Cleaning Product Recommendations

Discussion in 'Maintenance' started by Jae, Oct 3, 2018.

  1. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    Hi all,

    Just wanted to know what would be the best cleaning product for aftermarket titanium headers? WD40 helps, but I need something a bit more potent.

    Thank you
     
  2. tuktuk

    tuktuk Elite Member

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    Not much help at this stage but since installing mine every so often i wipe it all down with brake cleaner.

    You can have them blasted and they come out pretty much new. Sonic blasting I think it's called?
     
  3. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    Thank you. I'm yet to use brake cleaner, but I know that stuff general works well. There seems to be some rust and finger prints burnt in, hoping to freshen the headers up before fitting.
     
  4. Gaffa22

    Gaffa22 Well-Known Member

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  5. lardytkd

    lardytkd Active Member

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    Harpic works a treat. I know loads of people that swear by it. I've seen pics of before and after and hey look amazing.
     
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  6. Gaffa22

    Gaffa22 Well-Known Member

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    Yes i've been using for quite a while its quick and easy
     
  7. travellingkiwi

    travellingkiwi Active Member

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    Puddles mate... Ride through enough and it'll take the mud off no probs...
     
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  8. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    So, I ended up using harpic cleaner which help a bit but to get the deep markings off, Autosol is godlike. It took a lot of elbow grease but was definitely worth it in the end. The originally colour was a light shade of gold but that all disappeared afterwards. Sorry for the photo bomb.
     

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  9. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    Final results :D Not sure if it'll burn in now that it's polish, thought it does look a lot better than before.
     

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  10. Gaffa22

    Gaffa22 Well-Known Member

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    Good job Jae they look great
     
  11. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    That is friggin' brilliant @Jae . I've never used Autosol but will be sure to get some now!!

    Back to the original question though: surely they're not titanium headers? I would have expected a dull finish. The headers appear to be polished mild steel. Are you sure they're titanium?
     
  12. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    Thanks mate, they should be going on this week.

    Thank you. I'm not a big fan of chrome in general but I am more now.

    I was expecting the same finish too, more like a flat matte silver. I bought this from a mate and he told me it was a titanium exhaust imported from the US. I noticed some burn in rainbow marks near the flange but this is now buffed out.
    Now I've tested the pipe with different types of magnets and the thin flat ones stick in certain areas whereas general fat magnets don't stick -I guess you could say it's temperamental. This got me confused, so I did some research and found out that titanium is actually weakly magnetic.

    REF: http://www.rexmetals.com/is-titanium-alloy-magnetic

    I'm guessing titanium comes in different types of materials, finishes or I could be complete be wrong. I'll be fitting the exhaust later this week so hopefully I'll get more clarity. I could always shoot Yoshimura an email with the part # and maybe that'll help too, but regardless I'm super excited to fit this baby on
     
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  13. hitch

    hitch Elite Member

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    They look awesome.
    This really scratches my OCD clean itch o_O
     
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  14. Spygoat

    Spygoat Well-Known Member

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    You'd not be able to polish out the bluing/rainbow effect on titanium. Those look to either be ceramic coated or stainless. I would actually lean more towards ceramic coated steel, which is a very nice option as it keeps the temps down and can polish out brilliantly. I also lean towards ceramic coated because of your magnetic testing. Depending on the thickness of the coating, magnets may not stick as well in some areas.
     
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  15. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    Update. Finally fitted the exhaust which was a bit of pain aligning the flanges. Just picked up a M16>M12 reducer for the O2 sensor and she should be ready quite soon.
    IMG_0925.JPG IMG_0927.JPG IMG_0932.JPG IMG_0933.JPG IMG_0937.JPG
     
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  16. Boothman

    Boothman Elite Member

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  17. vic_ster51

    vic_ster51 Active Member

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    I think you will find jae they are stainless for sure. You wouldnt get that finish like others said.
    Yoshi never done a ti system (headers) either for the blade. Well not 1 that they sell to general public.
    100% stainless my friend. You should be able to tell from weight. Or cut it Haha it will spark white :p
     
  18. nigelrb

    nigelrb Elite Member

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    Those pipes look magnificent. I am blushing with shame after thinking my 'Harpic job' was the bees knees:(.
     
  19. Jae

    Jae Active Member

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    Thanks all.

    Just got a reply from Yoshimura and they have advised the headers are definitely stainless steel :)
     
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