Cleaning burnt on clothes off chrome exhaust pipe (motorcyle)

BlackSunshine · 05-05-06, 05:47

So I bring my brand new motorcycle home last night and my buddy comes over to check it out. I had just got done riding it, so the pipes were nice and hot. These are $600 Arlen Ness pipes as well. He's wearing running pants. He sits on the bike and before I can even blink, he's burned a hole right through his pants and there are three nice big chunks of burnt on pants on my expensive pipes.

I took the bike back out for a ride, got the pipes scorching hot, got the hardened chunks of clothing gooey again, and came home to wipe it off. It smeared around, and did not come off. I have tried every polish I own, from SSR2.5 to Mother's Chrome Polish with a Power Ball and nothing is getting it all off.

I have read elsewhere on the internet to take the finest grade steel wool to it, as it will not scratch the chrome. I wanted to get Autopia's opinion first.

Anyone have any ideas? I've also tried Goo Gone, WD-40, and IPA.

Pup · 05-05-06, 07:06

have you tried claying it first?

I would be worried about taking any sort of steel wool to it however people with more experiance will chim in shortly!

Setec Astronomy · 05-05-06, 07:39

If that's some sort of synthetic material, a solvent or paint remover may dissolve it. What was the garment made of? Rayon? Nylon? Perhaps one of the ChemE's on here will know how to dissolve it.

animes2k · 05-05-06, 08:33

This happened to someone I know - their daughter's rayon/nylon/synthetic dress melted to the pipes of his Harley. I believe he used EasyOff oven cleaner to remove the plastic.

The problem is determining the material and then determining what solvents will dissolve that material and not hurt the finish of the pipes.

nighttraingirl · 05-05-06, 09:56

I have used the 0000 steel wool to remove burn marks from my uniform pants on my Vance and Hines Big Raduis pipes. It worked great, and I didn't see any scratching. But there was no huge globs of melted material like you speak of. I would not rub very hard. Maybe you can try a hidden area to see if it scratches? I think chrome plate varies by manufacturer so the steel wool may be safe on some chrome and not others. I have used it on the chrome on older bikes to remove minor rust and didn't have a problem there, either. So far I have been lucky and none of my customers have came to me with severe boot marks etc. on their pipes...
Good Luck!

BlackSunshine · 05-06-06, 07:05

I tried everything under the sun, but I finally had to take 0000 steel wool saturated with lacquer thinner and lots of elbow grease. Unfortunately, it left the pipe a little hazy looking, which may or may not be what's left of the smear mark from when I wiped the hot globs around. Either way, it looks 95% better. Oddly enough, I had been wiping the length of the pipe, from front to back of the bike and wasn't getting anywhere. I used Meg's NXT Metal Polysh and went up and down horizontally on the pipe and it cleaned most of it right off. Weird.

A claybar wouldn't have touched these globs. I had to get the pipe scorching hot, come home and immediately spray WD-40 on it, let it melt the crap, and then wipe vigorously with a terry cloth.

Is there any way to polish chrome like a clearcoat to remove hazing? I have tried chrome polish (Mother's, Meg's NXT Metal Polysh, PB's PP) and they shine the pipe up but don't touch any of the micro scratches.