I buy header paint at Fleet Farm. One to watch is silver, seems to need to cook a while before it's set. Till then it will rub off on your hands.Get high temp exhaust paint an auto parts store. Should do the trick. Might also be called header paint.
it burns off ,I noticed a few of you guys have mentioned painting your mufflers. Is this worthwhile as does it last or does it just then burn off. If it does last, what paint are you using
Interesting. I have never taken off the stock paint with no problems. But I have only been doing this 5-6 years. All my mufflers are holding up well paint wise.It will stay on if you use the right paint and paint it over bare steel. You have to take the time to get all the old paint and rust off then clean the steel with paint thinner before painting. Follow the directions on the can. Here is a garden tractor muffler I did last year. The paint has 50 or so hours on it and it's not coming off. I've done the same on car headers and had it last years. You gotta get it to bare metal though.
Prepped
View attachment 194128
The paint
View attachment 194129
Fresh paint
View attachment 194130
50hrs later. I didn't paint the pipes
View attachment 194131
View attachment 194132
Back in the 80s header manufacturers would paint headers with non heat resistant paint to keep them from rusting. People painted over them with high temp paint and then it would fall off after they got hot. I stripped them and then painted the bare steel with ceramic paint and it would stay on.Interesting. I have never taken off the stock paint with no problems. But I have only been doing this 5-6 years. All my mufflers are holding up well paint wise.
I use that 2000 degree paint also.
okay. that explains it. all i have painted is stock Honda mufflers. i doubt thye were undercoated with non heat resistant paint at any time.Back in the 80s header manufacturers would paint headers with non heat resistant paint to keep them from rusting. People painted over them with high temp paint and then it would fall off after they got hot. I stripped them and then painted the bare steel with ceramic paint and it would stay on.
If the base isn't stable the paint won't stay on. I take em down to the bare steel so I don't have to worry about the possibly compromised base. If painting over the base paint works for you--rock on with it.
Scott, what was the paint you used? I did the same on the old rusty headers on my Vette (think I used VHT) and they were still silver years after painting.The last muffler I painted was the one on the Shibaura... Briggs Vanguard 16, low-tone can. Stripped it to bare metal, cleaned thoroughly before spraying (silver high-temp). Several light coats, sun-dried.
Didn't really work. After some time the paint started to peel off in chunks.
So I dunno... maybe black would work better. All ears on this one.
I'll have to dig it up... some JDM stuff which I've used before and seemed to work OK... on what I don't remember.Scott, what was the paint you used?