Painting exhaust

[alehman]

Hey all, I just wanted some advice on painting my exhaust, as I still have the stock 4-4 although I'm dangerously close to losing the headers to rust. The mufflers are also starting to rust. I wanted to know what sort of paint and primer to use for them, and also: can I scuff up the chrome and paint over it or does it have to be removed?

Thanks.

[Charlie1717]

I've only painted headers on my car... but I used rustoleum high heat paint flat black.... it looks good and has held up well. You could probably paint right over the chrome just fine with it, but it may look better sanded to make it even (if it is not already). Someone may have better advice on this :p

[Piute]

Charlie1717 wrote

I've only painted headers on my car... but I used rustoleum high heat paint flat black.... it looks good and has held up well. You could probably paint right over the chrome just fine with it, but it may look better sanded to make it even (if it is not already). Someone may have better advice on this :p

           I've painted my headers on my 350 with Flt.Blk. lasted maybe a month,Also used Rustoleum straight to new headers (scuff N clean of course).Headers get HOT They glow if complete dark.Your taking A chance,You may wont to wrap them (header portion) the muffs should be O.K. ,I havn't painted over chrome that was going to get over 500deg. GOOD LUCK

[bearman108]

What kind of budget are you working with? if you have some extra cash laying around there are a few companies out there that do ceramic coatings for exhaust.  They come out in several different color coatings, are an extremely tough finish, and look just awesome.  (i think they also dicipate heat better).  

Here's a link: http://www.performancecoatings.com/headercoatings.html

I'm sure there are other companies out there.  as for painting i'm sorry i can't help you!

[Hoosier Daddy]

Chrome is too smooth for paint to stick to for very long, you'll need to scuff it with sand paper or on my Zookies rusted Kerker, I sandblasted it. Then I used Rustoleum's barbecue grill / stove paint. 1200 degree rated and came out a nice semi gloss instead of flat.
 Hasn't started to bubble or peel yet in about 250 miles and gotten plenty warm. First couple of runs were short to cure it well before subjecting it to full header temp.



I used VHT header silver on the GoldWings , even though I oven cured exactly by the directions and a few short engine cycles up to temp... they peeled after the first long ride.

[shinyribs]

If by chance you are local to the Roanoke Virginia area I have some semi-dull silver powdercoat that holds up on headers real good. I don't recall the temp range it is designed for,but it is specifically designed for header/exhaust applications. Holler if I can help. It's much cheaper than ceramic coating if you don't need a super shiny finish.

[alehman]

Thanks for the input guys. I have just ordered Rustoleum automotive high heat paint, which is oil, gas, grease, rust, salt, and solvent resistant, and good to 2000 degrees.

http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-248903-Automotive-12-Ounce-Degree/dp/B003CT4AKC

I'll let you know how it turns out.

[alehman]

Also, thanks shiny! I might just stick with the lower-tech approach here just because of my lack of knowledge around powdercoating... also I don't think I have access to an oven big enough. I'm a student in RI... living in an apartment with no garage or anything. What I can do to my bike is pretty limited, haha.

[shinyribs]

LOL. Nah man, what I meant was I could PC them. My buddy has a whole setup. I use it all the time.

[alehman]

Oof, that is a tempting offer... how much would ya do it for?

[shinyribs]

I'd have to ask Chunky to be sure on the price,but I'm pretty confident it would be in the $100-150 range for both the header and the muffler.Maybe even less if he already has some stuff going on that day. I've seen him do whole bike frames for $50! Provided they are clean. The only big killer with powdercoat is that it will not tolerate any rust whatsoever. Pretty much the same goes with paint,but paint is so much easier to touch up. I wish I had something I could post a pic of to show you the color. Tools has a set of header clamps done in them.Maybe we can milk a pic outta him

[Hoosier Daddy]

 Lucky you're single alehman you could pull it off. I got my tit in a wringer with the Wifey a couple years back...





Stank up the whole house when she was gone, thought I had it all cleaned up and had gotten away with it... until the next time she used the oven and all the smell came back out!
 But she never found out about this...

[alehman]

hahahaha

[Piute]

                                           

                                              I no nothing
                                                   

[nilsthenomad]

Did the Rustoleum end up working on your chrome pipes? I'm considering getting some for mine.

[alehman]

Yeah, the matte black high heat auto paint worked great, just make sure you dont get any gas on it before you heat cure the paint. I'm going to have to repaint at least one area of it where gas stripped paint or where i scratched it while mounting/handling.

[nilsthenomad]

Were you able to heat cure it on the bike or did you end up having to throw em in the oven? Thanks for the info!

[alehman]

no problem. I was able to cure it on the bike. Rustoleum actually has a video on youtube with instructions on how to cure it on the vehicle, and it was very easy to follow.

[nilsthenomad]

Just finished my painting my headers today using the VHT header paint. Used a lot of degreaser to start then sanded the crap out of the chrome with 60 and 220 pads. Finished off with a thorough cleaning using denatured alcohol.  Came out great. Definitely had to do some touching up after I re-attached the pipes to the bike (the brackets can be a bitch), but now that I cured em on the bike the paint is gripping great. Here's a few pics, glad to have this thread. Thanks!

[Burro]

I used bbq black as primer then fiberglass wrapped mine followed by a coat or three of bbq black on the fiberglass. Very happy with my pipes now!