Exhaust Finishes

[Artie]

Howdy all, I've got several builds on the go, one of them will look best with a black exhaust header pipes (I think), so can I ask what have others used in past? What paint/finish and what, if any, special prep you've used? How's it holding up after use?

A couple of the Hi Temp exhaust paints I've seen, seem to chip easily, requiring touch ups, hoping to avoid this....

Thoughts from the collective are appreciated.......

[Cusstout 1100]

I re-finished a set of pipes and mufflers on an '85 1000 that were in rough shape to start with. Smoothed them off to get rid of most of the rough areas; that left some chrome, some bare metal, etc. I sprayed them with a product called "VHT" header paint (flame-proof, very high temperature so it says on the can). It called for three stages of heat treatment, so I built an "oven" out of an old filing cabinet I found at the local landfill to fit on our propane-fired barbecue and big enough for me to suspend the pipes and mufflers in. Put in a cheap oven thermometer (that now lives in my tool box for future use) and fired up the bbq. Did the three various heat/cool cycles as stated on the can. Results in my opinion were quite excellent, and I've had no rusting or burn off since doing the job some 5 years ago now.

[Artie]

Thanks Cust, thats pretty much where I'm at.

I really don't like the wrapped finish at all, so figured this is my best option. I have an exhaust builder up north a bit who has offered to build the pipe in Stainless and polish it which Ill do for the next build (which will be based on sparkle).