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Extreme rust on exhaust. Can I save it?

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by neuarc, May 2, 2020.

  1. neuarc

    neuarc New Member

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    Hi all,

    Finally took a good look underneath my bike and found heavy heavy corrosion on one side of my exhaust. Pretty scary thought to think that all the work/time/money I've done thus far might not be worth anything if I need to replace the exhaust system.

    To the experts: does this look irreparable to you? It's certainly not surface rust, rubbing my finger along it gave way to a few flakes, but it didn't feel particularly weak. Any ideas for solutions it it's not too far gone?
     

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  2. xj6504lyfe

    xj6504lyfe Member

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    Sand it down then ceramic paint the whole exhaust would be my go-to.
     
  3. neuarc

    neuarc New Member

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    Do I paint the entire exhaust or just the bottom where it's rusted?
     
  4. xj6504lyfe

    xj6504lyfe Member

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    Thats up to you, take my words with a grain of salt. I'm just a backyard mechanic who has never actually painted an exhaust. However, I am planning on paint an exhaust soon. I'm going to sand the whole thing down real well, even the chrome bits, then paint the whole thing with special exhaust paint.

    Requires curing with temperature gun to read temps.
     
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  5. JBurch

    JBurch Active Member

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    For the really rusty areas, take the pipes off take the heavy rust off and paint, for the rest of the pipes try "CLR" to remove the rust stains and then try oven cleaner on the baked on oil. Use something like a "Dobe" kitchen sponge to scrub with, it won't mar the shine of the chrome.
     
  6. raskal

    raskal Active Member

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    your exhaust looks way worse than mine did, however light rusting of chrome comes off well by rubbing the exhaust with aluminum foil
     
  7. vashtsdaytona

    vashtsdaytona Active Member

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    i couldnt say with any certainty. You have to take it off and at at least start wire brushing/wire wheeling it to get through the grim. bolts will break getting it off but dont panic. if the metal is still there or mostly there there are many ways you could go about saving it. but you have to commit to taking it off. knowing the same one might not be going back on.
     
  8. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    And a light layer of flakes always looks real bad til you wire rush away the loose stuff. Plus, a thin layer of rust that’s dirty and oily looks even worse. Once you find the good metal underneath and clean that, you’ll feel better. If it turns out that you DO have holes, better to find out now and be able to replace it rather than gave a problem on the road, or after you’ve done other work.

    My bet is that you find it’s nowhere near as bad as it looks at first.
     
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  9. neuarc

    neuarc New Member

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    Thanks all for the replies. I guess I'll be taking it apart and cleaning it up... praying for no holes lol!
     
  10. a100man

    a100man Well-Known Member

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    My bet is there will be holes, it looks pretty bad. But its on the underside so you can hopeully weld a patch on there if needed, which no one can see.
    This will then need to be painted with the best VHT paint you can afford.
     

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