Polishing Staintunes
 

Hey guys.

I have just bought a 2002 vtr1000 and there is a burn/stain what have you on the right staintune. Looks like a pillion bot has been against the hot exhaust or a side bag etc etc.. . . .

Just wondering on a suggestion on polishing it out. Ironically i used to live in Sydney and have been to the staintune workshop a few times as my old man has had some custom stuff made for his Guzzi le Mans, but i now live around 3000km away and dont really wanna send the pipes back to them and be without the bike for a few weeks.

I know i haven't posted picks but thoughts on if i need to get it professionally polished or is there a chance i can get it out with elbow grease and a good product?

I have the Staintune high pipes also. Staintune has it's own polish called Staintune Liquid Mirror. You should be able to it get from Staintune or one of their authorized dealers. It is a liquid polish that cleans off stains and discolorations and brings the finish back to a high shine-Mort

Hondaline makes a fine metal polish. It was recommended by Motorcycle Consumer News a while back.

goo-gone and goof off work really well. I used that and scotch brite pads to get the corrosion/ heat discoloration off of the header pipes. Caution though, it may to damage to your chrome.

Staintunes are stainless, I'm more worried about scratching them

i've got Staintunes and am right at the point of cleaning them up. i have goo gone for getting my heal marks off. then i'm going to use what i have left of "MAAS fine polish for All Metals". i've used this on my fork tubes with very good results. but i don't think i have enough left to do all the pipes and the cans. a friend gave me a tube of "S100 total Poli Pour Motocyclettes (S100 brightens aluminum, stainless steel, chrome engine parts, etc.)" last year for my birthday. i'll be using that too. also, for getting generic crud off of UNPAINTED, UNCOATED thing, i'm a big fan of lacquer thinner and acetone.

will let you know how all this works tomorrow.

--fred

I am going to buy some of the Staintune Metal polish, its prob just as good as other metal polish but i know i can order it on the website and get it delievered. . . . . Lazy. . . .

CaptnChaos is a guy that has done a lot of experimenting and gotten good results cleaning/restoring stuff that people think are ready for the trash pile.

if i could wait, i'd probably order the Staintune Metal Polish. i'm sure that it is very good on stainless. i started out on Sunday using my MASS polish. fortunately, i decided to try out my S100 polish fairly early into the process. the S100 is obviously designed for doing this, while the MASS is probably designed for you sliver-wear. S100 is really nice and creamy with enough body that it doesn't just absorb into your application rag right away.

i spent more time polishing the pipes and cans than i ever will again! probably put a good 4 hours into those. god! what a waste of time!

i hate cleaning things that work just as well while dirty. this fact made me pretty impatient when cleaning the pipes and cans. for the impatient, i recommend not even trying Goo-Gone.

Lacquer Thinner (LT) for the Impatient. straight Acetone for the Really Impatient.

SHELVE that Goo-Gone (GG) for use plastic and powerder-coat work. for stainless steel (SS) tar or burnt on rubber spots LT and Acetone are tits. you'll die of old age using GG on this hard black gunk, while the person using LT will crank and be sitting back drinking umbrella drinks happily not feeling sorry for the GG user who is still working on the first of 80 spots. wear the thickest nitrile disp gloves you've got or other skin protection when using these low flashpoint solvents. they will dissolve the lipids in your skin before they have time to scream. also, remember to close LT can cap if you aren't going to be using it for a while. if you're running short on healthy brain-cells like me, consider doing this work in a well ventilated area.

GOD the Staintunes are LOUD. they are SO LOAD that they can attract unwanted attention from neighbors with murderous thoughts and from chicago pi..., i mean cops. unfortunately, in my opinion, the Staintunes sound like crap when the restricters are in them. what to do?

here's some pictures from yesterday of dirty and shiny Staintunes:

ok. now i have a BIG problem. my bike is cleaner and shinier than it's ever been. i refuse to take it out in the rain because it'll get dirty. but it's raining a lot here. it's a Spring thing that will last. my other dirty bike is down for service.

what to do?

it was good while it lasted....

I used to use something called Mother's chrome polish, they had some other types of polish as well, worked good.