Triumphrat

mikeinva · 06-04-2008

one other thing if you get anything on the pipes (oil road stuff you need to clean them or they will give you those blue looking stains,even greasey finger prints will show when it gets hot.I bet if you clean them good and shine them up they will be fine.

Sic Semper Tyrannis · 06-04-2008

Hey Wolverine,

You say they were easy to polish. I've been considering these pipes for a while. A bit pricey, with a weak dollar and all. Could you please post a picture of how they looked after you polished them? It would be greatly appreciated.

I don't mind normal blueing and yellowing of pipes, but the spotty blotches would annoy me.

Thanks.

Geimer · 06-04-2008

Hi,
mikeinva is correct... the 400 series of stainless are generally more prone to corrosions... rust if you will, but are generally much more resistant then even a good grade of plain carbon steel.. Generally they are hardenable by heat treating and the various grades are used for applications requiring that kind of hardness, like your 416 for a rifle barrel or 440 for knives etc.
jerryb is kind of correct. But the 400 series are generally magnetic. The 300 series (austenitic) have more nickel which also gives better corrosion resistance and these types are non-magnetic. The 300 series are those which in some grades are used for food storage or in environments with more corrosive things around. Its kinda cool that ANY steel becomes non-magnetic when heated hot enough. The crystal lattice structure changes under high heat and this causes the non-magneticness. The extra nickel in the 300 series of stainlesses causes that crystal structure to stay the way it is and maintain its non-magnetic properties while cooling off. And as mentioned it is more corrosion resistant

Anyway, back to wolverines topic... batches and cost reductions. I'm not saying that this is what is happening for sure because I have no way of knowing. But companies are always looking for more ways to reduce costs. The difference between your friend's pipes and your pipes could possibly be someone's idea of a cost reduction. That could come from the pipe manufacturer or from the steel mill but if its from the mill then for sure the manufacturer would have to know of it and approve. But they probably never will pass that information along to the end user (at least not in the USA). Another possibility is poor batch control at the mill. There are probably other reasons too.

I think I'd try a magnet just to see, if those pipes were on my machine. If it sticks its not all bad but if NOT, then you have a 300 series of steel which will probably never rust or pit but could get 'stains' which can be cleaned without too much trouble.

Take care

redhawk34 · 06-04-2008

I don't mean to imply that they used a cheap grade of stainless. High Chromium stainless can get brittle, and they needed to retain the malleability and ductility neccessary to form the tubes.
Still think it's inappropriate marketing, though.
Redhawk

mikeinva · 06-04-2008

geimer is right some SS you buy you dont know what you are getting I hate machineing the 300s you will get one lot that cuts like butter and the next will burn up every tool you put in it ,its not hard its just tuff. can be some mean stuff to deal with.

wolverine · 06-04-2008

Thanks guys,

I will try the magnet test and I will post a good picture of the after-polishing headers for those who asked.

5bassman · 06-04-2008

I just replaced a set of Stainless pipes on my Bonneville with a Raask system and my Stainless pipes never did this. They would turn a straw gold color, but never anything like that.
Remember, Stainless will STAIN LESS, keep that in mind.

BarkSlayer · 06-05-2008

The term "stainless steel" suggests that the pipes will always maintain their new-like appearance, and that just simply isn't the case. There are dozens of grades of stainless steel on the market, with the most significant characteristics for this application being both nickel and chromium content. For example, a 304 grade ornamental stainless will be much more suited to looking good over time, but it's not a good match for the high heat produced by header pipes. Most automotive exhaust systems today are made from 409 grade stainless which resists rust and corrosion, but just isn't nearly as "pretty" as other grades. It's a classic trade-off between form and function. Not knowing anything about this particular grade of stainless, all I can say is, no single walled pipe will maintain its "new-like" appearance, at least nothing that's affordable or available to you and me. Stainless steel exhausts will typically turn a deep, goldish color in response to the heat. Your friend's bike may be jetted in such a way as to be running cooler, postponing the inevitable change in color. No two bikes are exactly alike, even those of identical make, model, year, etc.

Fraederichs · 06-05-2008

I'm no genius, but it looks like the beginning stage of discoloration, which is normal. I say ride the hell out of it for a couple days and see if the coloring grows and expands. If so, it's discoloration--which is cool.

wolverine · 06-05-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarkSlayer

Stainless steel exhausts will typically turn a deep, goldish color in response to the heat. Your friend's bike may be jetted in such a way as to be running cooler, postponing the inevitable change in color. No two bikes are exactly alike, even those of identical make, model, year, etc.

No, no, my friend headers turned gold after few days and so did mine. And that's obvioulsy ok, 'cause I knew in advance they would have turned gold (which I like).

The problem is that my headers showed after a few days dark brown surface stains over the golden color (shown in the pictures I attached at the beginning of the thread) which my friend headers never showed. Just that.

I received a pm from Johnny6035 who has my same headers and exhaust (by the way he also has a gorgeous bike!). Here what he told me:

Hi Daniele

I've had a similar problem but nowhere near as bad as yours. I use Autosol cream metal polish on a felt polishing bobbin, fitted in my cordless drill, to shine them back up. It only takes a few minutes. I think the main problem is with surface discolouration rather than pitting. Stainless steel contains quite a lot of carbon and other compounds such as arsenic. When it is heated - like an exhaust pipe - these compounds can leave residues on the surface. Combined with rain water this discoloration looks terrible. Rather than wear your fingers out polishing, get yourself some polishing bobbins and a drill.

Good luck Johnny

I can obviously accept some dark stains (which have nothing to do with the headers turning gold) on the headers due to normal use but I think mine are really too bad...and after just a few days.

Now I polished them and made the magnet test...well...results are a little bit weird because somewhere the magnet sticks on the header surface and somewhere else it does not. Same thing happens on the exhaust. However, where it sticks on the header it is not so strong like when it sticks on the frame, for example.

And finally some photos for those who asked!