Painted / powder coated exhaust Down Pipes?

[amolwankhede]

Hello all

Does anybody here have painted exhaust down pipes? I saw a FZ6 (in black) which had painted (powder coated?) pipes all the way down (No metal at all) and was looking amazing.:rockon: (I was also riding so couldnt take picture with my cell phone).

I was thinking if anyone has it then they can post it here and OR if someone can photoshop few pics that would great!

Mod bug is itching again

Thanks

 

[Hellgate]

Sounds very cool! Powder coat would be best way to go. It is more resistant to heat and stone chips than paint would be.

 

[SirIsaac]

Last year, before I knew what an FZ6 was or that I would be wanting one, I decided to get the headers on my old GPz 550 coated. Not the stock headers, an aftermarket set of Kerker headers that I installed around 1988. They were rusty and looked like crap. I called some local powder coating places and was told that headers get too hot for powder coating. So I checked around, asked around, searched the internet and finally found a place in Piqua, Ohio that could ceramic coat them. They sand-blasted them and ceramic coated them in matte black for something like $130.

 

[Boneman]

Painting wouldn't stand up to the extreme heat and I don't think Powder Coat would fair very well either. Lots of flexing goes on with the hot/cool cycles of the headers. Even Powder Coating wouldn't last long with those tempatures and would probably chip off with the metal flexing.

Ceramic coating would be the only long term way of 'color coating' your header pipes. Don't even waste your time with anything else.

JET HOT is one company that does specific header coatings. Not cheap.

http://www.jet-hot.com/colorchart.html

JET-HOT Coatings Header Coatings Page

 

[Oscar54]

Well I painted mine with the VHT paint. It is supposed to have ceramic in it.

The problem I experienced is with the curing. Since I did not have an oven to bake them in I tried starting and stopping the engine. But I got some wrinkling right by the flanges. The down pipes look very good though, and they have a satin finish cause I clear coated them.

The other problem I encountered, was I drove the bike before I guess the paint had completely cured and hardened and got sand stuck to the pipes.

So, I'm disappointed but hopeful at the same time. While I am pissed that I ran the engine a little to long at first and wrinkled the top of the pipes and got sand in the finish, most of the pipe actually looks very good. So, I intend to pull them again sand and touch them up and I'm confident I can get them to look good. Then the question will be durability? How long between paint jobs. I will take some pictures and show you what it looks like

Lewis

 

[amolwankhede]

YES - Pictures Please.

Really looking for the Pictures. Also let us know the Exact paint and $$$ you put in for that.

thanks

 

[Oscar54]

YES - Pictures Please.

Really looking for the Pictures. Also let us know the Exact paint and $$$ you put in for that.

thanks

Ok here are the Pic's. As you can see the curing didn't go well for me the first time by the wrinkles in the paint. Probably from too thick a coat since I used primer, color and clear coat. Then I drove the bike before completely cured getting sand imbedded in the finish. Finally, I haven't washed the bike since I drove home in the last monsoon we had.

FWIW, I am still optimistic that I can get this to look good. Now that I have a baked on base coat I can sand and smooth out the wrinkles and touch up with a light coat and cure properly. I'm going to try running the engine at idle for 20 seconds in 5 min intervals for an hour and then extend the runtime until the finish has about 2 to 3 hours of heat to cure.

I want to do this next weekend because I want it to look nice.

 

[Oscar54]

Here are some more after I wiped off the water spots.

I really feel I can make this work, and that it will be durable. I will post more pic's after I reshoot the headers.

Lewis

 

[Oscar54]

I mispoke, actually the last 3 pictures to the right are after wiping off the water spots.

Lewis

 

[Doorag]

That would look damn sweet on a fully faired black bike.

 

[reiobard]

definitely something for the mods list. i was thinking of exhaust wrapping them so that i didn't have to try to find a way to keep them shiny, but this looks way better!



do you still have the # for the place in OH that did it for $130?

 

[SirIsaac]

definitely something for the mods list. i was thinking of exhaust wrapping them so that i didn't have to try to find a way to keep them shiny, but this looks way better!

do you still have the # for the place in OH that did it for $130?

Here's their web address:
Aesthetic Finishers

 

[Oscar54]

I don't know if anyone in the Orlando, FL area is interested but there is a place here I just googled and talked to the will do a ceramic semigloss baked finish for $175. It is called Hyperkote 4101 El Rey Rd # 3, Orlando, FL 32808
(407) 445-2026. So there is probably someone near you, too.

I going to give mine one more shot with the VHT paint since I have the time and the paint. But if it ends up the same, I'll probably go for a professional job. Though mine looks OK until you get real close.

Lewis

 

[bmccrary]

I am wanting to get the inside and outside of my entire exhaust coated at somepoint. Not only will it look nice, but it will keep the heat from being so bad on the rear seat I think.

-bryan

 

[Oscar54]

I am wanting to get the inside and outside of my entire exhaust coated at somepoint. Not only will it look nice, but it will keep the heat from being so bad on the rear seat I think.

-bryan

Apparently that is true. I read on a number of exhaust manifold ceramic coating threads that they do the inside and outside of the pipe and that this reduces radiant heat, improves exhaust scavenging, resulting in improved HP and more heat out the end of the pipe instead of the sides.

 

[thealiasofMarc]

How about chroming?

Has anyone tried chrome plating their header pipes? I wonder if it would hold up to the heat without discoloration ? I've been thinking about doing that since I saw this pic...

 

[madmanmaigret]

Re: How about chroming?

I have used this stuff on car exhaust manifolds with great results. I belive it is the same product mentioned above.
VHT Header Paint - JEGS

not too expensive and like any paint job if you take your time it will come out good. Or get a pro to use this for you if you are impatient........

 

[Oscar54]

I don't know if anyone in the Orlando, FL area is interested but there is a place here I just googled and talked to the will do a ceramic semigloss baked finish for $175. It is called Hyperkote 4101 El Rey Rd # 3, Orlando, FL 32808
(407) 445-2026. So there is probably someone near you, too.

I going to give mine one more shot with the VHT paint since I have the time and the paint. But if it ends up the same, I'll probably go for a professional job. Though mine looks OK until you get real close.

Lewis

If anyone is still monitoring this thread. I just noticed that the VHT paint I used on my header is peeling off. It appears that I should have sanded or sand blasted them instead of wire wheel and steel wool.:rtfm:

I'm bummed because of the time and the paint isn't cheap. I probably have $60 in paint invested. :surrender:

So, I am going to do the professional ciramic route this time and pay the $175. They sandblast, bake to remove oils and soot, then paint and cure bake. Really if you think about, $175 for all that ain't bad.

So if you still want to DIY, ruff'm up good before you paint.

Lewis

 

[Andz]

Re: How about chroming?

Has anyone tried chrome plating their header pipes? I wonder if it would hold up to the heat without discoloration ?

Waaaaay back when I had a Honda CB400N with a Moriwaki 2 into 1 on it and I had the pipes black chromed. They looked great and after a while the bends at the head had a blue-black colour to them that actually looked better than the plain black.

 

[buccs40oz]

they still look good though. looks like i will be getting something like that done, mine are pretty sick looking right now