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Originally posted by TADracer
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Its all in the prep with plain paint or ceramic and if you want a truly carefree finish that will last many years and can take rock hits, oil and fuel spills and still clean up easily then I will recommend a metallic ceramic coating like Cermachrome by Techline Coatings. They also have a number of black ceramic coatings available by online purchase (techlinecoatings.com). Applying their finishes is not really hard to do and in fact, the directions usually sound alot harder than it really is.
The chrome on the header or muffler can be easily removed by blasting with 80-100 grit aluminum oxide since it has a jaged shape to the grains. That will remove the chrome and leave a satin finish for a good grip. If you have an air compressor you can blast them with a cheap gun from Harbor Freight and a small detail spray gun will apply a metallic ceramic coating. The trick is baking on some of these finishes and that must be done in an oven and not by running the bike with the uncured headers installed (I waited till my wife was gone for a day and used the kitchen oven). After the ceramic was baked I used the same cheap gun and blasted the header with glass beads to smooth the finish out and then I compounded it to a chrome-like finish. A vibratory polisher could have made it like a near chrome finish but I did not have access to one big enough and with the right polishing agent. The whole deal took a long afternoon and it has been in service six years now.
Here is a pic of my MAC header when this was done in 2005.
And here is a current-day picture. Still looks like the day it was coated.
The chrome on the header or muffler can be easily removed by blasting with 80-100 grit aluminum oxide since it has a jaged shape to the grains. That will remove the chrome and leave a satin finish for a good grip. If you have an air compressor you can blast them with a cheap gun from Harbor Freight and a small detail spray gun will apply a metallic ceramic coating. The trick is baking on some of these finishes and that must be done in an oven and not by running the bike with the uncured headers installed (I waited till my wife was gone for a day and used the kitchen oven). After the ceramic was baked I used the same cheap gun and blasted the header with glass beads to smooth the finish out and then I compounded it to a chrome-like finish. A vibratory polisher could have made it like a near chrome finish but I did not have access to one big enough and with the right polishing agent. The whole deal took a long afternoon and it has been in service six years now.
Here is a pic of my MAC header when this was done in 2005.
And here is a current-day picture. Still looks like the day it was coated.
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