It was a cotton bath towel. I also was pretty stunned when I saw the scratches. I checked the towel to make sure there wasn't anything abrasive on it and there wasn't. Like I said earlier, I had just ridden the bike and the pipe was hot so not sure if that somehow made the chrome softer. All I know is the scratches came from wiping the pipe with a 100% cotton bath towel and some of the detail spray I use on the bike between washings. I definitely know it wasn't the spray as I use it on my windshield pretty much on a daily basis and there are no scratches from it.

 

I've always understood that factory chrome plating is not very hard. It doesn't take much to put superficial scratches in chrome. One of the things I've learned is to make sure you use cotton and make sure it is absolutely clean. The smallest amount of accumulated dust or dirt can cause a lot of the scratches.

 

Just a thought here, but you said the pipe was warm when you wiped it. Is it possible that the cleaner or rag smeared on the pipe slightly with the heat, looking like a scratch? Just a thought, trying to think positive here.

 

dirt on a towel... OR, how when a plumber soldered a pipe right above my 'cleaning towels' and dripped some solder on the towels- im glad i didnt use them again

 

I wish the glass was half full but it definitely is half empty.

 

Update on the scratches. It turns out that the spots I was trying to clean on the pipes when the scratches occured look to be pitting in the chrome. There are 2 spots where the pitting seems to be most prevalent and they are both on the pipe coming from the rear cylinder. I contacted M&M as that is who I purchased from and was told to contact D&D for warranty info. I have emailed D&D and will now have to wait to hear their response. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully D&D will stand behind their product without much hassle.

 

They will!

I think I'd just give them a call at one of the numbers below. THink I'd reference "pitting", not scratches...

Sales - Call to Place Order
817-834-8961
Tech Support - Call for Help
817-834-0996

 

Never, and this is NEVER clean chromed metal when it is hot. Why? The pore of the chrome deposit opens with heat and scratches very easy.

If the scratches are noticeable (if you can post a picture where the scratches are actually shown) I could have a better idea of what you're dealing with. I have gone through every possible issue with chrome from mud to rust, there are times when you will smile an reflect back again in chrome and some times, well not that lucky...

Use the simicrhome and see if that works.

Post a close-up from those scratches if you have the chance.

Regards.

 

Mimo, I appreciate the offer of help but now the issue of the scratches is pretty mute as the pitting is my biggest concern right now. Hopefully I will end up with a new set of pipes so the scratches won't be an issue anymore. The pipes were definitely hot when I attempted to clean them and I was definitely surprised at how easy they scratched with a cotton bath towel. I figured the heat had something to do with it because when the pipes are cool, they are very hard to scratch. That is how I noticed that the spots I was trying to remove were pitting and not something that had gotten on the pipes. I took some of the simichrome and tried to polish the spots out and even attempted to scrap the stuff off with the tip of my fingernail and no go. Didn't put any new scratches in the finish. Upon looking closer, I noticed it was pitting. I will have to call tech support tomorrow to see what is the next step. Looks like the bike will be down without pipes for a bit while this get straightened out. Chances are probably pretty slim that they would send new ones without me sending the old in first.

 

Does it look like matte aluminum? matte finished? That happened to me once and guess what, I still have those pipes and try not to look at that particular spot often...

Yes, sorry. Heat did that. Always poolish your metals (specially chrome) when cold.

Good luck and best regards.

Mimo.