Plastic melted on to exhaust | GTAMotorcycle.com

Plastic melted on to exhaust

MacDoc

MacDoc

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Just picked up a CB300 f as my next step in downsizing and happy with the purchase.

Came with a light rain/sun cover as a freebie. Now I'm used to lined covers and just throw them over bike when I get home.

Not a good idea with this cover 🥴 which promptly melted onto the hot exhaust can at the back. Did not realize how thin the cover was til this happened. Likely it was a re-purposed bicycle cover.

Any ideas what might dissolve it?
Will it burn off?

I peeled a bit of the loose bits off and will look closer - I don't really care on the looks - there was a scrape on the exhaust already tho the bike hasn't been dropped. TIA
About half the can has gray plastic melted on.
More pics during daylight and try and figure what it is made of.

honda%20cb300f%2015%2002.jpg
 
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Ditch the can. Loud pipes save lives, bro!

Seriously though, try taking off the bigger chunks with a plastic knife then judicious amount of wd40 (cool muffler, obviously) or whatever solvent you have that is safe for stainless and go at it with some 0000 steel wool. I had that happen to me on the exhaust tip of a car once, takes patience and elbow grease but worked pretty well.
 
Michael0124 said:
Ditch the can. Loud pipes save lives, bro!

Seriously though, try taking off the bigger chunks with a plastic knife then judicious amount of wd40 (cool muffler, obviously) or whatever solvent you have that is safe for stainless and go at it with some 0000 steel wool. I had that happen to me on the exhaust tip of a car once, takes patience and elbow grease but worked pretty well.
Click to expand...
WD-40 left on a pipe later morphs to a coating of blue and gold when the pipe becomes hot. Some like it hot!
 
If it were mine, i would heat the plastic just to melting and then quickly wipe it with a new fine scotchbrite pad. Only use enough heat to melt it. Work a small bit at a time. Easy with the heat!
Or try acetone.
 
I think start with acetone is a good idea ...I think there is something called Xylene as well a bit less toxic..... Warming the exhaust is a good idea as well.
Almost daylight but showers so might not be a today effort. Thanks for ideas - not concerned with the appearance.
 
A regular SOS pad should be fine on stainless steel to take it off without scratching but 0000 steel wool would definitely be fine enough to not cause scratching as mentioned.


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MacDoc said:
Just picked up a CB300 f as my next step in downsizing and happy with the purchase.

Came with a light rain/sun cover as a freebie. Now I'm used to lined covers and just throw them over bike when I get home.

Not a good idea with this cover 🥴 which promptly melted onto the hot exhaust can at the back. Did not realize how thin the cover was til this happened. Likely it was a re-purposed bicycle cover.

Any ideas what might dissolve it?
Will it burn off?

I peeled a bit of the loose bits off and will look closer - I don't really care on the looks - there was a scrape on the exhaust already tho the bike hasn't been dropped. TIA
About half the can has gray plastic melted on.
More pics during daylight and try and figure what it is made of.

honda%20cb300f%2015%2002.jpg
Click to expand...
Most covers are made from polyester, it melts around 220 degrees, it won’t burn off the can as ignition is around 900 degrees - no risk of flames.

If the can is painted you can sand it off then respray the can.

if it’s chrome, get the exhaust hot then use a popsicle stick (wooden!) to scrape off as much as you can. Once you are down to a thin film, acetone or MEK and a scotch scrubber will get the rest off.
 
MacDoc said:
I think start with acetone is a good idea ...I think there is something called Xylene as well a bit less toxic..... Warming the exhaust is a good idea as well.
Almost daylight but showers so might not be a today effort. Thanks for ideas - not concerned with the appearance.
Click to expand...
Acetone won’t generally work on polyesters once they are cured. They will remove the final stain, but the won’t dissolve melted fabric in a hundred years!

if you use it at the end, make sure the can is warm as acetone won’t dissolve polyester below 100c.
 
Thanks

Well good news is 90% has peeled off from the main part of the can via fingernail...last bits are proving too tightly adhered.
There is some nearer to the header that is very thoroughly baked on that I suspect will need the oven cleaner treatment.
Really do need to stay upwind of any of the solvents -
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