Ceramic coating the downpipes

[chunkygoat]

So instead of going through with the 75$ charge for this local shop to ceramic coat my downpipes black - I did a little research, found, and bought a can of Dupli-Color Engine Enamel Flat Black High Temperature Ceramic Paint - whew that was a mouthful. This cost me 12$ and and is the same paint my mother's boyfriend used to paint his downpipes, and they look amazing.

So I am at the point where I need a tire and can't ride anyway, so I figure I'll take advantage of the down time to paint my pipes. Upon inspecting how they're fastened, I see 2 bolts holding a bracket - one for each downpipe - in total of 8. On the other end there are 2 bolts holding where they merge into 1. It appears that only those 10 bolts are holding on the downpipes - so is there anything I should be aware of as far as removing or reconnecting them, before i go through with it. It seems pretty clear cut and simple...but nothing ever is.

Thanks in advance for any advice, it is certainly appreciated.

 

[goker]

I would probably replace the exhaust pipe gaskets. It is never a good idea to reuse them and they are pretty cheap.

 

[SANGER_A2]

Be VERY VERY careful when reinstalling them after painting. The paint chips off really easily until it's cured properly (which is quite hard to do). It may even be worth wrapping them in something when putting them back on the bike (obviously remove it before starting the bike up to cure the paint). Also, I would give it twice as long as it recommends to dry. Oh yeah, and sand the pipes first, then clean them well and dry them doubly well. You want the paint to stick. It won't want to!

 

[Discofrank]

pretty much what he said

the paint needs to "cure"

the exchaust paint i have used needed to be heat cycled a few times
have a look on the can should tell you what temps and for how long

if u have an oven big enough they will fit in there

or u could use a blow torch and heat them up slowly section at a time

 

[krid80]

also, when you have the pipes re-installed on the bike, start it and let it run for just about 30 seconds of idling then shut it off and go have a drink. After an hour or so (completely cooled) start it and let it run for about 2 minutes or until you see any smoke. If the paint starts to smoke, shut it off immediately and go have another drink. After another cooling session, repeat the process but go maybe until the bike is up to operating temp (unless it starts to smoke from the paint of course). Repeat the warm up and cool down until it no longer smokes or until you are confident the paint is fully hardened.

 

[04fizzer]

Good luck. I've never had good luck painting exhaust.

 

[Erci]

Has anyone had good luck doing this? From what I've read, it's pretty much a wasted effort on bikes. At best, the paint seems to last for 1 season. :don'tknow:

 

[krid80]

Has anyone had good luck doing this? From what I've read, it's pretty much a wasted effort on bikes. At best, the paint seems to last for 1 season. :don'tknow:

I have successfully painted car headers using my method of curing.

 

[Erci]

I have successfully painted car headers using my method of curing.

Yeah.. for car headers it seems to work fine. But for bikes.. all the little stones that get kicked up right at the headed seem to go through the paint pretty fast. Again.. this is just from what I've read, not from my personal experience.

 

[04fizzer]

Yeah.. for car headers it seems to work fine. But for bikes.. all the little stones that get kicked up right at the headed seem to go through the paint pretty fast. Again.. this is just from what I've read, not from my personal experience.

Plus bike headers are more exposed to the elements.

 

[buccs40oz]

So instead of going through with the 75$ charge for this local shop to ceramic coat my downpipes black - I did a little research, found, and bought a can of Dupli-Color Engine Enamel Flat Black High Temperature Ceramic Paint - whew that was a mouthful. This cost me 12$ and and is the same paint my mother's boyfriend used to paint his downpipes, and they look amazing.

So I am at the point where I need a tire and can't ride anyway, so I figure I'll take advantage of the down time to paint my pipes. Upon inspecting how they're fastened, I see 2 bolts holding a bracket - one for each downpipe - in total of 8. On the other end there are 2 bolts holding where they merge into 1. It appears that only those 10 bolts are holding on the downpipes - so is there anything I should be aware of as far as removing or reconnecting them, before i go through with it. It seems pretty clear cut and simple...but nothing ever is.

Thanks in advance for any advice, it is certainly appreciated.

i thought about doing this. i think Napa has a ceramic paint as well. my boss used it for something,not motorcycle. Let us know how it turns out

 

[krid80]

all good points. Let us know how it goes.

 

[chunkygoat]

This would be the paint, only I purchased flat black as I'm not going for the glossy look. It says it is resistant up to 500 degrees F, which is around double normal operating temperature for an Fz6. There should be no reason our bikes would get hot enough to melt or burn this paint.:spank:

'
We painted these pipes last season with the same paint, and they're still going strong - with no major scuffs or scratches. It is a very durable paint.

These would be the befores:

And these would be some afters (figure we did MUCH more than just paint the exhaust):

I am confident they'll come out nice. As soon as I work time into my life and get it done, I'll gladly post up pics and answer questions anybody may have.

 

[hank]

Any updates with painting your headers? i am very much interested in doing this during the off season, my down pipes are a losing battle when it comes to keeping them shiny, plus im more of a matte black finish kind of guy

 

[SANGER_A2]

However, I'll bet that shiny chopper doesn't get anywhere near as much use as say my FZ6, which is used 5-6 days a week in rain and shine, in the city and on the motorway. That's the sort of use that will make the paint chip/fall off, however, adding another layout or two of paint every year isn't a major deal, only cost is a can of spray paint and 4 new gaskets.

 

[hank]

I definately wouldnt mind having to repaint them once a year or so, in fact i'd probably want to do it anyways just to keep them looking nice. Any ideas on what sort of prep would work? should i sand and prime them or just paint the high temp stuff right on and slowly bake it in by my woodstove?

 

[SANGER_A2]

I definately wouldnt mind having to repaint them once a year or so, in fact i'd probably want to do it anyways just to keep them looking nice. Any ideas on what sort of prep would work? should i sand and prime them or just paint the high temp stuff right on and slowly bake it in by my woodstove?

When I did mine, I just sanded the **** out of them and then cleaned and painted them. This was rusty mild steel pipes of course. They ended up fine, but a few bits chipped off when installing as I wasn't able to cure it beforehand. You could cure slowly with a mini-blowtorch thingy or a large oven would be perfect. Just heat it up and let it cool a bit at a time.

I left them to dry for days too. They lasted all right on the road, but I sold the bike 3-4 months later.

 

[hank]

I just finished my pipes tonight and I must say I really like how they turned out... while I had the paint out, i figured I'd do the two pieces on the radiator as well, since the silver stood out a little too much for my taste. Here's a couple of pics (Palm Pre pics aren't the best) of the finished product, what do ya guys think?

 

[Jman]

Looks nice.....I'm guessing you had a heater near by to keep the temp within painting specs?

 

[hank]

Looks nice.....I'm guessing you had a heater near by to keep the temp within painting specs?

Indeed.... it topped out at a balmy 37 degrees in upstate NY today, I wouldn't work in the garage unless the wood stove was going. In fact the wood stove was how I heat cured the paint. I stood the pipes up on the stove for about 10 minutes then took them outside to cool, about 4 times doing that and he paint was in good shape