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Cleaning burnt rubber off header

6K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  palermz 
#1 ·
Hey y'all
I boneheadedly put my cover on my Street Twin too soon after riding the other night and got a nice chunk of the plastic cover seared onto my header. I've ridden for almost a week since then, even did a solid few hours in succession today, and all the rubber hasn't burnt off.
I've seen some videos online using Blue Job or steel wool to clean rubber off pipes. But I'm unsure this is the right move. Any ideas that for sure won't scratch the header? Thx for any help.
 
#2 ·
I wiped down the tank on my new Thruxton with a microfiber towel after a ride the other day and noticed it got caught on something. It was melted to the header! Left a decent sized cloth print on the pipe and I couldn't get it off with brake cleaner or goof off. So after a few days of trying to get it to burn off to no avail, I came across a forum thread saying to try wd40 and a rag (cool header). Sure enough, it worked immediately! I cleaned the wd40 off with some alcohol to avoid burning the next time the pipes got hot.

Give that stuff a shot and see how it works.
 
#3 ·
I've seen some videos online using Blue Job or steel wool to clean rubber off pipes. But I'm unsure this is the right move. Any ideas that for sure won't scratch the header? Thx for any help.
Steel wool will scratch for sure. Use a piece of copper as a scraper. The copper is softer metal than the header so won't scratch.

 
#5 ·
Same thing happened to me. I managed to get the header back to bright using a damp cotton cloth and glass/ceramic oven hob cleaner and elbow grease. I used a pice of wood and ran the bike until the header was just hot to get the heavy deposits off first.


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#6 ·
I have found the best way to clean this stuff. Just leave it on and let it burn off naturally from the heat cycles.

I just recently had a plastic bag melt on an exhaust pipe. I read it best to leave it alone because everything you do will scratch the chrome. Sure enough after about a month it flaked off.

Last time I washed the bike it literally washed off with sponge and water. I scraped it a little with my finger nail and the last couple bits just flaked off. Muffler back to looking normal with no scratches.

In the past, everything I tried frocked up my chrome.
 
#7 ·
Street Twin pipe are not chrome, they are brushed stainless steel.

Depending on the type of plastic, one of two things is going to happen. Either the plastic is going to come off the metal and leave the heat patina still intact, or the patina is coming off with the plastic. I've already experienced both kinds.

If you want to go the chemical removal method, it is going to have to be a seriously strong solvent. Basically, the solvent has to be so strong that it will attack your you actual motorcycle cover, and not just the melted on portion of it. I don't recommend using a solvent that strong, even if you can get your hands on it. Oven cleaner is probably the most readily available solvent in that category, and even it requires serious elbow grease to actually work.

What I do recommend is using a pristine razor blade with no nicks in it, like a fresh X-ACTO blade for example. You do it with the pipes cold, not warm and definitely not hot. Slide the broad edge along a portion of your exhaust header that no one will notice as a test. Do it like you'd shave your face, no gouging.

You'll notice no scratches are left by the blade. Now use that same technique to chip away the melted plastic. It should come off without harming the patina underneath.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for all the (varied) insight guys. The big chunks have all melted off by themselves.
I'm gonna give it a wash soon to see if the residue will come off easily. If not, I got 'Blue Job', which specifies one of it's uses as getting rubber off of stainless steel. Talked to a rep there who confirmed that it won't scratch if used with a microfiber/soft cloth.
Thanks again for the input!
 
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