disgusting mess -- need help

[rdsmith3]

I was commuting home yesterday in horrible stop and go traffic on I-80 in NJ. It was also raining, to add to the joy.

A plastic grocery bag blew right in front of me as I was chugging along at 15 mph. It stuck to the crossover exhaust pipe. By the time I was able to move across a few lanes and pull over, it had mostly melted.

Any ideas on how to remove this?

[Boxer]

Eeeewww! That IS ugly! I had a small amount melted onto one of the headers a year or so ago, and it just took a long time for it to eventually all burn off. I then polished the header and rubbed it down with oil before getting it hot again. Now it looks discolored and only semi-yucky, like the BMW header is supposed to look.

Good luck!

[rdsmith3]

I guess I am lucky it did not catch fire.

[JCsman]

It stuck to the crossover exhaust pipe. By the time I was able to move across a few lanes and pull over, it had mostly melted.

Any ideas on how to remove this?

Yeah, there are two bolts..... Oh you mean the melted plastic....

[Leno]

Same thing happend to me although I did not niotice at the time. I will get round to cleaning it off some time. I'm thinking cooker cleaner might be the way to go as it now looks like the top of my cooker.

[MIXR]

Did this on my Brother's new HD a while back. DON'T try to scrape it off. Most plastics on chrome or stainless headers will simply turn black and flake off once they get hot enough for long enough. Took about 400 km on my Bro's HD! Then it's a light polish to get rid of any 'shading' left by the plastic. Had the same thing happen on the VX800 I had (double-skinned headers) and the crap came off pretty easy after a few rides. Looked pretty bad in between though.

[ofrogg]

If you were to take off the headers and polish them, are there gaskets that would need to be replaced? Just curious... my headers didn't blue as evenly as I'd like and I have entertained the idea of taking them off and restarting...

[motozark]

yes I have had the same thing happen to me as well on other beemers. I just let it eventually burn off. That crossover area just pretty much stays messy anyway, but it will burn off.

[Photo]

Ride your roadster in a rain storm - no kidding. I had the same thing happen last summer on a road trip. The plastic looked like it would never come off. I tried using a plastic edge to remove it, but no dice. The next week, the streets filled with rain after a bit of a ride. When the cold water off the road hit the hot pipes, the plastic just flew off.

[boxermania]

Two suggestions:

Leave it alone and take a couple of high speed runs and it will burn off.

Use a pressure washer, with the bike cold, and see if it will come off.

I would stay away from any abrasive since eventually it will scratch and dull your pipes....I personally hate dull pipes........

[new2BMW]

Bob,
That sucks.
Try toluene to wipe down the pipe. I'm not sure how much success you will have getting the thick stuff off, but toluene will remove the residue fromt he stainless steel. (I know that you can get toluene ata local hobby shop, but you might be able to buy it at Home Depot or whatever DYI store you have close.)

The thick part of the plastic is the hardest to remove. You will most likely have to get the pipe hot andtry wiping the thick stuff away with a heavy cloth. A fiberglass matt would be the most efficient and prevent from burning your hands.

Once you get the thick crap off, the toluene will chemically melt the plastic away without damaiging the finish on the pipe. (By the way, gasoline will do it to, but it is very dangerous.)

Good luck.

[KHaynes]

Metal polish and an hour or so should do the trick.
Maybe you could remove the pipes to make it easier.

[Guest]

Any ideas on how to remove this?

A similar situation happened to my Roadster, though the plastic was not as widespread down on the crossover.

I started the motor and using terrycloth rags, I quickly rubbed the re-melting plastic off. RUB HARD - LOTS OF ELBOW GREASE. I learned a few things for next time: (1) Have plenty of rag material right beside the bike, not too thin. Turn them over a lot to give the progressively clean surface a fresh rag surface; the terrycloth gets hot fast when you are pressing hard. (2) You want to remove the melting plastic before it burns, so work fast. I think for a bigger job like yours, I would have someone working on the other side of the bike at the same time while the headers are heating up.

It worked, and you'd never know my header once had an ugly green melted coating.

[DJ Downunder]

I'm with Keith on this one....and elbow grease...that's the trick.

DJ

[rdsmith3]

It's really thick right now, so I don't think polish would be the way to go just yet.

So I am debating whether to let the stuff just burn off, or to try the technique of getting it warm and wiping it off.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

[Leno]

It's really thick right now, so I don't think polish would be the way to go just yet.

So I am debating whether to let the stuff just burn off, or to try the technique of getting it warm and wiping it off.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Mines been like it for two months and does not seems to be fixing it's self. Much like the kitchen sink, does not matter how much you pray the elves will come and clean it all, the pile is just the same size in the morning. Y

You can get a paint striping disk for your drill, looks like the stuff for cleaning nonstick pans. I find it removes most things without scratching (much).

[rdsmith3]

Leno

I was hoping it would work like my propane grill. I don't really clean it that much. I let the grease and stuff just burn off.

[priapismic]

That happened to me, too, got a big, ugly plastic grocery bag on the header pipes. I started the engine, and while idlng, I was able to gently scrape away the grunge using a plastic wallpaper spatula. Be quick - the pipes get hot real quick, be careful - don't burn yourself, and be gentle with your scraping, the pipes will scratch easily if you're not. Once the pipes get hot, that stuff will get real gooey and come off pretty quickly.

[bakernks]

I added the fender extender for $30. It actually helps a bunch with crap getting to the header connector and the front of the engine. I understand those that it doesn't appeal to, it looks a little funky, but drill your pilot holes in a pattern evenly and take care to get it on symetrically, and it's actually a good accessory.

[Guest]

I have restored bikes and found some pipes to be in worse shape than what you have. To take the "UKK" off I used 0000 steel wool, this is one of the finest grades, DO NOT USE anything more coarse. It takes some scrubbing but actually removes rust and gunk better than anything. There are no visible scratches and a good polish after brings them back nicely. I was afraid to do it at first but seriously, it works wonders!