What to use on titanium finish?

T

TGates

Active member
I have a titanium pipe on my motorcycle and would like to shine it up a little. Anybody know what works well on titanium that will not scratch the finish?
 
No way, have I stumped the autopians? :p I don't really know what to use on this finish...it's kind of weird.
 
Ti is harder than aluminum or stainless. I don't think you'll have to worry about scratching it. To the contrary, it's likely so hard nothing will polish it up easily by hand (assuming it's not an alloy with a softer metal.
 
forrest said:
Ti is harder than aluminum or stainless. I don't think you'll have to worry about scratching it. To the contrary, it's likely so hard nothing will polish it up easily by hand (assuming it's not an alloy with a softer metal.
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Interesting.....I don't know then. Looks like I'll just have to try to scrub it up the best I can when I wash it.
 
I've been cleaning my titanium bicycle for years using just a few rags, soap, degreaser and topped with Pledge. Since your Ti is for the exhaust, all bets are off on the Pledge part. My bike was shotpeened so scratches can't be removed easily (must be shotpeened again) but it is also very resistant to scratches. If your pipes had a brushed finish, all it needed was some rubbing with scotchpad. If it was polished, you would have to experiment on what could cut through Ti.
 
beastie said:
I've been cleaning my titanium bicycle for years using just a few rags, soap, degreaser and topped with Pledge. Since your Ti is for the exhaust, all bets are off on the Pledge part. My bike was shotpeened so scratches can't be removed easily (must be shotpeened again) but it is also very resistant to scratches. If your pipes had a brushed finish, all it needed was some rubbing with scotchpad. If it was polished, you would have to experiment on what could cut through Ti.
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Interesting! Thanks for the reply. :up
 
forrest said:
beastie - Litespeed? Really nice frames but a bit hard riding for my old, soft, bottom.
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Really I found them to have a very compliant ride compared to aluminum and even some carbon bikes. I use to own a Vortex and my biggest complaint was the bottom bracket was too "flexy" under big loads (climbing and sprinting out of the saddle).



Back on point...Why polish the Ti? IMO part of the beauty of Ti is the unmolested industrial look. From my experience with the Litespeed nothing is going to polish it much by hand.
 
My beater hybrid (trek 7600) is an Al frame, and it seemed much softer riding than the Litespeed I tried.



Of course, it could have been the seat, tires or any of 100 other things.



As for the Ti exhaust pipe, I'm guessing it'll get road rash and grime down so low. I'd try a Scotchbrite pad and some soap water. But, I agree - why try to "polish" it up?
 
It's not that I really want to polish the pipe... I just want to get off fingerprints and stuff, and whatever household cleaners I try to use on it just smear around and don't really clean evenly.
 
forrest said:
As for the Ti exhaust pipe, I'm guessing it'll get road rash and grime down so low. I'd try a Scotchbrite pad and some soap water. But, I agree - why try to "polish" it up?
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Guess you haven't looked at the sportbikes lately. The factory ti pipes usual ride high. If you get dirt on it, you've crashed. :)



I would try using a good glass cleaner to clean finger prints and dirt off it.



If you want to polish it up because it's scratch, I would try Mother's, Autosol, and other metal polishes. If they are too mild, you can move up to Brasso or Jeweller's rouge for different grades of finish.
 
I had a hard enough time getting my wife to let me order the Lotus Elise (@ 1700#) - there's no way I can even look at bikes.



I was still under the impression the pipes were down low. Guess I am old!
 
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