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Question about Ceramic Coating on Exhaust

10K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  CCPcoatings.com 
#1 ·
Hi all, I have a couple of questions about Ceramic coating for motorcycle exhausts.

I recently bought a set of blacked out RoadBurner Large Radius pipes, and they do look great - at least they did at first.

I went for a 100 mile ride this weekend and it seemed like every road was under construction. Thanks to that, I had a few rock or other debris bounce off the bike, and the pipes. This caused the ceramic coating to chip, and now I have some very noticeable chips in the black coating that show the bare metal underneath.

I don't have much exp with ceramic coatings, but this seems rather bad. Also, I can use my fingernail to scrape off more of the coating all the way down to the bare metal.

Is this normal? and if so - that would seem to indicate ceramic coatings are for show and not use!

Any input or comments would be appreciated.

Doc
 
#2 ·
Doc, I've only used wraps so as far as ceramic goes I would agree that it doesn't sound normal. Perhaps the coating was not applied correctly? Seems right to me that whenever we do a "shakedown cruise" after doing something to our bikes and there's something wrong then there is a problem. I'm going to read about this and learn more since you brought it up. Regardless, I wish you success with it and please post back what you either found to be the problem or the solution so we can all learn off you.
 
#3 ·
Check out these links. They are very informative and could point to a problem with the quality of the pipes or how they were coated. If that is the case you can take them back right?

http://www.hdforums.com/forum/fuel-...question-about-ceramic-coated-head-pipes.html

http://www.jet-hot.com/

http://www.ehow.com/how_7328835_ceramic-coat-exhaust.html

At first I was thrown by your ceramic coating reference and then I remembered Jet Hot. It's good stuff and doesn't do that if applied correctly. Hope this can help point you in the right direction and please don't forget to post back your problem's solution. Wishing you success with it.
 
#5 ·
Thanks Sojourner, I was thinking I might do that, but what is making me wonder about the coating in general is the ability to scrape it off with my fingernails. That part makes no sense to me. Regular powder coating is incredibly strong, and very difficult to remove. I know ceramic is different, but the fact that it comes off so easily is worrisome.

Hard Krome / RoadBurner makes some great pipes, but I think these blacked out ones are relatively new to them. I wonder if I just got a bad run... I'm going to call them later today and see what they say. I doubt I can send them back, they are already on the bike and have been "used". Maybe I can get a partial refund, but I doubt that too.

I'm also going to call Jet-Hot and see what they say. Might be worth sending the pipes to them and see if they can re-coat them with some sturdier stuff!

I will most certainly post back with any updates or answers!

Doc
 
#8 ·
I just spoke to the folks at Jet-Hot and explained the situation. They seemed surprised I could scrape off the current coating with my fingernail. They've basically told me it would be around $300 plus shipping to remove the current coating ($50) and then coat with the hi-temp stuff ($250).

Seems high, but they told me it won't chip, and I certainly won't be able to scrape it off with my fingernail. They also warranty for life, so if it does chip, flake, or come off they will re-coat for free. Not a bad deal.

Next I'm calling RoadBurner. I'm really disappointed in the coating. Maybe i had the wrong expectations, but I don't think it's unreasonable that the coating be a little tougher!

Doc
 
#9 · (Edited)
I agree, Doc. Seems like a manufacturing defect to me and I would try getting some credit if not all of it back for those pipes if I were in your shoes. I've heard and read about the low quality products having problems but never heard anything bad about Jet Hot. Like I said my money is on them. Sounds like you'll get a good lifetime warranty from them. Don't know about RoadBurner's warranty though or how good they are compared to Jet Hot. Thing is that stuff needs to be applied right and if it isn't then it will not work or last. Let us know what's going on dude. RB's pipes do look sweet though.
 
#10 · (Edited)
RE: Ceramic Coating Motorcycle Pipes & Exhaust




Hey Doc:

To answer your first question, no this is NOT normal. Although Ceramic Coatings are not Kryptonite, they are very durable when applied PROPERLY. I repeat, PROPERLY. The fact that you can take your nail and scratch the coating off of the substrate indicates to me that the coating was NOT applied PROPERLY. In your case, if rocks are flying at your pipes at 55-75MPH you’re bound to get some marks, but it shouldn’t be flaking off anywhere else.


The two most likely causes for what you’re describing are:

1) Improper substrate cleaning / preparation
2) Improper material / cure cycle

We’ve been in the Performance Coating business offering both High Temp Ceramic Coatings and Powder Coatings for close to 15 years. Our area of specialty is Performance Motorsports, which could include anything from a 5hp mini bike up to the Worlds Fastest 10.5 twin turbo Shootout Car making 4000HP+. Based on your description, I’d be willing to bet that the prep is insufficient. In that “Black Ceramic Coating” has become pretty popular for various bikes over the last few years, pipe makers have taken some of this work in house. In order to get Ceramic Coating to stick to your pipes we would burn them in a furnace at about 650F-850F for about 5 hours. This destroys any mandrel oils, greases, etc. From there they are profiled / blasted with a specific media based on the type of Ceramic being used. At this point your parts are being treated as if they were being prepped for open heart surgery, CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!!!!!. After profiling they are sprayed and baked accordingly.

Most pipe makers DON’T have the time, man-power or capability to prep the pipes properly. They’re in the pipe building business, not the coating business. In many cases they may wipe them down or try to scuff them with scotch brite but this usually doesn’t hold up very long. The other thing we see a lot of is, YOUR Ceramic Coated pipes were previously a set damaged or blemmed CHROME pipes. So now prepping chrome is even more critical than that of raw metal pipes so this doesn’t usualy end well either.

If the manufacturer or dealer will warrantly them, give it a shot. If not, we’d be happy to help you correct the problem. Below are a couple recent Vulcans pipes we’ve done as well as pipes from a few other bikes……We offer about 12 different colors of Ceramic Coating and most of those are rated at 2000F+ so there are no worries of over heating the pipes or coatings.

Hope this helps,

CCPcoatings.com















 
#11 ·
Hey Doc:

To answer your first question, no this is NOT normal. Although Ceramic Coatings are not Kryptonite, they are very durable when applied PROPERLY. I repeat, PROPERLY. The fact that you can take your nail and scratch the coating off of the substrate indicates to me that the coating was NOT applied PROPERLY. In your case, if rocks are flying at your pipes at 55-75MPH you’re bound to get some marks, but it shouldn’t be flaking off anywhere else.


The two most likely causes for what you’re describing are:

1) Improper substrate cleaning / preparation
2) Improper material / cure cycle

We’ve been in the Performance Coating business offering both High Temp Ceramic Coatings and Powder Coatings for close to 15 years. Our area of specialty is Performance Motorsports, which could include anything from a 5hp mini bike up to the Worlds Fastest 10.5 twin turbo Shootout Car making 4000HP+. Based on your description, I’d be willing to bet that the prep is insufficient. In that “Black Ceramic Coating” has become pretty popular for various bikes over the last few years, pipe makers have taken some of this work in house. In order to get Ceramic Coating to stick to your pipes we would burn them in a furnace at about 650F-850F for about 5 hours. This destroys any mandrel oils, greases, etc. From there they are profiled / blasted with a specific media based on the type of Ceramic being used. At this point your parts are being treated as if they were being prepped for open heart surgery, CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!!!!!. After profiling they are sprayed and baked accordingly.

Most pipe makers DON’T have the time, man-power or capability to prep the pipes properly. They’re in the pipe building business, not the coating business. In many cases they may wipe them down or try to scuff them with scotch brite but this usually doesn’t hold up very long. The other thing we see a lot of is, YOUR Ceramic Coated pipes were previously a set damaged or blemmed CHROME pipes. So now prepping chrome is even more critical than that of raw metal pipes so this doesn’t usualy end well either.

If the manufacturer or dealer will warrantly them, give it a shot. If not, we’d be happy to help you correct the problem. Below are a couple recent Vulcans pipes we’ve done as well as pipes from a few other bikes……We offer about 12 different colors of Ceramic Coating and most of those are rated at 2000F+ so there are no worries of over heating the pipes or coatings.

Hope this helps,

CCPcoatings.com















Thanks for the knowledge and info CCP.

@Doc ......... There's the lowdown. Hope that business can give you credit. If not then you always have CCP and Jet Hot to set you up right. Wish you success and let us know how it all works out and which setup you went with.
 
#17 ·
So here is the latest. I shipped the pipes back to Road Burner last week. They've had them since Monday. I got an email from them today saying they had prepped them and would be coating them Monday or Tuesday because the weather was very rainy and not the best for the curing process.

Don't really understand that part, I would think these would be cured in an oven or some such.

I should have them back in another week to 10 days. I'll make sure to report back here what happens.

Doc
 
#18 ·
The coating is designed to withstand heat but it doesn't mean it's durable. Powdercoating is somewhat durable but will burn off when the temperature is high enough. Hi temp paint, in a rattle can, will do the job nicely. You will never see the difference when you touch up a flat black "ceramic" finish.
 
#20 ·
Logic

I often wonder about nit-pickers ( I used to be one ) because my dad was a museum curator, not. He would tinker-tinker on something then sell it. When I was about 12yo I spouted off to him (while he was driving his 1964 Oldsmobile 98, which he had just traded his perfectly good Oldsmobile super 88 for). I said "why don't you just buy a mercedes and you won't have to trade cars all of the time". He never answered me.

Leave the Vulcan alone, good G_D it friggin flies as is.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I often wonder about nit-pickers ( I used to be one ) because my dad was a museum curator, not. He would tinker-tinker on something then sell it. When I was about 12yo I spouted off to him (while he was driving his 1964 Oldsmobile 98, which he had just traded his perfectly good Oldsmobile super 88 for). I said "why don't you just buy a mercedes and you won't have to trade cars all of the time". He never answered me.

Leave the Vulcan alone, good G_D it friggin flies as is.
He was likely biting his tongue and counting to 10 to hold back the urge to smack you, lol…. It sounds like your dad got just as much enjoyment out of tinkering and modifying things as he did driving them. I suspect even if he bought the Mercedes, he would still be looking for ways to personalize it or improve performance.

If everyone wanted the same motorcycle and cars with stock performance there would be no billion dollar aftermarket performance industry. The fact that one exists tells you that most people like to personalize whatever it is that they ride. This doesn't mean you have to join the parade. If you’re happy with the way your ride rolled out of the dealer’s showroom consider yourself lucky. I would venture to say you are in the minority though……..
 
#21 ·
My Vulcan came from a salvage pool. Some one lost control at 3,400miles. It was a 2009 but I had to change the frame and 06-09 frames where tooooo much, so now I have a 2005 meanstreak (05 frame = title that says 2005 for). I learned alot about Meanstreaks when I had to take it all apart, oh and put it togather again. Never ever ground out your cobra power leed. It will trash the CPU.

Question, does anyone know of a machine shop that can straighten a inverted fork tube?
 
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