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!
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
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.
__________________
It ain't about where you live; it's about how you live. So, ride to live, Bruh.
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
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?
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.
__________________
It ain't about where you live; it's about how you live. So, ride to live, Bruh.
My Cobras scratched very easily when I installed them. I used BBQ hi temp flat black paint out of a rattle can to touch them up and it worked great. Still there years later.
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
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sojourner
My Cobras scratched very easily when I installed them. I used BBQ hi temp flat black paint out of a rattle can to touch them up and it worked great. Still there years later.
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
From my brief experience with ceramic coated pipes, which also includes V&H pipes on my friends Harley, they scratch very easily. Unfortunately powdercoating won't hold up to the heat coming from the engine's exhaust.
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!
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
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.
__________________
It ain't about where you live; it's about how you live. So, ride to live, Bruh.
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
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:
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.
Question about Ceramic Coating on Exhaust
1967 Triumph Bonneville 650 T-120
Linear Mode
