I have the sidepipes off the '67 and although I think they are original, there is an unbeliveable amount of surface rust on them, (except the chrome tips). My experience with high temp exhaust paint has only been temporary and usually burns off within a few weeks. Is there any long term, cheap solution to getting the pipes back into shape? Thanks. Patrick
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Re: Midyear Sidepipe Restoration
Hi Patrick:
Eastwood makes a hi temp exhaust MANIFOLD coating that is very durable and I see no reason it couldn't be used on your side pipes, it requires curing and I do not know if the pipe temperature is sufficient to accomplish this but I would give it a try.
jer -
Anodized Parts Restoration
Patrick,
Recently, there was a thread about restoring mid-year side pipe covers, and the problem of polishing the hard anodized surface. Availability of restoration services seemed to be nil due to the length of the parts.
I am currently having my rocker moldings restored. They will strip the anodizing off, straighten the bends/dents, remove the scratches, re-polish the moldings, and re-anodize them. It may be a month or so, but I plan to post on NDB about the quality of the restoration when I get them back.
Chuck SangerhausenComment
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Maybe I misread
This post. I understood the PIPES were rusting, not the covers, I don't think the covers will rust. I also had an afterthought, Jet Hot coating would be the hot setup but unfortunately does not meet the thrifty part of your requirement.
jerComment
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Re: Maybe I misread
Patrick, There are many chemical removers of rust out there. You can use that stuff that turns rust to black primer and just leave it that way. You could remove the rust with a chemical remover and then paint with Eastwoods high temp Stainless steel. Put this on your manifolds also. Cures by heat within a week of painting.You could also remove the rust and then paint with high heat clear a couple of coats.
Texas Chapter NCRSComment
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Re: Midyear Sidepipe Restoration
Patrick, I just cleaned mine and they are the originals with 1/4" shank drive 2" or 3" soft circular wore brush on my high speed electric drill. Cleaned them up good.
I pained the black areas by hand with Q-tips and applied black paint then wire brushed with drill. I don't id painting would last on that aluminum so I wire brushed. They ame out good.grr#3570Comment
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Not much hope
While you can clean and preserve the carbon steel on the outside, you can't easily protect the inside. Only the outer skin of the chambered section is made of stainless. The internal perforated pipe and the front plain pipe section are made of carbon steel. Most original pipes rust out first inside the chambered section. Look up into your pipes through the chrome tips with a flashlight and you'll see what I mean.
If you have a set of new pipes and want to give them lifetime protection, you can have them hot dip galvanized. Cut off the chrome tips prior to dipping and weld them back on afterward. Most cities have industrial galvanizers with large tanks. They can even dip an entire Corvette frame for about $250. You must clean the metal surface first however, or the zinc won't adhere. You can't efffectively dip rusty parts.Comment
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Re: Can I Hope (louder with age)
Jerry --- By "outer skin of the chambered section made of stainless" do you mean the outer case to which the front pipe and chrome tip are welded ? Just checked mine and it's magnetic, and there seems to be a little red iron oxide (rust) in a few surface locations. Or is the stainless inside ? (I've never cut one of these open).
Does this mean that as the "guts" rusts out / get blown out the end, there is less "muffling" of the sound ? Can I hope ? The pipes on my L78 have been on for 17 years with no sign of failure, and can't say I've detected a change in tone.Comment
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Magnetic stainless
The "stainless" portion I'm talking about is the outer chamber skin. I've never seen it rust to the point of turning brown or even pitting. The red oxide you're seeing may be on the weld metal. Technically I should have called it alloy rather than stainless. I don't believe it's made of 316SS or any other common stainless, it's just a steel alloy that doesn't rust.
When the internal perforated pipe rusts out it doesn't make a significant difference in tone. At least not to my ears. I've cut side pipes apart to study the construction, but you don't have to in order to see inside. Take a look.Comment
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Re: Magnetic stainless
Jerry, the rust I was referring to was on the outer chamber skin, which appears to be something better than plain steel, but not quite stainless. The top half of the chamber is surface rust, while the bottom half is just discolored. I guess this may be because of road dirt that settled on the covered portion of the chamber. The underside, which is exposed, seems to be free from oxidation.
Also my sidepipes are quite loud. At a recent Corvette event, I listened to several other cars with new reproduction sidepipes, which were pleasantly quiet in comparision with mine. With the top down, sometimes all the noise does get on your nerves. PatrickComment
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Re: Midyear Sidepipe Restoration
Patrick:
I have just done mine-and they now look better than new (although the eagle eye of the judges may spot them as being refurbished).
First, I removed the insulators.
Next, I had the anodizing, which is the very hard surface layer applied during original production, stripped off at "Able Anodizing", in Bklyn. N.Y.
Once this was done, I was able to remove the scratches and pitting with a file, then fine emery, then progressively finer buffing compounds. I polished the bright sections only, leaving the duller recesses with a brushed finish, ready to accept paint.
I then masked and painted the dull ribs with Rustoleum Hi-Heat Silver spray, which gives a good match to the original. It is VERY important to thoroughly remove all traces of buffing compound with acetone before applying the paint.
When that was thoroughly dry, I removed the masking, then re masked to cover the painted areas. I used lo tack tape. Then I sprayed the polished areas with Eastwood Diamond Clear Gloss For Umpainted Surfaces (good to 350 degrees F.)
Finally, I installed the new insulators that I got from Zip Products.
I now have a perfect set of covers. But, as you can see it is a LOT of work and patience.
Good luck, and let me know how they turn out.
JoeComment
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Re: Midyear Sidepipe Restoration
Joe, thanks for the tip, I have printed out your post. Sound like an incredible amount of work, but you have to do what you gotta do, and sooner or later I will get to it, maybe after I get this stinking lawn mowed. Thanks PatrickComment
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Okay Patrick
I am just curious, is it the covers you wish to restore of the pipes ?
jerComment
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Re: Okay Patrick
Jerry, in my post I mentioned the sidepipes, not the covers; you were on the money. The covers are in very good shape, with the few usual light scratches. There were a few other excellent posts about restoring the covers, which I printed out for future reference.
Regarding Dale, he is one of the several "class clowns" who will be back today from Bloomington. He is a 50/50 mix of great information and parody. He kinda reminds me of the guy in the movie "Animal House", who rode the Harley up the staircase in the frat house. Tell him I said hi. PatrickComment
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Exhaust pipe protection
I had my original under the car exhaust sandblasted and aluminized. This is not the same process as used with OEM aluminized pipes. An aluminum rod is feed into an acetylene torch and "melted" onto the surface. This give the surface a somewhat rough looking texture, but the aluminum coating protects the pipe from further corrosion and is considerably more durable than any paint. Of course, it does not look original, but it is less noticeable on side pipes and should add considerable life to them. I had it done before Jet-Hot became commercially available.
DukeComment
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