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Burnt Residue on Stainless Exhaust Can

3K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  voxmagna 
#1 ·
Gotta Staintune system on my K12GT, and the stainless exhaust can has a burnt-on residue from contact with a loose nylon webbing strap.

Have not found any type of solvent that will dissolve this crusty residue - prefer not to try anything mechanical, such as fine steel wool.

Any experience out there?
 
#2 ·
Navy_F4 said:
Gotta Staintune system on my K12GT, and the stainless exhaust can has a burnt-on residue from contact with a loose nylon webbing strap.

Have not found any type of solvent that will dissolve this crusty residue - prefer not to try anything mechanical, such as fine steel wool.

Any experience out there?
Try a credit card edge when things are cooled off. Not sure how burnt nylon will do against a credit card, but the card won't mar the pipe.



 
#3 · (Edited)
Navy_F4 said:
- prefer not to try anything mechanical, such as fine steel wool.

Any experience out there?
My experience is all bad, so I don't have anything to offer other than you're on the right track by avoiding a mechanical solution. Been there, done that, regretted it always. I remember reading somewhere that someone thought oven cleaner was the right way to go.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Fixed that when my can caught a nylon cover. I only use cotton canvas now!

First you do NOT use metal tools or steel wool - you will just replace one lump of ugly burnt plastic with a scuff mark on the polished stainless which is harder to remove. You are unlikely to find solvents for nylon.

The secret is getting the can up to the temperature where the nylon will re-melt just like a glue gun. First wipe on some MS3 silicone grease which is high temperature. If the nylon is very heavily carbonised there won't be much left to melt.

Leave the bike running until the fans come on. Use only some soft wood sawn off at the end like a chisel about 3/4" wide. If you have the time to shape the end with a radius to match the can, then even better. When the bike and can are up to temperature, try pushing off the melted nylon, even tap the wood lightly with a small hammer. But keep the chisel edge as parallel to the can as possible - you don't want dents in it!! If the nylon is slow to move, use a blow lamp with a paint remover spreader and wave it across - but do not apply so much heat the residue caramelises and goes more black.

When you have finished you may still have to do some polishing. Stainless steel is virtually imposible to hand polish so get plenty of polishing compound and use an electric polisher.



 
#5 ·
Not quite the same as melted nylon.. recently had a big black glob of bird crap on the SS can on my new "S". By the time I got home it was really baked on so I let the bike cool down completely and placed a wet shop rag over the blob and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
About 90% wiped off but there was still a black stain on the can, WD40 and brake cleaner didn't cut it so on a whim I tried some ceramic cook top cleaner. Put a dab of the cleaner on the stain, let it sit about a minute and then put a little cleaner on a damp cotton rag and gently buffed it until it was shiny clean.
 
#6 ·
Got world-class chemists at work, and the word there is that there's probably no solvent that won't etch the metal.

So....it went off in the brown truck to a metal polishing service. Pricey, but it had accumulated some stains and it'll come back looking like new.
 
#7 ·
Easy Off Cold Oven Cleaner works great on chrome for this kind of problem. Let the pipes get cold to the touch and spray on a good coat of the stuff. Let it sit overnight and in the morning it will rinse right off with cold water. I've never tried it on stainless but can't think of any reason why it shouldn't work as well.
 
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