Hey all

I'm finishing up the exhaust on my build. And as I'm researching how to clean up the welds to get back to a shiny finish again and also prevent some corrosion plain just making the joints look good. Looking to get some opinions whats the best way? Polishing, electroplating?

Should I be using different filler rod? I'm using a TIG to weld the joints with standard 308L rod.

 

Nice job so far...getting the tubing sections to fit that well is not an easy task. As to your question about 308L rod...the answer depends on what your tubing is made from, it may be correct and it may not. One trick that I have learned is to use the tubing material itself as your filler rod that way you will know that there will be no shadowing when you sand/buff it out to a smooth finish. I use a flap disk to cut down the weld bead flush and then polish/buff as you would any stainless part. How far you go depends on how "showy" you wish the pipes to appear. Some people use stainless for durability and other for show, you have to decide which side you are on. Under no circumstances would I ever electroplate stainless steel...you already have one of the hardest, most durable metals why plate it? Polish it if you wish and enjoy.

 

Thanks Charlie. It took a bit of trial and error to get that looking like that. The exhaust tubing itself is all 304 stainless. Unfortunately some pieces are different thickness though. I'm trying to make sure that I don't change thickness at junctions like this though.The down tube pictured is all the same thickness.

Can I ask what you do for polishing process? As is everything on the internet there are a billion different opinions and process'.

As for how I want it. I personally prefer the brushed look over the shiny chrome look. But since the exhaust all came as a shiny surface I'll be keeping that. But I don;t nee a show car finish either. The truck will be a driver and I'll be honest and say that I won't be under it daily phishing and cleaning every detail. Most likely a few times a year i'll jack her up and clean her. And over the winters do a full detail.

 

I personally like a nice looking TIG weld bead with no clean up. Why don't you practice on a few scrap pieces and show off your TIG skills on your ride.

 

Ya I agree Mike. I may actually do that if my welds come out good enough. I will still want to buff and polish the welds.

 

Most of the info you find on the internet is good enough for the DIYer, Caswell is a good source for polishing info and supplies. I have a manual that a guy on the HAMB wrote about polishing and it is as good a reference as I have found...I will attach it here and see if it works. If you like the brushed look don't feel bad about brushing the polished finish on your tubing...there are many techniques for adding a brushed finish, I have found that wet-or-dry sandpaper works great. Pick the grit that gives you the texture you like and always move the paper in the same direction.

 

Wow Charlie that's a long read! Looks like I got reading to do tonight. Thanks for pointing me towards Caswell. I was looking at other kits that were similar but more expensive and came with much less. I'll certainly be using this one with such high reviews.

 

I would suggest fuse welding the tubes together with an argon purge. Very easily done. I already typed in a long response but lost it trying to import the picture showing how it would turn out. If interested let me know and I can help you. This picture is of my motorcycle exhaust I did last year. There are four fused joints you can see in the photo.

 

The gentleman who wrote that was a longtime contributor to the HAMB and that is where I "met" him. The original document was not in a .pdf format which left it open to unauthorized editing so he was hesitant to release it to the public. I offered to edit the document for him and convert it to a .pdf file, in return he authorized me to distribute it at my discretion. Looking at the date on the file it was 5/2003, in that time I have sent it to many folks who wanted a good guide to polishing.
As you can see, I too have put the info to good use...

 

I will say I don't recommend using steel wool as part of the polishing process. It will inbed carbon particles in the stainless, and it will show rust stains in short order.