Finishes on your 250R, Tri-Z, or Tecate pipe

[Red Rider]

Just curious what finish (bare, painted, plated) is the most popular for all the 250R, Tri-Z, & Tecate owners out there.

[Kev250R]

I painted both of the exhausts on my 250R's with VHT high-temp paint. That's been almost five years for one of them and the finish is still holding-up great! I did the silencer and the head-pipe.

FWIW Chrome coatings look cool but don't allow for as much heat to dissapate as do painted exhausts. I've never run a nickel plated exhaust so I can't speak to the specifics on those.

HTH

--Kevin

[Dirtsquirt]

Kev, you try to keep heat in the exhaust. heat=power

[Kev250R]

The easiest way to answer that is to say yes and no. Let me explain...

Keeping heat in the exhaust is a great ideal, however the more heat you have trapped in the exhaust could lead to higher tempratures in the engine (especially when the motor is placed under a heavy load).

I'm basing this on what I learned when I was researching exhaust's for my air-cooled VW. From what I found in the VW world is that chrome exhausts (along with other chrome accents) look cool but lead to higher engine temps, which to an air-cooled VW can be lethal. The same holds true for air-cooled ATC motors too, get it too hot and you raise your risk of seizing it.

So would you really notice or have to worry about this change in engine temps in a single cylinder ATC engine? Probably not, but with as finiky two stroke mills can be with jetting, fuel mixtures and stuff raising engine temp by X degrees may make a diffrence.

HTH

--Kevin

[Mr. Kasey]

vw and 2 stroke atc,,,,,,,APPLES AND ORANGES!!!!

[mywifeknowseverythin]

Nickel here:headbang:

[Stan MaN]

Originally posted by kasey
vw and 2 stroke atc,,,,,,,APPLES AND ORANGES!!!!

I second on that:lmao: :D

[TeCaTe_MaN420]

i just used a high temp BBQ paint (jet black) with a high-gloss 1200* engine clearcoat

[HondaHarry]

My 250R has a chrome pipe, but I think the coolest looking pipe is a bare metal one, but the trick is that you have to maintain it, which isnt hard to do. My brother ran a bare metal Bills Pipe on his KX 250, and he got a 3M sanding pad (scotchbrite) and would spray WD 40 all over his pipe and scrub it with the pad, then dry it off with a clean rag, he did this after every ride/race, after a while it got this cool looking dark gold color to it, I did the same to my Bracket racing VW (berg stinger and header) if you keep up on it, it will never rust, and it smells good while the remaining WD40 burns off, but if you get it good and clean, it wont smoke as it burns away.

But I do understand your opinions on the VW and chrome (I hate the chrome, all stock or nothing) But a 2 stroke open aircooled engine is completely different than the fan cooled VW engine, I wouldnt stress over the temps of the R. ride fast and keep it cool. Both the VW and the R. hehe HM

[wild200x]

i just used a high temp BBQ paint (jet black) with a high-gloss 1200* engine clearcoat how well does this hold up? got pics?

[bryan raffa]

ceramic coated here.

[mywifeknowseverythin]

how well does this hold up? got pics?

Ted...That post is 3 yrs old....:doh: Last time he was here was 8-2-04:chuckle: :loser:

[wild200x]

Ted...That post is 3 yrs old....:doh: Last time he was here was 8-2-04:chuckle: :loser::doh: :lmao: :hail: i didnt even know the thread was old:doh: that is to funny. do you actualy look at the date of every post ya read???

[ScottZJ]

Bahahahahaha :lmao: :lmao:

Talk about Living in the passed!:chuckle: :lala:

[wild200x]

ya i am still cracking up today about it! to funny. :lala: :chuckle: :doh:

[Troll]

how well does this hold up? got pics?

To answer your question and not just smart-ass you. The bbq paint works great. It holds up fine on all my trikes. Good luck on yours.........................:thumbsup:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b327/Trikegodtroll/engine4.jpg?t=1170254208

http://www.3wheeler.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8727&stc=1&d=1136870445

[daron craig]

I want to order one from DG, but I'm not sure if the raw or bare national pipe has the same performance as the nickel plated extreme pipe. Tri-Z

[bryan raffa]

:wtf: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[bryan raffa]

Hey Didint Eather! I even voted!!! poll's still open..............:doh: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[250sxMan]

i found that chrome lost its lustre after a while and got a crappy look to it. nickle held up better

[Rex Karz]

Well, as long as we're necro'ing, hijacking is ok, right?

Has anyone here seen some of the finishes they are putting on exhausts (as well as engine parts, etc) like the soda blasting and the ceramic or porcelan coats? I would love to have a porcelan pipe on my 185. Actually, a whole engine with one of thoe exotic coatings would be cool, too.

[wild200x]

i hear that the factory crome jobs on the aftermarket dg's and whatnot go to crap. but if ya take one to a chromer and have it doen, they hold up WAY better. actualy i work w/someone who showed me his and it has realy held up nice!!

[dunerash]

i hear that the factory crome jobs on the aftermarket dg's and whatnot go to crap. but if ya take one to a chromer and have it doen, they hold up WAY better. actualy i work w/someone who showed me his and it has realy held up nice!!
Some are crap??? I bought a LRD pipe 6-8 years ago and the chrome still looks good for how old it is..?:shrug:

[wild200x]

Some are crap??? I bought a LRD pipe 6-8 years ago and the chrome still looks good for how old it is..?:shrug:just saying what i have heard...

[honda250sx]

SwainTech ceramic coated. It looks great, doesnt chip, holds heat, and is paintable. All my sled exhausts have the same coatings.

[3wheelergod]

The key to making the chrome stick and last is all in the owners hands. I have purchased countless pipes in the past and had countless other things chromed. Just make damn sure you clean it all the way before you get it chromed. Do a bead blast to all the welds, M.E.K. works allright as does acetone for taking oils and finger prints off. DO NOT use petrolium based products for cleaning cause they leave a oily residue behind and that is pure hell for chrome. Personally I like the bling aspect of the chrome. It looks good! Temperature shouldn't be a restriction when it comes to looks.

[Geonious]

I say Ceramic coating.

Hi Luster Aluminum finish (it looks like polished aluminum) :shocked:

It withstands 1200 degrees and is more durable then powder coating.

I just used HPC. (High Performance Coatings) for a few parts.

The picture below is my 350X. The coating is 10yrs old!!!

Its slightly corroded but still looks good for it's age.

They also offer a wide range of colors.

Nice stuff!!

I use BBQ Grill paint for the inner core (the part that holds the packing) of my exhaust pipe.
That holds up very nice and gives a satin finish.

[Tecate250]

Well I have used tremclad gloss clear. All I did was heat the tank up a bit with a tourch after cleaning all the paint off. Paint while it is still hot and it seems that the paint burns to the pipe. Poor mans powder coating I call it. But It lost 20% of the metal finish after painted. I think Im going to try the wd40 trick myself.

[bryan raffa]

heres Dynoports ceramic coating .. it was a Little dull when I got it .. but mothers polish took care of that!

[3wheelergod]

Nice hand built Drag pipe. Have you ever dyno'd your trike?

[3razors]

I still love the look of Raffa's side pipe.

Another thing although I havent personally tried it I hear when you get your pipe chrome plated you can spray high temp black paint on the INSIDE of the pipe to keep it from bluing and discoloring. This would only work on a new pipe though with no carbon buildup.

[bryan raffa]

thanks razor no I havent dynoed it yet.. maybe this summer..almost time to pull that pipe out and throw a shine on it

[360X]

Nickel plated here.....:cool:

[225]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kvtwfNT7sM

[Travwyatt85r]

I say Ceramic coating.

Hi Luster Aluminum finish (it looks like polished aluminum) :shocked:

It withstands 1200 degrees and is more durable then powder coating.

I just used HPC. (High Performance Coatings) for a few parts.

The picture below is my 350X. The coating is 10yrs old!!!

Its slightly corroded but still looks good for it's age.

They also offer a wide range of colors.

Nice stuff!!

I use BBQ Grill paint for the inner core (the part that holds the packing) of my exhaust pipe.
That holds up very nice and gives a satin finish.

Here's my Paul Turner with Hi Luster coat from HPC (only $75, I'd recommend them)...

before:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/Ostatealph/S7301087.jpg
after:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/Ostatealph/S7301113.jpg
mounted:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/Ostatealph/PT002.jpg

[FlyingW]

Hey Travis, where locally did you take your pipe. I need to get that done on mine.

[Travwyatt85r]

400 Glade Ave.
OKC, OK 73127
405-789-2888

It's between Rockwell and Council as you head west on Melrose, it is on the south side of the road. Melrose parallels Reno and is like a mile or 1/2 north of Reno. Call them and tell them what you'd like and they'll take care of you. It's only like a 2-3 day turnaround. They prep it before coating.

[FlyingW]

Got it, thanks trav.

[Travwyatt85r]

Ask for Cruz in OKC. Oh, and I was wrong, it was $85 including tax.

[maggiesboy]

ceramic coating on my Z... now Moshman's pipe