Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Blue pipe

OK AI kit off the pipes are blue heeeelp
I know there has to be something on this site about them little help guys please

Been using it nobby been at it on and off all day its a little better but still blue

Have you had the AI on all this time?

I've used Blue Away to remove slight bluing. Don't know about a really bad case.

Don't know how bad the bluing is, but I used semichrome. Work a small area at a time with a cloth and elbow grease. I used a dremel tool with a silver polishing head to get the groove where the header pipe joins the engine. Mine had just started to blue before I removed the AI and rejeted the carbs. They have looked like new ever since I cleaned them up (over 2000 miles ago).

Thats the problem 2 years AI. I worked on and off for about 4 hours on one pipe. It was a little better still blue. So the only solution might be just replace the pipe and boy would that suck.

Stern, You could pull them off and have them re chromed. Probably look better than new.
Just guessing here, couple hundred bucks maybe.
Mike

Post deleted by Grump

Nobby did I mention your evil?

When the AI is removed, you probably need to re-adjust you air/fuel mixture to compensate for the change.

Hmmmm.....never heard that one before.

try this..http://www.fountainofyouthrestore.com or restore@gisco.net or call 1315-482-4293 ask for Kevin he is an aquaintance of mine and swears his product will remove blue with minumal effort. his cleaning products work VERY well(he didnt lie to me about that) and he is a great guy. i am trying to get ahold of him now so i can maybe bring a sample of the cleaner to Ga.

Blue Job worked great for me.

I ask my wife to polish my pipe but that didnt go over well. Im sure it was a misunderstanding...........

My pipes are so blue/gold that I don't think a belt sander, or a grinder, would take it off. Even the cross-over pipe is badly discolored. 1500 miles with AI on. I wish I had found this site sooner. I can't imagine any of these products doing the trick. Ideas? Charlie

Newt, on your glowing recomendations, I ordered a QT of Quickshine "wash without water", and a small bottle of Totally Buff "removes pipe bluing instantly" from Fountain of Youth. They arrived today, and I'll try them this weekend. I will post my results. Charlie

I have a Question on this totaly buff.were can you get this product?Also if its not to much trouble,can you let me know the results?I would appreciate it,thanks for your time,
khatt

Newt lists the address for fountain of youth about 6 posts above. I started on my pipes with the totally buff yesterday. Amazingly enough, it looks like this stuff may actually work! It doesn't work "instantly", but with patience,and a lot of rubbing I think it's going to do the trick(and my pipes were severly BLUE). I'll work on it more this afternoon. More results to follow. Charlie

I have the totally buf also. Though it worked better then the blue job alas my pies seem to be to far gone but we will kep trying

Hi Chris,
I agree with Grump. I've used SimiChrome for 34 years - SimplyTheBest! (yes i remember when i started using it - 1972). You can also go to Sears and get a block of jeweler's rouge for stainless steel (the white block). It cost $2.99 and is great for our SS head pipes. The simichrome worked very well for me, but I had a couple small stubborn spots near the spigot that required the rouge on a buffing wheel. It polished the pipe so quickly, that I used it a little farther down the pipe. I had to use my dremel tool to get the tight spots at the top.
I need to do it again since I am getting a bit of golden hue on my pipes.
The best way is how "ssjones" did his and remove the head pipes and work on a bench grinder with a buffing wheel. His came out spotless, and real shiney. Look for the thread or send him a PM - Al loves to help others.
NOTE: Wear a dust mask and work outside if possible with a fan blowing. This krap goes everywhere!
P.S. it's OK if your bride does it for you. When she sees the results, she'll try to get her bike shinier than yours.

Well, I got back to my pipes today. I went to Home Depot and bought a Ryobi polishing kit for $10 that came with three cotton polishing wheels (21/2,3,&4")and a mandrel. It also came with 4 rouge sticks that I didn't try. I stuck with the Totally Buff. Put the 4" in my cordless drill, and had at it. Much to my total amazement, my pipes are no longer BLUE! Considerably more than "minimal effort" was required, but it was worth it. You just have to keep at it, over and over and over and over again. Several hours later(6?), my pipes have a mirror finish. I'm really blown away with the results, my pipes were really bad. Because I did the polishing with the pipes on the bike, there were some areas I couldn't get at(I also used a Dremell), but you can't see them. Maybe next winter I'll pull the pipes and go at them with the 8" cotton wheel that I've got on one side of my bench grinder. I can't get over the difference, and will be glad to discuss methods, technique, or whatever. Thanks to Newt for turning me on to this stuff, and thanks to this site for being there. Charlie

There is, of course, the "other" way of dealing with the blueing problem: learn to appreciate that the deep, shimmering aquatic lustre, which blends into the vibrant gold of an ocean sunset, is a unique and special mark of beauty that comes with your beloved Bonnie's maturity. The "problem" becomes an artful testimony to the vicissitudes of nature's gentle hand upon the chrome.

Siggy

Siggy you sound like my dealer whos famous line was
Welcome to the world of british bikes!!!

Hey Siggy!! I gotta raise the flag on that one!

Siggy that is one of THE FUNNIEST friggin posts I have read!

My brother has a Bonneville (he won't take off the AI), that is what he keeps saying about the pipes on his bike. He says that he likes them that way.

Soren

I thought I liked it too. Until I got it off. Charlie

We all know it is because all the bikes want to be like the pretty blue (and silver) ones.......hehehehe

Charlie, sounds like the way to go. I tried using the blue pipe stuff by hand and got no results. I'll try your way when I get back to my bike in a few weeks. If anybody else has other success stories, I'd love to hear them...Thanks!