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F**k! Plastic bag melted onto my pipes

Not Karl Malden

Not Karl Malden

Mid-life Geezer
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Location
Fall River County, South Dakota
Moto(s)
Harley FLHTK
BARF perks
AMA # 3351442
One of the many scourges of freeway commuting every day is all the debris that's around you. The other day after the rain it was windy and I was splitting lanes in San Rafael when a white plastic grocery bag came out of nowhere. With no way to avoid it there was that crinkle sound and then an acrid smell. When I got to my office garage I checked it out and it was a direct hit wrapped across my chrome exhaust. Someone told me to just heat up the pipe and spray it with WD40 and wipe off with a cloth but before I do anything rash, what do fellow BARFers use to remedy this situation?
 
I had one melt on to the exhaust/muffler of my old ZX-9, I took it off and got it powder coated. I tried to get it off, but it was like a tattoo.
 
Time to paint your chrome exhaust rattle can black.:twofinger
 
Depends on the pipes.
I used acetone to dissolve melted boot rubber sole on my exhaust, but it took a really long time.
 
Just look away. Just ride.
 
+1 for oven cleaner. Don't let it get on your skin or on any painted parts. It's like paint stripper. Spray it on a rag and wipe it on the chrome. Rinse everything with water thoroughly.
 
+1 for steel wool. #0000, to be exact. Even water and some elbow grease with that will take just about anything off chrome.
 
yeah just ride. over time the heat will wither it away.
 
Been there done that.

My muffler was a high quality chrome one so it resisted scratching.
I used a scrubber that is like steel wool but was Stainless steel. The steel wool loaded up quickly where the stainless steel one had larger pores and worked better. I tried several different chemicals to soften the plastic and none really worked. I tried the scrubber dry and wet, spraying the scrubber with WD40 helped.
I started the bike and warmed up the muffler a little and it helped some. I only warmed it enough to still be able to touch it without burning myself. It took several hours to clean off an area approx. 4 inches long by 2 or 3 inches wide.

Next time I would try a dremel tool with a polish buffer and a plexus glass compound from tap plastic.
 
liveforlight said:
happened to me last week

Warm up bike.
Spray oven cleaner.
use wooden spoon and scrape
repeat
Click to expand...

+1 for oven cleaner. Used it before.
Spray it and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before cleaning.
I would also suggest to do it in a well ventilated area. That stuff is nasty and could burn your lungs.
 
Start by removing as much of the plastic as you can. Heat the plastic with a heat gun and scrape off with piece of pleix or lexan that is sharpened into a chisel shape.
Try the oven cleaner on an inconspicuous spot first.
WD-40 and 0000 steel wool is also good. Don't worry about the heat and the WD, you can't light that stuff. It 's mostly heavy solvent with a little oil.
 
wear some nitrile gloves before you use the oven cleaner too
 
dravnx said:
Start by removing as much of the plastic as you can. Heat the plastic with a heat gun and scrape off with piece of pleix or lexan that is sharpened into a chisel shape.
Try the oven cleaner on an inconspicuous spot first.
WD-40 and 0000 steel wool is also good. Don't worry about the heat and the WD, you can't light that stuff. It 's mostly heavy solvent with a little oil.
Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOfDwOSDLYM

I would be careful lol
 
This reminds me of a day at work several years ago.
I had a co-worker with an R1.
One day he showed up to work all pissed off, saying his bike was down on power, running like shit and had a bad burning smell.
We figured out the problem at lunch break.
His 5 year old son had been playing in the garage the night before and fed an entire bag of green *Army Men* in to his carbon Yosh pipe.
They made a mess. :laughing
 
Blankpage said:
Hot pipes WD40 and a cloth to me doesn't sound like a recipe for success.
Click to expand...

IIRC the gold 'patina' on the 60's Le Mans winning Ford GT40s was from wiping the headers down with WD40. The heat and oil created a unique gold/bronze finish.

I read an article years ago about how they were built. The windshield wiper was from a Boing 707 because regular ones wouldn't work at speed. [/useless trivia]
 
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