product warning

[Johnboy]

i repainted my exhaust this weekend. bought a can of dupli-color 1200 degree ceramic paint in flat black. the can says it is specifically for headers and exhaust components.
when i painted the can, it looked good, but after stripping threads and breaking bolts i got it all back together. when i started the bike the paint bubbled up about six or eight inches down the tube and smoked like a M.F. the next time it got started, still smoke, but the paint on the top where it had bubbled up just flaked off.
this paint is worthless. might have to try the bbq grill paint.

[Dom]

I think I used some high heat paint for headers and manifolds from NAPA.  No bubbles but it did smell for the first few hours of riding.  You might want to sand off the old paint first with 80 or 100 grit sandpaper...the stuff adheres best to bare metal.

[Johnboy]

i sanded it with a stripper wheel, then roughed it up with some 80 grit. after painting, it sat in the garage in front of the space heater for 4 days. the paint was definitely dry and had something to stick to.

[se7enty7]

i hate that exhaust paint... it has to be cured... I've found in an oven...   400 degrees or so..



bbq, for cars at least, is not supposed to be used.  It is designed to work as an insulator... holding in as much heat as possible.... you want your exhaust to dissipate heat..

[dgyver]

Actually holding in heat through the exhaust system is better. One of the reasons some use pipe wrap.

[john]

In the modification section I put up a page showing what we used to paint our V&H exhaust.  We never had any bubbling or anything.

http://www.gstwin.com/vanceandhines.htm#repaint

[coll0412]

That is also why they ceramic coat headers, both inside and out

[Jared]

The Grill paint works great and I think has a Higher temp rating too ( 1500 F maybe..). It smoked some the first few times it got hot but was fine after that......


Yes You want the actual  exhaust  hot... flows faster...better scavenging effect.

[Kerry]

I haven't repainted my stock pipe yet.  This summer, I hope.

Most of my preparatory research results (along with great info from others) are in the Exhaust temps? thread.

[john]

I'm almost positive this is the brand I used (harvested from the link Kerry posted).

[weaselnoze]

i think the key is to prepare the surface properly.  it will tell u on the can what to do exactly.  what grit etc..  i sanded most of the original paint off and the places i didnt sand completely, i ran over it w/ sandpaper to rough it up a lil. it gives it something to stick to.  the smoking is normal as it has to cure.  it even says on the can, what temp is required for it to cure properly.

[treybrad]

Which brings up an interesting point. Can I wrap my headers? I know on most cars you're not supposed to wrap the stock manifold b/c it'll crack.. is that such a concern on our bikes?

I also already stripped and repainted my exhaust and it already looks like crap again... header wrap would be an easy way to cover it up, and i like the looks...    Looks tough...  :guns:


trey

[weaselnoze]

did soemone in a different post mention powdercoating as permanent fix?

[The Buddha]

Ironically header wrap is somehitng I am discussing off line with someone else...
OK Powdercoating isn't permanent ... nothing is permanent ... the front part gets hit with rocks and road crap thrown up at a gazillion miles and hour by your front tire ... paint/powder/ceramic etc is going to chip. Chrome might work if prepped and treated properly ... but I seen too many rusty chrome pipe to trust that .... in any case wrapping headers will prevent rocks from taking a bit out of the paint ... but header wrap also takes on water and moisture when its sitting around ... so you need to make damn sure its well painted underneath before putting it on ... so It has a chance of keepng it un rusted ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Blueknyt]

you have to prep and degrease the pipe very very good before painting, the tires kick up alot of oils from the road specialy if you happen to ride through alittle sprinkleing/storm.  header paint is tough stuff, i dont think the GS exhaust is hotter then that of a Blown small block pumping over 500hp.

the key with ANY paint is preperation.

[70 Cam Guy]

I used this when I reconditioned my exhaust.
http://www.speco.com.au/vht_flameproof.html

VHT flameproof ceramic spray paint.  The can said it withstood over 2000 degrees.  It also has directions to cure the paint with the header installed.  It was kindof of a pain because you basically heat cycled it 3 or 4 times.  It smoked like crazy the first few times because the paint was curing.

When my friend and I cleaned my exhaust, we stripped it using a glass bead blaster but initially hit it with a wire wheel and scotch brite pads.  We cleaned it thoroughly with a degreaser before spraying.  

Have you considered a chemical stripper to clean the flaked paint?

[Jared]

That's the exact same stuff I used, John......So I guess it was good to 1200......

Worked great  tho.

[Jeppy]

I just painted my exhaust with the Rustoleum High Heat BBQ also about a week ago. It did smoke a little but I figured that was cool since the directions did say it would. It looks really good...I put several coats on the pipe and I can't say how much better it looks. I got the idea of using the BBQ paint from the "how to" section of this site. I really love this site.....It has helped me so much.

[The Buddha]

I used this when I reconditioned my exhaust.
http://www.speco.com.au/vht_flameproof.html

VHT flameproof ceramic spray paint.  The can said it withstood over 2000 degrees.  It also has directions to cure the paint with the header installed.  It was kindof of a pain because you basically heat cycled it 3 or 4 times.  It smoked like crazy the first few times because the paint was curing.

When my friend and I cleaned my exhaust, we stripped it using a glass bead blaster but initially hit it with a wire wheel and scotch brite pads.  We cleaned it thoroughly with a degreaser before spraying.  

Have you considered a chemical stripper to clean the flaked paint?

VHT is extrordinary stuff even if very pricey ... When I feel like splurging I buy that ... else the usual BBQ paint ... Yea tastes great ...
Cool.
Srinath.