Polishing xb9s headers

[chelch]

Just want to make sure I bought the correct scotch brite pads. I bought these....

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/scotch-brite/heavy-duty-scouring-pads-105510.html

[GAXB9R]

That's what I used.[up]

[HangMan]

are you actually trying to get em shiny? or just remove grime and rust?

[wifarmboy]

I took my header off and used 1200 emory cloth strips w/ wd40 to get the most of it then micro fiber cloth w/ heavy metal polish..only thing is it only lasted maybe 200 miles..http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/10050_20120615195436_L.jpg

[chelch]

Just looking to clean them up a bit. Don't want them shiny. Maybe remove some blueing. Would you guys advise to use some sort of polish after the scotch brite? Any brand better than others?

[GAXB9R]

Scotch-brite and WD is all you will want if you just want to clean them. They will go to a nice gold after you ride a while.

[chelch]

Looks like I have some plans tonight then. Friday night with my buell :)

[Eric_J]

I did mine last weekend. Brought the bike into the house and cleaned these bad boys.https://www.dropbox.com/s/ih7d4n4sngee24x/image.jpeg?dl=0
This is the beginning condition.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a1uomdmneuj9kqy/image_1.jpeg?dl=0
This is after the scotch brite and the LPS.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h7jaapnn19wnd82/image_2.jpeg?dl=0
And this is the final product after the 1000 grit sand paper and the aluminum polish application

[Eric_J]

not sure why the pictures don't come up. If you copy and paste the link or open URL in different tab then it works. Sorry, still learning this stupid site when it comes to pictures.

[Green Machine]

I tried scotchbrite pads and wd40 on mine and it made no impact whatsoever after about half an hour. Previous owner had pipes wrapped and they were pretty bad. Sanded for about 8 hours, and still not perfect. Just wondering how everyones comes up after using the pads. I have seen heaps of pics on here, but i mean up close are they really smooth? Mine still look pitted.http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/19872_20141127235406_L.jpg
This is after 8hrs sanding
http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/19872_20141129045008_L.jpg

[Sirius815]

What'd you sand with? I had to go all the way down to 60 grit to get rid of most of mine.

You can't really get rid of the heavy pitting unless you get rid of the rest of the metal around that area, which would equal less overall thickness of the header. Not a great idea if you ask me.

[thrstrmech]

Eric J....follow this here (http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/General-Motorcycle-Chat/How-To---Posting-URLsYouTube-vids-Pics-Quotes-etc.)

[Eric_J]

Thanks thrstrmech. Got it. http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/19694_20141122122951_L.jpg
Before
http://www.buellxb.com/buell_images/19694_20141122123131_L.jpg
After

Took about 30 mins. Scotchbrite. Sandpaper. Polish

[Green Machine]

Yeah sirius815, i started with 80 grit for a few hours just to get it looking like it was made of metal. Then next few hours working down to 1200. Not that great up close due to the pitting, but a few steps back looks nice.