Exhaust's / caustic soda

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mart
Posts: 94
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:41 pm

Exhaust's / caustic soda

Post by mart »

Has anyone used caustic soda for cleaning out there exhaust system if they have used it does it work and will it take them back to the bare metal and disintegrate any rusty baffle plate's, i don't want to send them for chroming only to find this is what has happened after the acid dip.
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mark.read3
Posts: 2733
Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Great Barr , Birmingham
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Re: Exhaust's / caustic soda

Post by mark.read3 »

Caustic sodas some really nasty shit. i gave it a try last year but your pipes need to in the stuff for a good couple of weeks i think and you have to aggitate it every few days. Plus its very dangerous stuff. s and t chromers in Bristol do all that for you if you take your pipes there, whereas castle chrome in doodlay want you to stuff a spud in your pipe fill it up and do all the hard work for them.
It wont melt the inside of your pipes so dont worry about that. S and T are more expensive but at least you haven't got to buy gallonsof the stuff,mix it and dispose of the mess a few weeks later.
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yeadon_m
Posts: 7401
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:10 am
Location: Canterbury Kent

Re: Exhaust's / caustic soda

Post by yeadon_m »

Mart,
It will work, and will not damage metal. Only you! truly horribly corrosive to anything 'organic' (why its so good as dissolving sludge/coke).
Seriously, I would recommend getting the chromer to do it. Most won't do two stroke pipes and most that do, need the crap removal assurance that comes with doing it themselves. Bob at Chrome Restroration Services had mine fully immersed in hot stirred caustic for 4 weeks before he declared them clean enough to go into his baths for dechroming/replating. You need a big enough vat to dispose of a murder victim, and a licence to dispose of the stuff when done.
Good luck!
MikeY
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Kettle-kid

Re: Exhaust's / caustic soda

Post by Kettle-kid »

Did mine a couple of years ago before they went to castle chrome, Got soda crystals from local hardware shop used bath plugs in the barrel end secured with insulation tape. Mixed the brew twice as strong as directions for drain cleaning wearing the wifes best washing up gloves and grandads motor bike googles.Went behind the shed stode them on end and poured it in until whey were full and left them to stew. After the clouds of orange smoke finished approx one week, poured away in the correct manor ? You should of seen the crap that came out. Put them in the car to take to Castle chrome , burnt a hole in the boot carpet and waited six weeks. All that is now forgotten even sold the car but I still have some quality pipes that I am very happy with.
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