Will a stainless exhaust blue and discolor like chrome does?

I was thinking about using stainless mufflers, but was worried that they would discolor or turn blue, like chrome bike pipes would. Would they?

I suppose I could answer my own question with my acetylene torch and a s**** of stainless, but I would appreciate first hand experience more.

Thanks!

--Matt

 

Yes. it turns more of a straw color than chrome. It can be buffed out shiney again. Depending on where your mufflers are, they may or may not get hot enough to discolor.

 

the hot spots will turn a gold color from the heat. I have had good luck with having the inside of chrome headers HPC coated.

 

Nickel on the surface oxidizes and becomes golden.
I quite like it actually if it's even.
You shouldn't see any blue unless it's a really cheap stainless.
Hot environment chrome polish will take it straight off and as the nickel becomes more stable the rate of oxidation slows.
It'll also remove any bluing from stainless or chrome.
Make sure you avoid any steel fasteners, they'll rot your stainless.
Chrome is non reactive with it, so chromed nuts are no problem.

 

Think of it as a badge......that proves it runs.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys!

 

I know for a fact that even stainless tips turn gold after awile. I had an old friend that use to oil the inside of his chrome pipes before he ran them to prevent them from turning blue. Might work for stainless.

 

Now add some mud, some Rock chips, bugs in the grill and on the windshild, a big old wear mark in the carpet ect. and there will be know doubt the car gets drivin.

Yeah the stainless headers on my 40 coupe turned a golden color, and slightly blue where they got real hot.

 

I'd like to know more about the teory behind that.
Bluing is caused by hydrocarbons and iron leaching though the chrome from excessive heat.
Normally over leaning.
By oiling you'd be fueling the problem.
At least that's what you would think.

 

I tried the oil thing on a chrome header I ran on a fiur cylinder in a previous existance. It did work.

Maybe it somehow closes pores?

 

Is there a way to make them colorize smoothly? Our racecar's exhaust turned colors but it was all fishy looking, even though we cleaned them like madness first. Of course its a racecar and it doesn't matter how the exhaust looks... but I'm pretty **** about things.

 

Puzzling.
The only logical explanation I can think is that it bakes onto the steel and makes a continuous carbon seal.

 

Nope.
Only time I've seen it look really consistant was on a top fuel dragster.
Then everything was a nice even gold all over.
I thought it looked good, but they polished it off.
I think nickel looks lush.

 

Stainless will turn a light golden color. If it turns a darker golden color, the muffler might be too restrictive, and therefore hold back too much heat. A friend of mine used some "never-rust" ss 304 turbo mufflers, and they turned dark golden color when he broke in the cam. Before I put the same mufflers on my "T" modified, I drilled some 1/2" holes in the inlet and outlet baffles, and my exhaust system is a light golden color. A restrictive exhaust system will make an engine run hotter and turn ss dark.......but it will polish off!