V&H megaphone exhaust

[scottsgs]

Hi all,

When I bought my 81 GS850G, it had a Vance & Hines 4 into 1 system on it. The color is jet black with some rust where the 4 meet at the collector. I have tried to repaint the entire system with high heat paint, but the moment the temp rose, it bubbled and started to peel. What would be the best way to bring it back to a near new appearance? Should I just buy a new V&H system since there are some dents on the bottom of the head pipe?

Thanks,

Scott

[TheCafeKid]

what temp paint did you use?? I would suggest 1500o paint rather than the 500. And did you get all the rust off?? That would cause the paint to not bond to the surface.

[Thomas Kenny]

I bought a mid-eighties Vance and Hines pipe for my GS550ES. They were rusty and sandblasting removed the rust but left the pits. I spend about two hours working the header pipes with a file ,and wire brush on a drill. I actually got the pipes to smooth up and then shot them with black 1200 degree paint. I went on a 200 mile ride Saturday and pushed the bike hard. Headers look great and no paint burned off. The black paint is flat black to the end of the collecter the exhaust pipe from that point to the cannister is painted gloss black with normal paint and doesnt get hot enough to bother the paint. The file in long controlled strokes really made the difference. :-D