DIY Header Polishing
 

Ever felt like saving your rusty header? Well, I did :lol

I used this DIY write up here: ***How-To*** Polish A Header - Honda-Tech

I had my larger header off for aircare so I figured I'd give it a shot. Finished this project so I figured I'd share my results with you guys.

here's how things started:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n...20328-1803.jpg

progress:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n...20331-1352.jpg

finished product (i got a bit lazy):

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n...9/SAM_1154.jpg

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n...9/SAM_1152.jpg

happy polishing!

:sweetjesus: Sick job Jon! god damn

so shiny!! one noob question,what causes it to rust?! anyway to prevent it?!

as far as i know, the uneven colours you see are mostly caused by touching the header with your bare hands. the oils on your skin burn and create stains. just make sure you always wear gloves when touching the header and spray/wipe down with brake cleaner before you start the engine.

can my header be saved :(
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b8...311/header.jpg

yup! looks a lot easier to work with than mine too.

looks great! A for effort.

Maxim Works Miata Header, right boatcaptain?

man, looks brand new. great job!

couple things i should note:

1. this took about 1-3 days (approx 6-7 hrs?)
2. your header will turn a nice bronze after driving for awhile.

You should get this stickied in the autobody forum!

I got the same results using Autosol metal polish, a red scotch brite, grey scotch brite and some elbow grease lol

this is what i did..

-Sprayed down areas with solvent and wiped off any surface rust / corrosion with a rough shitty rag

-scrubbed with red scotch brite with alot of metal polish, wiping off excess with a dry clean rag as i go

-after its clean, gray scotch brite with a little metal polish to make it shiny

then wiped with microfiber.. easy ! Took 1 hr :) if you want it mirror finish just hit it with 1500 grit then metal polish

looks good though!

Looks wicked!

I did the same thing with my Mugen header a long time ago but I couldn't get everything off around the Mugen and JASMA stamp. I'll do it again once I put in the new JDM SiR S-Spec H22.

Good stuff!

try using a scotch brite or a wire wheel on a dremel or drill, it will get that off for ya next time :accepted:

yeah, i think the write up i was using was lacking a bit. i'd recommend a lower grit sandpaper to start with to take out the really tough stains. i'd also recommend 2000 grit sandpaper as the final step to take out as much of the scratches from sanding as possible.

but hey, for a first attempt, i'm pretty happy :D


would could always move it later on :)

White Lightning Exhaust Coating

nice to see more tips in this thread. i wasn't really expecting that :D

i'll update the thread again later when my header turns a nice gold/bronze colour :awesom:

looks great but 6 hours is a lot of work! Turbo post up your results for your 1 hour job.

it does sound like a lot of work but i also never sand things lol. plus, i did it while watching tv so it didn't really feel that long to me.

let the bronzing begin :fuckyea:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n...9/SAM_1186.jpg

dont got pics of that but i do of a muffler i did the other day.. will post pics soon

Here are 2 crappy pics.. Took 1 hr to do this because my battery for the drill died and had to re-charge it :(

I did the following:

Wire wheel
Quick scuff so the scratches area all even with 400 grit
Autosol metal polish + a headlight polishing pad (Tiny LOL i dont have a polisher)

I could make this a mirror finish if i had more time. Just need to get higher grit sandpaper for next time :)

sorry for le shit pics, couldnt find my good camera so gopro it was lol, looks a hella lot better and shiner in person :D

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...d/GOPR0975.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...d/GOPR0978.jpg

hmm maybe i should try the wire wheel with my dremel :considered: