Pitted FMF pipe

[tbrooks]

Title says it all. Got a FMF gold pipe that was pretty rusty. Read a lot of threads on here about cleaning the rust up but nobody really says much about the pitting. Is it something that can be cleaned up? Maybe sanded smooth? Or am I just gonna take the plating off. Here's how it looks now. This is the worst spot.

So far I've cleaned it with some naval jelly and some wire brushing. Honestly I can't believe it came out this good but if I can get it better I would like to.

 

[tbrooks]

Oh and I've done some polishing with some mothers and a powerball but it doesn't really do anything to these bad spots

 

[Durby]

I had the same issue with the FMF pipe on my 88 Suzuki LT250r. I ended up just sanding it down the best I could and then used high temp black paint and sprayed it. Looks good since my bike is all Black and silver with a few polished parts.

 

[tbrooks]

Yeah I had planned on painting the stock before I got this but I have a nice fmf silencer and I wanted to leave both polished because everything else on my blaster is painted. I got some breakfree clp I use on my guns n I figured i'd use it to keep it protected once I get it finished. If I can get it any better I'll polish like hell n use it as is because you don't see that area as much once its on

 

[Wifesblaster]

Go to full rebuilds and find the thread on the free shee. I cleaned those pipes up pretty good. It shows all tools and cleaning supplies needed.

 

[tbrooks]

Thanks took me awhile to find it lol. Those pipes do look awesome. I just don't know how far I should go. It seems to me like where it is pitted its already past the plating so if I try to smooth it out I'm gonna be down to bare steel and that's just gonna invite more rust. just want it to look as good as possible without screwing it up. I know where the mount is the plating is chipped and it doesn't seem very thick

 

[Wifesblaster]

Well here is how I would look at it. If you have access to a high speed air grinder like the one in my pics, get a soft pack for it and try to even it out. The worst thing that can happen is it's to far gone to polish, but you now have it prepped for high temp primer and paint.

 

[89blaster89]

its gonna rust there where its pitted, my ct pipe is the exact same way but i run it anyways

 

[Wifesblaster]

Unless you ride in the sand or do a thorough cleaning after every muddy ride the pipe will look like chit where it meets the motor.

 

[bansheedave]

It's also only 18 gauge steel so you don't want to sand to far of you do. You will end up with a hole in the pipe.

 

[Wifesblaster]

A soft pack is basically like a scotch brute pad. The air grinder produces a lot of RPMS and evens it out good.

 

[89blaster89]

Unless you ride in the sand or do a thorough cleaning after every muddy ride the pipe will look like chit where it meets the motor.

actually the sand in oregon is right on the coast with the salt water, when i ride in the dunes my pipe rusts like hell overnight. your probally talking glamis though I:I

 

[tbrooks]

Thanks guys. Think I'm gonna just let it b then. I don't wanna paint it and don't wanna cause any more rust than its already gonna get. I'm thinkin I may get some clear engine paint just for the pitted areas. I've read some on here about people putting it on their pipes but I don't wanna scuff the nice parts to get good adhesion, so if I just do the pitted parts it should slow the rust