Most durable paint for exhaust and headers?

[eesnas]

Ok, so I got everything removed, the cans are stripped and the headers will be next. The paint I had before was plasticoat or something like that, it looked excellent but was not very durable. I want a nice flat black, if it's a little uneven looking but highly durable that is acceptable, not willing to spend the $550 to go ceramic (that was the quote I got, even if I find it cheaper I want to avoid spending the money for now).

So in the past I painted a headlight bracket and some engine parts with the Duplicolor high heat ceramic, seemed good but also a bit soft as it chipped a bit. The Duplicolor low gloss on my oil cooler is rock solid and holds up great, just a little to shiny for pipes IMO.

So here I am, ready to paint. I am going to get these nice and clean tomorrow and then Saturday is the big day, I will hit it with the high heat primer. For paint, all my local store had was VHT High Heat, I have not heard too much about it but saw an article saying it is good. I have heard people here recommend BBQ paint but I have heard that it flakes off rather quickly. I am not expecting a finish that will last forever but I would like something very durable that I don't need to worry about chemicals eating or rocks chipping, any advice? How's the VHT high heat?

If I do this work and the finish does not hold up I am either going to send them off to a pro or just buy a set of Termis, this is probably my only attempt at this and I am hoping for a decent result any help is greatly appreciated...

[Ducatl]

I would use VHT flameproof, I've used it and never had any trouble.

[eesnas]

I would use VHT flameproof, I've used it and never had any trouble.

NICE! Just looked at my can, that's what I bought!

[w7ck7d]

I've used this product for my headers and termi cans ..So far so good after almost a year and a half..

[booger]

550 for ceramic? HAHAHAHA I got mine done at Jet Hot for ~125

[cyrus buelton]

I believe Tizzy had his jet coated as well. It looks nice.


I'd love to get it done for my S4r but that stupid vertical header pipe looks like a mothermake the beast with two backser to get off

[Grrrly]

I've used BBQ flat black paint on my front header for my SV with no problems after almost a season at the track.

My ceramic coating on my Monster never lasts more than 8 months. I've had them coated twice...I gave up on it.

[eesnas]

550 for ceramic? HAHAHAHA I got mine done at Jet Hot for ~125

Even more funny is Jet Hot is the place I got the $550 quote from... header and cans, I sent them pics and everything... I think it was something like $125 per can and then the header was $200+ and then shipping fees.

[booger]

Well my ceramic from Jet Hot has lasted pretty well, however that 550 quote is BS. Forget about doing the cans ceramic - just do the pipes from the cylinder head to the mufflers, then use RustOleum High Temp BBQ for the muffler sleeves. Matches the Jet Hot flat black OK. Get another quote (while pretending to be somebody else), from another guy at Jet Hot or try Performance Coatings. 550? No way.

[eesnas]

I am too far along, I am moving forward with the original plan to use the VHT paint I already bought.

Here's the issue now though, according to this I will need an oven:
http://www.vhtpaint.com/flameproof.html


These cans don't have a sleeve that comes off, they are megaphones and they have packing in them, after the paint is cured I need to rivvet the end caps back on (right now end caps are masked and all holes are aligned, it's a good tight fit).

So I don't have a paint oven, all I have is a food oven that I use to cook what I eat. How can I cure these? The same oven I cook meals in??? Other thing, looks like curing I need to get these up to 650! I have a feeling the packing would ignite, that's very hot and seems like a stupid idea. Any advice on this??? The header can get hot enough to probably cure on the bike but the cans really don't get hot, they are almost always cool to the touch...

Would a heat gun work? It's a dry heat, not sure how to measure the temp or keep it on for 30 minutes but I am just thinking of ideas, feel free to chime in...

[eesnas]

Nice, one more coat to go and then tomorrow I am throwing them in a baking pan in my future father in law's big gas grill, he saved the day on this!

So far looking great, a bit worried the can might run out halfway through the final coat, fingers crossed!  

edit: ran out of paint... looks like I will need to finish tomorrow. 

[eesnas]

So I rode around with them painted but scratched and ratty looking for a few weeks, the paint was pretty durable, but got all scratched while I was installing everything, I never knew putting the header pipe back would be so difficult while making the pipes line up evenly etc etc... I like my pipes looking a little rough, but the finish seemed blotchy and uneven so I was planning a touch up, just needed the right day for it...

So this weekend I cleaned the bike and I found some time to do the touch-up work on the pipes that I have been planning. Since the cans don't get very hot I decided I don't need 2000 degree paint on them, it's there and cured from cooking but it looked crappy, so I scuffed it up, masked stuff off and hit it with the Rustoleum BBQ paint. YUK, that stuff started drying and was looking gray, almost like a dark primer. So I grabbed a can of Rustoleum low gloss black 500 degree engine paint and hit the cans with that, looks so much better and requires no baking to cure. The cap is flat, not sure why they even call it low gloss but either way, it's a good fit, looks flat, and seems durable too. I then masked off the whole engine and did a quick touch-up on the header pipe with the VHT stuff, which has a nice almost velvet look to it, just to even out the finish on the header pipe.

Photobucket sucks right now, or my internet connection does... pics on the way...







Matches the footpegs and other black nicely:



I'm expecting they will get banged and scratched as I ride, which is fine, I just didn't want them to look beat up without some miles to blame... so far it looks like this will hold up pretty good though. I actually like how the 2000 degree VHT on the headers matches the color of the tires and the engine paint on the cans match the pegs, grips, seat, and other parts like my headlights.