Recommendations to clean up my exhaust

My pipes look awfully rough. They're black-ish and nasty looking, tapering off to a plain steel just before the can.

My bike is painted black and I'm not trying to shine them up but I'd settle for a uniform steel or aluminum color or a flat or very low gloss black, leaving the can stainless steel colored.

Any ideas? (please don't recommend BBQ spray paint. I've never had luck with that stuff :lol: )

 

There are some thermo-setting high temp powder coats, like Jet Coat, that might be a good choice... get them sand blasted and coated with this stuff and you should be good to go.

 

WD40 and steel wool???

 

Jet-Hot coat. You should be able to get the whole system done for less than $200; they have a "stainless" look color and a couple of flat black variants. It' s a form of powder coating, you should be able to find someone to do it locally for you.

 

Big fitz already came with the number 1, best quality approach with Jet Hot.
Unfortunately, it's also the most expensive and not a DIY option.

The number 2 quality option is there are several Powder Coatings formulated for high temps (1000 - 1200 Deg F). Eastwood has five colors currently.
Here's a link
This can be a DIY job if you have a big enough oven or IR curing lamps. I have a small business i run from my garage, powder coating small parts ( i use a kitchen oven and a 10" IR curing lamp), so a full set of headers would be tough for me to do for you.

The third option, and i'm guessing the one you'll take, is the fact that rattle can hi-temp paints have come a long way since the BBQ black days.
Just about any Autozone, Parts Plus, Advance Auto Parts, etc shop will have specialty Hi-Temp/header paints with either high silicone or ceramic content for your application.
Duplicolor's Header paint is a rattle can paint with ceramic, able to withstand up to 2000 Deg F. if your headers are getting hotter than that, you've got serious OTHER problems!
Here it is in Black
PJ1 makes a rattle can product called VHT. This is probably the way i'd go...
VHT

This will run you about $8 to $9 a can and plan on about 2 cans to do the job. As in ALL paint applications, the overall success and quality takes three steps.
1. Part Prep
2. Part Prep
3. Part Prep
I'm serious. Paint job quality is 80-90% prep and only 10%-20% spraying the paint.
Degrease, degrease then degrease again. Then scrub with phosphoric acic based wash and scotch bright, then soapy water. Finish with a paint prep wipe down with either acetone or some other compatible wipe and lint free towels. I even wear latex gloves on final wipedown, to prevent oil from my fingers from being left on the part. (Powder Coating cure temps will outgas oil from fingertips and DESTROY a PC job. Worst fisheyes you've ever seen!).
Good luck,
christopher.

 

Thanks guys. Lots of suggestions I hadn't considered. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

 

ever try bbq paint? really though, you can just add some more where it wears

 

I have used POR-15 on the headers of my bike and bug with great results. I bought a quart of the "Black Velvet" high temp paint a couple of years ago and it has held up great. My headers were pretty rusty when I started so I just hit them with a new, clean, wire brush (Get the oil off the bristles or you will have trouble making any paint stick) Brushed on the paint, and dried it with my heat gun. They recommend you dry in an oven, but my wife said no!

The Black Velvet paint dries to a flat finish that looks good on the Seca and the Baja. Touch ups are a breeze if your wife happens to back your bug into a curb. Just brush on a little more paint and fire up the car/bike to get the headers hot.

One word of caution. Wear gloves when working with this stuff and don't let it dry on your skin or you will spend hours scrubbing it off.

POR-15 also makes an "Aluminum" high temp paint that might be a cool way to make those headers pop on a black bike.

 

Yeah, I have the POR aluminum color but I really wanted to go black. I'll re-think it. I'd have to use a heat gun or something because I can't bring my parts inside either.

What about simply running the engine? The pipes get good 'n hot.

 

i went to the hardware store and picked up a thing of noxon 7 for 5$ and cleaned my exhaust today. Night and day difference between what it use to look like and now. All you need is a buffing pad or buffer and it doesnt take much elbow grease at all.