Cleaning the headers?

[ksword]

I have a 1990 FZR 600 and was wanting to see if you had any advise as far as cleaning the headers? Mine are in good shape overall but are starting to become discolored. They have a brownish tint going on. Do you sand them down? Polish them? If so with what? Im kind of new to this kind of stuff but don't mind getting my hands dirty. Any input would be super helpful! Thanks in advance!

[tjs5443]

Sand them down and paint with high temp paint. Sanding them by hand sucks and is super hard. Sandblasting them would be better if you have access to it...Of course you could always just get them powdercoated, that will look the best by far.

[ksword]

I was thinking about powdercoating them, but I have no idea where I could get that done or how much that would cost. Im guessing you've sanded them yourself? What kind of sandpaper did you use?

[tjs5443]

I tried a few different grits, but honestly none worked much at all..but then again my headers had a significant amount of rust on them. You say yours are "brownish" so I'm guessing they arnt totally rusted and pitting. You could always give the sanding a try and see what happens. If i was going to do it again, I would just get mine powdercoated..would have saved me a headache and a mess.

[ksword]

Yeah they don't seem to be pitted or anything, I just want them to look nice and black again.. Haha but I'm in contact with a company in KC that does powder coating and ceramic coatings. He's recommending I do the ceramic coating. Does anyone have any experience or input on it?

[thatkid]

If it's the stock header I wouldn't waste the money. Ceramic coatings hold up to higher heat and improve flow. If you are just interest in keeping it from rusting out then I would go with the powdercoating. I'd coat it if you wanted to ship it to me but after shipping charges the guy in KC will probably be cheaper.

[ksword]

I would definitely be interested in a quote at least... They quoted me between 185-245 for the ceramic coating and I'm waiting on just a powder coating quote now.

[thatkid]

Sounds about right for ceramic. It's usually double powder prices. I do headers anywhere from 60-80 depending on condition and it's about 12-15 to ship them back.

[ksword]

Alright, I'll keep that in mind! Let you know what the quote is for the Powder coatings are. Where are you located?

[DonTZ125]

According to the little box to the right of his posts, he's in Chicago, IL ...

[ksword]

Haha thanks for that... Face Palm

[jsph.mitch]

I used a wire wheel to clean mine up, then hand sanded them smooth. I painted mine with gloss black header paint. They look great, and have held up so far. The key is multiple light coats of paint.

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