How to...refinish exhaust?

[MotoX6]

Well I bought a used pipe from a guy in town and its in kinda rough shape. I love the original silver color. Ive seend these polished and silver and don't know what type of finish the silver is. Is it silver paint? I want it to look factory original if possible...my other pipe is black so I want to stay away from painting or coating black. I painted a stock pipe with high temp bbq paint a while ago and it looked really good.

Questions--can I somehow strip the black paint on this exhaust? Paint stripper? I don't want to ruin the silver finish but it does have a bit of rust. SO, how do I fix it to look factory silver the best?? Thanks!

 

[Internet Annoyance]

Id advise a Ceramic coating, for the best long lasting finish,, theres a local company i use, google
http://www.finishlinecoatings.com, they offer a polished look shiny silver as well as a matte finish, as well as gold, black and some other colors,, they used to do more colors but since they have a lifetime guarntee on the finish some of the colors changed over time so are more reluctant to do off colors not as stable like Magenta and reds,,
Im sure theres other companys offering this,,, maybe something local for you, but these people Russ and Lana at Finish line treat me right and cant complain,
not cheap but will look amazing, all the paints cook off eventually,,, but one of the better paints for exhaust IF you go that route is made by Eastwood, but you must cure it. (oven)

 

[Doc13]

Honestly,

If you're going to keep the exhaust for an extended period of time, I would remove the headers and then ship the whole shebang to a Ceramic Coater. It'll do some good for HP, get you the look you want, and save you the elbow grease. Bear in mind you fall and the coating is f'd though.

Example of Coatings

 

[MotoX6]

I was kinda hoping I could use paint stripper gently on the black and then repaint with a high temp silver paint...that ways its all DIY..

 

[konarider94]

Engine enamel and call it a day. Hit it with a wire brush first and you'll be find. Did you get a good deal on that pipe? They go for big money sometimes.

 

[MotoX6]

Thx kona [up]

Yes, yes I got a very good deal on it lol

 

[50dro]

Here's mine before and after engine enamel. Not saying it's equivalent to ceramic coating but it's certainly a lower cost alternative and still looks pretty good on mine.

before

blasted

finished

After about a year

 

[MotoX6]

Awesome^ hopefully I can find a matching silver enamel color

 

[50dro]

Silver should be very common at any auto parts store I would imagine. I'm fairly certain I used a Dupli-color product.

 

[Zeroflat24]

I'm fairly certain I used a Dupli-color product

yeah any parts store like pepboys, advanced, autozone will sell a high temp engine enamel. I used black on my new race pipe.

 

[MotoX6]

Very nice. I wonder how many pipes they made..mine says the number 233 on it

 

[Zeroflat24]

Very nice. I wonder how many pipes they made..mine says the number 233 on it

im sure someone on here can answer that. I'm not taking mine off to look and see what number it is

 

[Internet Annoyance]

As I said, Ceramic coatings ARE the way to go,, And as someone else on here posted, you actually get a small HP benefit,, what I failed to mention is that with a high quality ceramic coating, you also protect neighboring parts from getting cooked from heat. they pipes and muffler exteriors dont get very hot at all, the heat goes thru the pipe as opposed to radiating off it, so you arent cooking those oil lines, or your legs, etc,,a HUGE reduction in radiant heat. your motorcycle will thank you.
If you truly want to DIY, it is possible to oder it yourself and make a oven to cure it in,, I know several people locally who do their own powder coating and ceramic coatings in their home workshops,
But if you are looking for cheap and easy,, Eastwood makes probably the best quality paints of these types,, eventually ALL paints cook off,, at least in my experience, But if you go that route the Eastwood stuff isnt cheap but its the best of its type, proper prep and curing is the key.
YRMV

 

[03Firebolt9R]

The race pipes original finish is ceramic coated and with a little care, can be cleaned up to the factory finish again. They look great in the oem ceramic IMO. Good luck Moto.

 

[MotoX6]

How would you clean it up exactly? I don't want to ruin it..thanks Firebolt

 

[818Guy]

yeah any parts store like pepboys, advanced, autozone will sell a high temp engine enamel. I used black on my new race pipe.

What prep did you do with your race pipe? Sand it? If so, how much sanding did you do?

I'm looking to do the same with mine. It's currently the "gray" color (not polished) and I want it to be black.

Thanks for any tips.