Chrome Exhaust System Restoration

[stevetower01]

I am restoring a 1982 GS750E with its original chrome 4 into 2 exhaust. I took my angle grinder with a wire brush wheel and knocked off the rust and it looks much better but not good.

I took it to a local Denver rechroming place named Denver Bumper. They wanted $500 to rechome the system but a new one is $600 so that made no sense.

I wonder what others recommend for this situation. A reasonably priced chrome shop you know of? Polishing and touch up painting with Eastwood exhaust paint? Ceramic coating?

[Nessism]

That wire wheel does a nice job removing rust, but it damages the chrome. Sand blasting and having the system ceramic powder coated would be cool.

[Rover]

Keep an vigilant eye on EBay. Replace all or part of exhaust needed.

[mvalenti]

sounds silly, but I use aluminum foil and soapy water to get the rust off chrome.. Try it.. You will be amazed.. If the metal is deeply pitted and its heavy rust... well maybe you better just use header wrap...

[Nessism]

Aluminum foil will scratch the chrome. I tried it and was sorry I did. If the system is heavily rusted the minor scratching won't matter though.

[Adler]

It was probably a huge mistake to use the wire wheel.

[mvalenti]

Aluminum foil will scratch the chrome. I tried it and was sorry I did. If the system is heavily rusted the minor scratching won't matter though.

Aluminum wont scratch chrome. Chrome is much harder. What scratched the chrome more than likely dirt.

I used aluminum foil and soapy water on my fork tubes that had minor pitting and surface rust.

[verde]

BBQ paint works great, especially for the price.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Aluminum wont scratch chrome. Chrome is much harder. What scratched the chrome more than likely dirt.

I used aluminum foil and soapy water on my fork tubes that had minor pitting and surface rust.

Tubes are hard chromed. Decorative chrome is different.
I used aluminum on chrome once and it produced a permanent haze.

[Nessism]

Tubes are hard chromed. Decorative chrome is different.
I used aluminum on chrome once and it produced a permanent haze.

Agree on all counts. Do NOT use aluminum foil on shinny decorative chrome or it will scratch.

[Wyldesoul]

I've had good success with a brass wire wheel brush. Used a dremel with a brass brush to bring a highly (surface) rusted exhaust for a 1965 honda into a brilliant lustre. A single application of polish later, and it was a mirror. You had to look VERY close to see the very delicate pitting that was where the rust was emanating from.

But yes. Brass brush on a dremel or drill. Very effective and doesn't scratch the chrome at all.

[TheCafeKid]

Most places either won't re-chrome used exhaust systems, or will charge an arm and a leg to do so in the case of our stock systems because the baffles cannot be removed to clean and chem treat the entire piece inside and out. While you may find one that will do it, as you have found out, the price is rather prohibitive as the soot/carbon build up etc ruins their dip tanks for use with any other piece besides your exhaust.

Also, Ed and others are correct, alumin foil will scratch the surface of chrome. I've used it to remove surface rust on pipes, and while it does a nice job in that respect (the foil is harder than the oxide) it will leave small scratches in it. If its not a pristine pipe, I'd not be too worried about it. Some swirl marks or tiny scratches look better than big orange rust spots. But if you have an otherwise nice system, I'd consider disassbly and soaking in Evapo-rust, which will not harm the chrome but remove the rust. Keep in mind however, nothing will prevent it from returning as rust in chrome is a sign that the clear plating material has been compromised, allowing oxidation of the nickel/copper plating underneath.
Many people mistakenly think that "chrome" is metal, when in reality it is a clear coating over copper and nickel plating. High quality chrome is often "triple chromed". If you look at chrome under a high power microscope you will see that the outer coating often looks like a dry lake bed. Full of cracks. Triple chroming is done to prevent, or at least lessen the chances of anything getting through these cracks by multiple layers hopefully covering those cracks in the layer below.
I am not sure that our exhaust systems were triple chromed but the fork legs usually have been on just about any bike from a quality manufacturer.

I don't want to get any hopes up, and I'm still working on this, but a regular customer of mine is a product manager for a large plating shop here in Dayton. Turns out we actually were in high school together, though we didn't know each other then as he was a couple of grades behind me. Anyway, we've become pretty good friends, and we've been talking about the possibility of putting together a "group buy" on some exhaust system and parts chroming for the board, at hopefully a fairly reasonable discount. He's currently checking into what we call "black chrome" (he seems to think its not actually a chroming process but some other plating of which I cannot recall the name) and is putting some prices together for me.
I gave him some cam end caps to do some samples of different plating for me (including the one I am most excited about, as I plan to use it on a project, acid copper, a very shiny copper plate with a clear coat to resist tarnish)

Again, it's a "work in progress" so to speak, so I have nothing definitive at all, but hopefully we may have a source to have those black pipes we all dig so much restored to a close to factory finish as I have never found anyone that seems to know what I am talking about....

[SqDancerLynn1]

Have you tried to get the new one? Quick search says it is NLA