Topic: Different exhaust coatings

[Joe Danger]

I'm rebuilding my 1977 CB550K over the winter, and it's anything but a restoration.  I'm going with an olive theme, almost military, but with a gloss coat on top.  Reupholstering to a brown seat, frame blast and coat to black, (rattle can should work.)

My exhaust is ratty and terrible, so I'm picking up a 4-into-1 header.  I'm planning on fitting a supertrapp muffler to the header, but I'm thinking of how to coat the header itself.  Chrome isn't really my thing, at least for this bike, but flat black BBQ paint seems awfully one-dimensional.

Does anyone have any experience bluing headers, like a rifle barrel, or have any other interesting ideas?  I really want this bike to have its own look, and nothing is out of the question.  Would a powder coat work on an exhaust?  Any other ideas?

[ProTeal55]

Powdercoating will not hold up to the heat that an exhaust will put out.
It will end up craking , and looking like crap.
I tried to powdercoat a set of dragpipes for a old bike I had , and was a mess in the long run.

The "Bluing" you are talking about is caused by the heat turning the chrome on the pipe itself. If you are going for this look, get yourself a set of pipes with a very thin layer of chrome , as they will blue nicely. Also , you can take a blowtorch and heat the pipe , and you will get the chrome to turn the bluish tint.

The best coating for an exhaust , in my opinion , is ceramic coating. It is applied very similar to powdercoating , yet it can handle the high temps. All true ceramic coatings are flat in nature , such as flat black , grey , and silver. They can be polished , just like a polished alum. rim , if that is the look you are going after.

I would say go with a flat ceramic coating for your exhaust. It looks great , and is very durable.

That's my 2cents....

[Steve F]

I had my header and megaphone ceramic coated in flat black. Looks great, and isn't supposed to rust unless you gouge it really good on something.  Cost was about $130 which included the prep work.  Had it done by LO-CO (or LO-KO) coatings in Oaklawn, Illinois.
Regards,
Steve F.

[Bob Wessner]

Does anyone have any experience bluing headers, like a rifle barrel,

Interesting thought if you mean true gun bluing. Should work if they are bare metal. I have done some gun blueing but this is more along the lines of 8 ga. or better shotgun barrels.

[Joe Danger]

I like the ceramic, but I can't get the gun blue idea out of my head.  I suppose it'd need to be hot dipped, and there aren't a lot of gunsmiths with a big enough vat to do it.

I think the real smoky look of blueing would be very wild.

[Bob Wessner]

I agree, traditional blueing would be the way to go. Cold blueing would be expensive and not very good quality.

[MRieck]

I like the ceramic, but I can't get the gun blue idea out of my head.  I suppose it'd need to be hot dipped, and there aren't a lot of gunsmiths with a big enough vat to do it.

I think the real smoky look of blueing would be very wild.

It would rust quickly.

[Bob Wessner]

True, just like a gun, you would likely have to keep a light coat of oil on them between uses, a pain, but might be an interesting look.