Help! Bag melted onto headers, how do I get it off??

**Phurrball** · 3rd May 2006, 13:11

Hi all,

I am having one of those weeks where every possible little annoying thing seems to be going wrong...

One such thing being the plastic bag that decided to melt itself onto my previously attractive stainless headers. A disadvantage of riding a nekkid bike I guess...

Anyway, it stinks, looks bad, and just isn't good in general.

Does anyone out there in KB land have any cunning suggestions for getting a baked-on plastic bag off to return my headers to their previous attractive state??

My thoughts so far are:

Some sort of vicious solvent...no idea what...(Yes, when the headers are cold...not ready for my darwin award just yet!)

ONe of those fibrous discs for drill/angle grinder that is designed for stripping paint from metal surfaces without damaging the metal (3M product I think?)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

HELP!

Phurrball/Ross

EDIT: Will try some suggestions and mebbe post some before and after piccs. Not a pleasant thing.

**skidMark** · 3rd May 2006, 13:13

try some thinners that should take it off.....

**Paul in NZ** · 3rd May 2006, 13:13

Try WD40 and one of those plastic scourer thingies

**skidMark** · 3rd May 2006, 13:17

you want to try prevent using anything abrasive...i still reckon thinners

**SimJen** · 3rd May 2006, 13:18

Lick them when hot

Industrial thinners should help.....or worst case sand it off and rebuff the pipes.

**Devil** · 3rd May 2006, 13:19

You can definately get if off with a rag and a particular solvent thingy. I just wish I could remember what it was. You dont need anything abrasive.

Frosty! what was the shit you used to get all the tar type marks off my exhaust when I was at the yard ages ago???

**emaN** · 3rd May 2006, 13:22

when we had the Electra Glide, the mrs "did" this with the heel of her boots...

it actually melted/evaporated itself away over a period of a couple of weeks...
(then again,we were touring & doing alot of miles at the time - so could take you longer?)

**imdying** · 3rd May 2006, 13:42

I'm voting plastic scourer pad and thinners too

Alhtough, I'd try just hot soapy water with the pad first

**bert_is_evil** · 3rd May 2006, 14:06

Acetone (nail polish remover) melts plastic so should get rid of it without melting your skin.
I use Jif to get melted bread bags off my stainless steel toaster. Cleans and shines without harsh scratching....

**Paul in NZ** · 3rd May 2006, 14:09

WD40 is pretty good but there is also that stuff for disolving chewing gum. Might NOT use a plastic scouring pad with that sort of thing though! A scrap of old rag?

Petrol melts some plastic!

Polish with Solvolsol after

**Phurrball** · 3rd May 2006, 17:30

Cheers all!

I've noted the approaches, and just observed that the plastic seems to come off pretty easily while the headers are hot with a key. I'm thinking a combo of careful scraping when hot, and solvent (Mrs P has nail polish remover

)

I'll let you know how I go...

PB

**sefer** · 3rd May 2006, 20:59

Yeah I'd suggest the carefully scrape with something metal (thou I'd do it cold) approach myself. That's how I got the bike cover off my muffler

**sAsLEX** · 3rd May 2006, 21:07

De-Solve it or something is the name of the stuff a couple a refferring to I think

**stevedee** · 3rd May 2006, 21:28

OK don't laugh, but I got this of a site, who got it of a German bike site, and it totally does work.

Use sugar cubes, yup sounds daft but I ran out of ideas when my goldish pipes got covered in black stuff that no solvent would remove. Could not use anything to abrasive or the gold would come off, tried WD, kero, petrol, turpentine, nothing worked. Stuck the bike out in the sun one Sunday put some news paper down and started rubbing the pipes with the sugar cubes, they wear away quick but gradually they remove the shit without scouring the pipes.

Honest I didnt believe it either, but it works.

spd:-)