Cleaning exhaust

[Traveller]

Anyone have any advice on cleaning "cooked on" dirt off the stock muffler? I ride my bike every day and lately the weather has been bad and no time to properly clean the bike, until yesterday. Got it clean except for the muffler. Don't want to mess it up trying abrasives without asking for a different way first.  Thanks.

[earthman]

I'm commuting on the bike during these months too, I'm washing my bike every week but the exhaust is a concern, the baked on tar spots etc ain't easy to remove.
I'm currently try a tube of Peek, it's not as abrasive as Autosol apparently. I dunno, I'd like to hear what others recommend too.

[nervouswreck]

Maybe a household cleaner like "softscrub" would work.  Have not used it on anything like the exhaust or obviously painted surfaces but have used it on many things with good results.

[Rick505]

I've not had to clean the exhaust on mine yet but on another bike I used "Bon-Ami" powder cleanser on the chrome down pipe successfully.  I was trying to take off some light bluing.   It's advertised as non scratching but then again it may not scratch tile and other surfaces but could the finish of the muffler.   Since I use it around the house I had some when I tried.

[Coconut]

If it's TAR, soften it up with Whiite Spirits, and wipe off with a clean cloth.

[earthman]

Originally Posted by Coconut

If it's TAR, soften it up with Whiite Spirits, and wipe off with a clean cloth.

Now that's a good idea.

[Traveller]

Not to sound dumb, but here goes....what are white spirits? I honestly don't know what is on it, was gonna try some steel wool but didn't know if it had a coating or something on it or if it was just polished stainless.

[trophied]

Mineral Spirits, for this side of the pond.   If you want to restore a "brushed" finish to stainless, the people that make commercial kitchen equipment use straight line power tools with only Maroon ScotchBrite.  I used to sell one of them supplies.  Be sure to ONLY go the direction of the existing finish and in a perfectly straight line with little pressure.  It may take doing the entire item to get it to all look the same.  They tried other brands/types of abrasive pads btw and always ended up going back to the genuine article, and believe it or not, there is a difference of some kind in speed, effort, or finish.  Abrasives are a whole different world of expertise.