Getting your headers "blued"?

[tecknojoe]

Can't you give your headers to someone to have them treated via heat to make them turn somewhat blue?

I don't like the spotted dark brown look that they are starting to get. I know how to polish them to a very shinny stainless steel shine, but I don't like that look either. I'd rather keep it a little dark with some blueing

Is there anywhere in Denver I can do this?

[Aaron]

Or buy titanium headers. More horsepower, lower weight, and they blue all by themselves.

[tecknojoe]

I'm not wasting my money on Ti headers. The half horsepower gain and 2 less pounds are not worth $1000

I've got the husky in pieces now and figured I might as well look into doing something to the headers while they are off

[Aaron]

2 pounds? A titanium system for my bike cuts 14-16 pounds, and gains 4 horsepower. But double the price you quoted!

[tecknojoe]

I'll be spending that 2 grand on racing which will give me far more gains than 4 hp

You have a lot more header to work with on the bmw. All I have is this:

[Aaron]

Ah I fgured this was for a 4cyl sportbike. Ya I don't think I'd go for Ti headers for that. Your results would probably be as you guessed, except 2hp might be optimistic!

So to help you out, I don't know of any companies who can blue them, but I'm sure it's possible though I doubt they use heat.

[madvlad]

Just turbo it and put a blue sticker on

[birchyboy]

I think all you need to apply is heat but I'm not sure how much. If you clean the pipe, you can try putting it in an oven and then monitor it. Maybe someone like Grim could put it in a higher temperature oven? Be careful that you don't overheat it and change the overall properties of the metal, though.

[rybo]

I think all you need to apply is heat but I'm not sure how much. If you clean the pipe, you can try putting it in an oven and then monitor it. Maybe someone like Grim could put it in a higher temperature oven? Be careful that you don't overheat it and change the overall properties of the metal, though.

Exhaust gas is over 1000 dg. F - you're going to have a hard time finding an oven that's going to get there. The blue that Joe is looking for ISN'T happening at that temperature, so in order to get the effect that he's looking for you would have to get hotter than that.

The fact that it's turning blue means that the properties of the metal are changing.

Now - depending on the grade of stainless the system is made out of 1000 has to be getting mighty close to the necessary temperature.

Joe - is the metal bluing at all about 1" from the outlet on the cylinder head? This is where EGT is going to be the highest, and it's probably in that 1000-1200 range right there. The exhaust system is a pretty effective heat exchanger though, so by the time it gets back a ways it's losing temperature fast.

If this was my project I would probably "do it myself". Find a fuel that burns over 1000f - a regular propane torch ought to do it since it burns around 1900 F

Clean up the headers as you described and then heat them with the propane torch until the bluing you desire emerges?

I dont think you can really hurt anything here by trying, you won't get near the melting temperature of the SS, so the only thing I would be all that concerned about would be warping.

Anyone else have some thoughts or experience?

[tecknojoe]

^ nice

Yea it's got a little bit of blueing right out of the engine as normal. I like that bronze/blue mix and wanted to see if I could apply it to the rest of the header. Might give that a shot

[Fumet5uNo]

you could always just wrap them they make blue exhaust wrap