V&H exhaust restoration

[Topnikko]

I have a rusty & pitted V&H pipe that I want to clean up prior to repainting. Is sandblasting it the best way to prep it or are there any other methods I can use? I'll have to pay to have it blasted so I'd like to find a way to do it myself.

[birdman]

I use a square finishing sander, cheap Harbor Freight ones work OK, with some good 150 grit paper to prep steel tube for painting.  I use the magenta 3M paper, it lasts and cuts real nice

You could also get a long piece of plumbers sandpaper, not too wide but long and wrap around 180° and pull it back and forth in a sawing motion.

[ohgood]

bing o on the sandblasting. it's fast, easy (just pay someone) and cheap. just make sure to duct tape up all the aluminum stuff

[GeeP]

I sandblasted mine and painted it with exhaust paint.  It's a once-a-year job.   

[Topnikko]

I found a guy on Craigslist who said he'd blast it for $10. For that price I'm not going to manually sand it. 

The exhaust I bought has some rash on the can and endcap too. For anyone else who has this pipe you can buy a new sleave and cap from V&H for $80.

[ATLRIDER]

I just sanded mine and repainted with Rustoleum BBQ paint in a FLAT finish.  Looks new now.  Sandblasting would be my preference if I had found someone for $10 bucks though.  Damn that's cheap.

[ohgood]

at some point my V&H will finally rust to pieces, then i'll jobby it up like whoever it was that had the twin carbon fiber pipes under the frame. looks so sexy, prolly sounds fun too !