Painting Pipes/engine

[Beaver]

I am going for a bit of a Black theme on my bike. The engine I will probably take later, but for now it is the tank and exhaust. The bike has black headers and what is now a tired silver Marshal exhaust. What I am wondering is does anyone have any experience in painting exhausts? Is it a lost cause?

Cheers

[TheCafeKid]

I am going for a bit of a Black theme on my bike. The engine I will probably take later, but for now it is the tank and exhaust. The bike has black headers and what is now a tired silver Marshal exhaust. What I am wondering is does anyone have any experience in painting exhausts? Is it a lost cause?

Cheers

use a HIGH TEMP paint...thats number one. And i mean HIGH temp..not 500 degrees, 1500 is marginal, if you can find the VHT Header paint, its designed for 3000 degrees. Make sure you get it clean, and if you can, scuff it up a little with some 380 grit... Some self etching high heat primer would help too (if they make such a thing??) if the pipe is chromed...

I will warn you, even with the high heat stuff its likely to start looking kinda ratty over time. So it might be an ongoing process...if you have the means, i would suggest at some point sending the header off to get ceramicoated...

[Beaver]

Thanks!!

Depending on where this project goes I may even wrap the header in the future. What are the benefits of ceramic coating?

There is a really cheap place not far from here that sandblasts and paints quite cheaply. I was contemplating getting them to do the tank, partly cause they will do the whole thing for me for less than it would take me in materials and my own time, and it will save me chasing down gas resistent paint. Would you recommend getting the muffler sandblasted instead of me sanding it?

Cheers

[TheCafeKid]

Thanks!!

Depending on where this project goes I may even wrap the header in the future. What are the benefits of ceramic coating?

There is a really cheap place not far from here that sandblasts and paints quite cheaply. I was contemplating getting them to do the tank, partly cause they will do the whole thing for me for less than it would take me in materials and my own time, and it will save me chasing down gas resistent paint. Would you recommend getting the muffler sandblasted instead of me sanding it?

Cheers

Yes i would, provided you are sure there is no all the way thru rot going on... Sandblasting will show you where the weak points in the metal are...lol Ceramicoating has many pros to it. One, its pretty much permanent as far as colour goes, which is great. Two, if you have good metal in the header, it will pretty much keep it from ever rotting out on you...the pipes generally rot from the inside out as moisture collects in the header, and its subjected to wild temperature swings. If you look at a set of stock pipes, they were smart enough to fit a drain hole in them to weep off the condensation formed in the pipes...most headers dont have that, tho i dont think it would be hard, nor hurt to put a tiny hole in the bottom just past the collector... Ceramicoating is also usually a complete inside outside coating...that means its not only coated from the elements outside, but from anything caking up and rotting it from the inside as well. Its also pretty much impervious to any heat that our bikes will make, unless of course you have some serious problems going on..lol From what Ive read, its available in a variety of colours as well..

[Hammered]

If you dont mind doing a little painting, Techline makes a DIY Ceramic Metallic coating that does add to the performance of a well running engine. Its an air dry system that works very well.

[mixongw]

I sand blasted my Kerker header and used 3000 degree paint. I didn't use any primer. The paint recommends applying directly to bare metal. When blasting, make sure you get past any chrome plating. I have heard that the chrome doesn't allow a good stick with the high temp paint. After the paint dries, start the bike outside, not in the garage. Lots of smoke comes off during the heat cure. I have had mine painted for about three years now, and except for a little touch-up, it still looks great. That's a good quality with the high temp paint, easy touch-ups and you can't tell where it was. Good blending.