Stock vmax exhaust header wrap?

[dhc1975]

I have a stock exhaust system that I just got off eBay and its rough with some road rash. I scuffed up the mufflers to paint them with vht flameproof paint but I've heard negative things about painting the headers, so I was thinking of using exhaust wrap on the headers and painting the mufflers. Can anyone offer any advice about doing this. Will the exhaust wrap insulate too much and cause exhaust problems? Will I have to rejet the carbs? I just want to cosmetically fix the look of the pipes without effecting the bike on a budget. I know some people might suggest powder coating, sandblasting..etc.. but I've already looked into it and it's too pricey. I paid $110 for the exhaust system and want to perform a cheaper way of making them look good.

 

[one2dmax]

The stock front main pipes are double walled so you can either scuff and paint with high temp paint or wrap them - either way will work fine. The rear is the hottest set of pipes though they will still normally let a good high temp (BBQ or exhaust header paint) will hold up.

Sean

 

[dhc1975]

Cool, thanks for the info Sean.

 

[sdt354]

Ben in NY has his exhaust pipes wraped. It looks cool too. I wouldn't heritate to wrap it.
Steve-o

 

[dekberg]

I have a stock exhaust system that I just got off eBay and its rough with some road rash. I scuffed up the mufflers to paint them with vht flameproof paint but I've heard negative things about painting the headers, so I was thinking of using exhaust wrap on the headers and painting the mufflers. Can anyone offer any advice about doing this. Will the exhaust wrap insulate too much and cause exhaust problems? Will I have to rejet the carbs? I just want to cosmetically fix the look of the pipes without effecting the bike on a budget. I know some people might suggest powder coating, sandblasting..etc.. but I've already looked into it and it's too pricey. I paid $110 for the exhaust system and want to perform a cheaper way of making them look good.

I've had mine wrapped for over a 3 years now with no issues. It is a real pain in the ass because you have to wrap them while they are on the bike. It takes a couple hours but looks nice if you take your time. Be advised...if you need to remove the exhaust for any reason (i.e. solid motor mounts, etc) the wrap is toast and has to be completely redone. It's also easy to rip/tear the wrap when loading the bike into trailer. Be careful and watch your clearance or the wrap will end up shreded.
You might be able to see mine in a couple of my pics on my profile. Got any questions please ask...I've wrapped mine twice. Buy only quality wrap. You get what you pay for. I bought the cheap stuff off ebay the first time. It tears real easy. The second time I bought Titanium Exhaust Wrap. It is much easier to work with and doesn't need to be soaked before wrapping the pipes. It's a cool look that not a lot of other VMaxers have.

Cheers,
Darren

 

[Fire-medic]

I agree w/Sean, if you scuff them & use good paint (I like VHT, better than bar-b-q paint, but >$) they will look fine & hold up adequately. Surface prep is everything, be sure to use metal prep before painting & don't handle them before you spray them after you cleaned & metal-prepped them. In time (years later), you will get stuff coming thru the paint if they are really rusty, but then you just do it again.

The best results for surface prep I have had was using a friend's glass-bead blasting cabinet. You can come close by just using a wire brush in a die grinder & then using a soda-blasting media/equipment. Harbor Freight Tools has one they run on special frequently, I got mine for <$10.
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=21096&highlight=soda
The soda gets into the tiny pits the wire brush cannot, but the wire brush will cut heavy rust more-quickly than the soda media will.

Aesthetically, I just don't care much for the wrapped-header look. Around Miami, about every other H-D Sportster going for the 'bobber-look' has that done. Now maybe if you painted the wrap after you wrapped it, then you would be a Trend-Setter! Go for a contrast. That beige look it goes-to after a few heat/cool cycles just looks what our British friends would call, "tatty."
Painted wrap would at-least make yours look different.

The stock front main pipes are double walled so you can either scuff and paint with high temp paint or wrap them - either way will work fine. The rear is the hottest set of pipes though they will still normally let a good high temp (BBQ or exhaust header paint) will hold up.

Sean