Polished tune pipe?

[Bluethunder3320]

So I should get all the parts for the YZ in about 2 weeks. So I'm probaby going to paint the frame and clean up the rest of the bike so it will be ready.

The pipe doesn't look bad, its black and has a little surface rust where boots rub it. I've seen some bikes with chrome tuned pipes they look pretty awesome.

So the question I'm asking is could I polish the steel tuned pipe to get a nice shiny metal color? What would keep it from rusting? Would it turn blue from heat?

It's got a few dents in it, I have to read up on that but it probably won't affect performance

 

[ScottB]

You can polish up steel quite nicely. I'm attaching a picture of a steel oil tank from an old bike of mine that I polished. The trick is to spent a LOT of time with sanding it, starting with 220, then 400, then wet sand with 600, 800, 1000 - then I usually switch to my wheel and polish with black, then brown, then white compound. You can make it look like glass if you take your time. Expect to spend 4-5 hours on the sanding, then 2-3 on the wheel to get that really nice glasslike look.

This was on the black compound stage.

Finished.

 

[sexyvicta]

i think for a dirt bike just leave it black. You're probably guna crash it anyway so no point in making it look too pretty.

the dents do affect performance. probably not much to worry about unless they are massive or if you are trying to make it as fast as possible for racing.

there are guys that specialise in removing dents from mx bike expansion chambers

 

[FatCat]

Awesome job on that oil tank! What brand of pipe is it on the YZ? Tell me a little about your bike. year/size. How big are the dents? Are you able to post pics? It's really hard to keep a steel pipe from rusting in an offroad environment. Some who like the raw metal look clean them up and wd-40 after each ride to keep from rusting. I like the polished look myself. If you decide to buy new get something that's ceramic coated. That stuff will stay flashy much longer than chrome or nickel with little to no maintenance. No paint will work all that good. Not for long anyway.