Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Looking for cheap & easy way to keep motorcycle headers from rusting

Q. I have been driving sidecar outfits in winter for the last 3 decades (except for a couple of years when I had a trike). One of the big problems with winter biking is salt related rust. I've tried a lot of things to prevent (or at least slow) its progress and learned that re-painting as much as possible whenever things are apart and treating the frame &c with RustCheck makes a huge difference for everything except the headers.

Everything I've tried on headers either burns off or is sandblasted off by spray from the front wheel and they rust badly.

I read that if you wipe them down with used motor oil every time you use it and let it burn off a layer of burned on oil will eventually develop that will discourage future rusting. I have been contemplating trying that this year but I'm not happy with the idea of leaving a smoke trail every time I leave home.

So as the title says, I'm looking for a cheap & easy way to keep them from rusting. There are no chemical supply houses in the small town where I live so it would have to be done with products that are available at the grocery and hardware stores or Canadian Tire.

I will be eternally grateful to anyone who suggests something that will help me and will happily take you for a ride in my sidecar if you are ever in my area.

Bob Kingsmill
- Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada
October 1, 2018