Preventing rusting on the tail pipe...  By  mrsunsett (Read 1,412 times)

Good question - I'd be interested in an answer as well. My Kymco's exhaust is painted flat-black, but my son's Baccio Heat 50 has "chrome" on the exhaust that surface rusts if you breathe on it... 

Absolutely. And the better firearms finishes work great. I've used "Gun Kote" with great success. There are others like Cerakote and Brownell's baking lacquer which I believe is Gun Kote under their brand name.

The product must be sprayed on to a warmed metal, then baked at high temp for 20 minutes.  Once done, it is virtually indestructible.  To avoid disassembling my bike (an old Suzuki 250 "Hustler") back in the seventies, I first sanded the pipes and mufflers well.  Then, slightly warmed up the motor and shielded areas behind the pipes and muffs with cardboard and tape.

Then, I sprayed them with Gun Kote (matte black) and it comes in many matte and gloss colors including clear.  Now the stuff including overspray can be quickly removed at this point with lacquer-thinner or by sanding.

Finally, I removed the masking materials and rode the bike for an hour, getting the pipes plenty hot.  (Actually, I did the entire engine) and after baking the finish by riding, it was INCREDIBLY durable.  Gas, oil, engine-cleaner and even paint-remover will not touch it.  To remove, it must be ground off and it is very hard.

I've done many guns with it, baking the parts in an oven.  It is DURABLE to the MAX!

It's a GREAT, professional finish that's permanent.

It used to be available in spray cans, but not anymore.  Brownell's MAY still come in small spray cans.  It can be applied with an airbrush or spraygun but MUST be cleaned thoroughly with lacquer-thinner.  I'd use an inexpensive sprayer available on eBay.  They have a glass jar and use disposable spray tips.

These finishes are the most permanent and durable finishes I've ever found.  Not the easiest to use, but well-worth the effort.

Hope this helps!

Leo in Texas

You might be surprised what white vinegar mixed a tad stronger than 50/50 with water can do to clean up rust on something chrome plated so you can clean it up without scratching it before applying the gun coat. Items that are not practical to submerge you can simply wrap in rags soaked with the vinegar mix followed by plastic wrap and let it set for a few hours or overnight.

For those who have not seen how well this can work here's a video:


I have taken chromed parts that my children had dropped under water for a number of years before I found them that looked like they were lost causes and got them cleaned up without destroying the chrome plating using vinegar along with a plastic bristle scrub brush so that all it took was a clear top coat to seal things from rusting again.

JCL MP250A Lihai 257cc powered / Being kind of a shade tree chemist I figured this vinegar /rust thing out a long time ago after I derusted the inside of a Kawi gas tank in the 80s with muriatic acid (swimming pool acid). I noticed it was a bit to strong for the job. So I figured vinegar being a mild acid so to speak I substituted muriatic acid with vinegar and Bobs your uncle. But I noticed some steel would get rusty again quickly afterward from the acid creating it somehow ? So to nutrilize the residual acid. I made a seat of your pants mixture of baking soda and water and poured it in a pump up yard spayer . I then sprayed the item and it would end up totally rust free with the acid nutrilized causing no ill efects like acid corrosion after the fact. I also had a battery blow up on me on start up in my Geo Metro one super humid summer morning. I love my little 3 cylinder Metro. So immediatly rather than have the sulfuric acid that was blown all over the place under my hood eat and stain up the whole engine compartment I sprayed this baking soda mixture I made up real quick all over it throwing cation to the wind. Never even rinsed it off And now if you look under my hood years later youd never know a full size LA battery speuued smoking acid all over the engine bay.

La tee da aren't we the Betty Crocker of the scooter set!!!!!!

Lol,,, I know I was only goofin on ya,,,, great tip I did not know

Non-scratch pad or even just a course cloth if the chrome has not blistered and you want to save it. Polish with a rag with some baking soda used like cleanser. Test on a similar piece from the scrap bin to get a feel for it.

I recycle the baking soda used to keep the refrigerator fresh however my kids saw me do that and now I have competition as they like it better than using Comet or Ajax on their fancy pots and pans.