic contains only around 10% hci, so it won't do much damage unless you soak chrome in it and even then at that concentration it would take a couple of days submerged. Muriatic acid is much higher percentage but yes, keep the lid on. The vapours on high percentage will rust all ferrous metals in an instant. It will rust every part in a garage over a weekend, just leaving the lid off.
for those that are worried why not just water it down 50/50
Using the excuse to not clean headers because you want to show that you ride your bike is a horrible point.
"I never wash my car bc the dead bugs on it show the highway miles I traveled"
stainless steel is not coated with chromium its part of the composition. HARPIC will remove grime and the majority of rust but must be washed of with copious amounts of water. stainless steel 304 and 316 are non-resistant to hydrochloric acid. a better option would be BARKEEPERS FRIEND which contains oxalic acid
There's a TRICK after usin harpic. After your pipes r nice and shiny.... seal them REGULARLY , WITH mechanic heat resistant SILICONE SPRAY. ALL over the extractor pipes. ( can be used on all rubber and engine areas too , super protective )
Crap Hair Shampoo to
Have you ever seen what headers look like after the wrap comes off? Permanently stained, discolored, rust, etc. Wraps just look ugly too. You had me for a while but your "solutions" suck.
So that's what that yellow stain was on my cylinder head when I bought the bike. Fuckers have been using hydrochloric acid to clean it. Well, I don't feel so bad for using it on the bike I part exchanged with them now. At least I didn't spill a gallon of it though and only used on bolts and around the wheels.
Just an idea, use vinegar to rinse acid or any corrosive product, this way you can be sure that the product you used will be deactivated ( I use to clean DPF an EGR with oven cleaning products and always rinse with vinegar)
apply harpic. rinse off harpic. spray headers with bicarbonate of soda solution to neutralise any remaining acid residue. rinse them again. spray with citric acid to re passivate the stainless steel. job done. no harm done cos youve re passivated the steel. now has new top layer of chromium.
Thank! for the video, I was just going to order some, Wow! Am going to get some Autosol instead, thanks again Sir.🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Great insight - wondered about this - good to hear the truth of it! Personally, I just ride the shite out of my R1200GSA taking great care of it internally, not so much externally especially since I am off-road nearly every day! Much thanks again for digging into the truth of this and other worthwhile topics!
LookattheBiggerPic see. Y comments; the guy is full of shit
Harpic power plus is the best
Absolute Nonsense talk.
Done on a 34 Yr old 2 stroke pipe looked brand new surface rusted to he'll in a week in the winter
I use white vinegar then polish it after
Wraps have downsides too man..
0000 steel wool will shine chromed parts forever and just add your wax afterwards
Happy to subscribe :-) Great advice! 🖕
Thanks for the info! Please, where is the information and links to wrap the pipes as you said in the video?
Not quite right. Chrome isn't a coating on stainless steel pipes. Chrome is throughout the alloy and along with nickel provides the corrosion resistant properties in stainless over mild steel. In simple terms these elements help provide an 'invisible' corrosion resistant layer. Hydrochloric acid solution is actually a good method of cleaning the grime, oxidation and iron particles from brake discs etc. that causes localised reduction in corrosion resistance on the surface of the affected stainless steel through depletion of the 'invisible' barrier layer. Cleaning allows the reformation of a complete 'invisible' oxidation resistant barrier layer. On a microscopic level there's more going on but to put it simply clean stainless is more corrosion resistant than dirty stainless.
However you are however correct to highlight that you should keep hydrochloric acid off painted and aluminium alloy surfaces. Also a good idea to wear rubber gloves!
Under the wrap you might have some exhaust left
Once you clean with harpic and shine . Now apply caustic soda to neutralize acidic effects
You're not supposed to leave it on for 9 hours! ;D
Nice to know, I have a bottle of Harpic in the garage used on my last bike but I was not impressed with the results. In the end they were changed under warranty as they were very bad for a two year old bike. Will be using it for the toilet from now on. Glad you let us know how bad it is so it will be back to WD 40 and Autosol when it gets bad.
Works well on stainless steel don’t use on chrome.
The chromium isn’t a coating on the stainless steel, it’s actually part of it
Ride & don't worry broe...
You saved my life! I was just about to clean my engine with Harpic
He led you astray. Read more.
Stainless steel is stainless because when the molten steel is poured it is flooded with oxygen which burns off the iron which is the element that rusts. Not because it is treated. Most metal cleaners are either abrasive or corrosive which is how they work. The stainless pipe beneath the chrome plate will always have its inherent protection, the chrome is added for decorative effect not protection so yes you may remove the chrome plate by using Harpic, but at the point your looking at using Harpic anyway the chrome is probably already shot and the pipes would need to be re-chromed if you wanted to regain the initial shine.
What about Optiglanz ..
nice simple explanation thanks👍
What about deluted acid?
Mate yah talkin poney yeah
This is it!!! BELGOM ALU & fine steel wool “00” or “000” & some patience!!!
Steel wool is one of the worst things to use on stainless steel because it contains free iron and the residue will cause rapid corrosion.
Good one! Nu ma gândeam ca reușești sa faci unul interesant despre o soluție... ai reușit!
WD40...
I clean my bike with molecular acid.
Very good!! That's prove again that we have to be careful on the contents on TH-cam and there is a lot of bullshit. Thank you for your intervention. Personally I just clean the headers with hot water and cleaning product for bikes and that's it. I don't have (anymore) a harley that needs to shine when sun is up...
I used a hob bright, no acid and cleans good.
Doesn't clean everything off (rust) and requires some elbow grease but now they look shiny in the places they were brown before, rust is still there but I think it just needs more elbow grease as it's not acidic, gonna try wire wool next time.
Thank you for this! I've been telling people for ages that Hydrochloric Acid isn't good on Stainless Steel, but they keep saying "But it's dead easy and it looks great!"
Sure, but will it stay looking great? Nope...
Most headers are not chrome