expansion chamber paint, barbecue paint?

[OldNo437]

so this god awful new England moisture is finally taking its toll on my poor DG pipe on my air cooled R. I just might take the plunge next winter and visually restore her (after 5+ years holy crap!) and non high heat stuff will get powder coated etc. but for now, I would like to take her apart and give the expansion chamber a coat so it doesn't turn to swiss cheese. has anyone used Valspar high heat bbq paint? it says its rated to 1200 degrees, so sounds like it will do the trick. so has anyone had any prolonged experience with this stuff? I'm not too worried about scratches, just want to make sure it doesn't bake off. thanks folks!

[El Camexican]

I'd suggest a VHT exhaust paint over BBQ paint (Auto Zone or Pep Boys) Is your pipe plated? If so the paint will be flaking off pretty soon, but you can always touch it up.

[oscarmayer]

El is right! It works. One thing we did got my son's race quad was we had the pipe ceramic coated. It also lowered the outside pip temps by 15-20* so his leg is not cooked by the of the race.

*edited because it was lowered not tripled.. sorry for the confusion.*

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[plevib]

Camexican has the right idea imho. That BBQ paint turns gRey on exhaust after a few minutes of heat. I've used rustoleum exhaust paint from menards with very good results
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It holds up well. Obviously ceramic coating would be great, but spendy for a dg...

[ebaccm26]

I have used the grill paint to paint TONS of exhausts and have never had an issue with it, I prefer it because it is quite a bit cheaper. I just wire wheel and clean the exhaust first and then do maybe three or four coats of paint. With that being said I do try to use the header paint for exhausts on things that I know will be run harder and hotter. No matter what you decide to use just make sure you prep the exhaust well.

You could also look into getting it powder coated. I do not know much about it but the guy I use for powder coating has done two exhausts for me with some kind of high heat powder coat that seems to hold up well and looks pretty nice. Not sure on the cost as both times I was getting other parts done as well but I assume it isn't much different than normal powder coating.

[knappyfeet]

Here's the best method......

Even more crucial than the paint is the prep ............and although sanding and wire brushing rust off is a method it needs to be followed up by "pickling" the metal. This step is almost always everlooked.

I usually chemically remove rust and then power wash. Then...a phosphoric application will pickle the metal and really help the adhesion of the paint. I use POR15 exhaust paint if I'm using a spray can. If not POR15...then PJ1. Its just my preference but in my opinion a fine spray can option to powder coating is 15.

Had to edit.......chemically removing rust complimented by power washing is more thourogh than sanding and wire brushing alone. Plus it doesn't damage or mark the surface up.