Painted Header

[bkelley]

It all started with me wanting to grind down the welds on the header. Then I decided I wanted to paint my heat shield black while it was off, then I figured why not just paint everything. Some part of the pipe were begining to rust, so they needed a good cleaning, anyways. So I went out and got some black RustOleum High Heat paint (rated up to 1200°). Won't have to worry about rust anymore, either. I'm really happy with how it all turned out, should look really good back on the bike.

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/10/dscf7400.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5038/dscf7396x.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/3781/dscf7397n.jpg

[speedfreek]

It looks nice. I hope it holds up. My headders always burned off the paint when I used the spray can "hi-temp" paint from the parts store.

Eastwood's silver hi-temp paint WILL NOT burn off! It is expensive but looks like it's been coated and will last for years. I will never buy hi-temp paint in a spray can from the parts store again.

[Moto Pro472]

Yea mine always burned off too. If you smell something weird and its a little smokey by the head you know why. If it were me I would take some mothers and a rag to that WB canister and shine it up a bit while its off.

[honda400ex2003]

I think it looks awesome. I had my heat shield flat black that was just regular paint and it was alright, although it was not on the header too. Make sure you put a pic of it installed, it should look killer. steve

[2007TRX400EX]

I did the same thing, it looks great, and is extremely cheap. Mine has been on for about 2 months and its held up very nicely.

just dont spray things suck as purple power,honda bright,simple green, stuff like that on it and it will be fine. stuff like that takes it off after it gets hot.

[bkelley]

Yeah, I figured the worst that can happen is that it will just burn off. I'll see if I can't get it back on today and post some pictures of it.

Originally posted by Moto Pro472
If it were me I would take some mothers and a rag to that WB canister and shine it up a bit while its off. I wanted to clean it up. Which Mothers do you recommend for it? Mag and Aluminum?

[bkelley]

Originally posted by bkelley
I wanted to clean it up. Which Mothers do you recommend for it? Mag and Aluminum?
So I used Mag and Aluminum and it shined it up pretty good.

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4152/dscf7403m.jpg

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6070/dscf7404p.jpg

i saw this and i just went and did mine.

[mineralgrey01gt]

i think im going to do mine while mine is down waiting on the front end to come in.

[bkelley]

Originally posted by honda4life818
i saw this and i just went and did mine. Painted the header or polished your can?

[Moto Pro472]

Yea the canister looks good. Its hard to capture polished pics from camera unless you use a wheel. When you apply the mothers mag and aluminum you have to push hard and use a separate towel when wiping off. Then it brightens up a bit

[Moto Pro472]

Heres my bike that only has mag and aluminum polish on it. Do multiple coats and press hard because you have to buff it out.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6093/dsc00135j.jpg

[bkelley]

Yeah, I just don't know if I want a mirror finish. I like the brushed look of it.

i did both. polished the can and painted the header and the end cap.

[ec400ex]

The stock headers are stainless to my knowledge. U can scrub em down and wash off what looks like rust but its actually baked on mud and other sheeit. That was the case with my brothers 300 atleast. I could be wrong. The black headers look f-in awesome though... i may have to do the same thing lol.

[bjjmoore]

Has anyone ever used the cloth heat wrap on there exhaust?

would that be recomended?

i head it ruins the finish on the pipe because it holds water under it.

[honda400ex2003]

Originally posted by honda4life818
i head it ruins the finish on the pipe because it holds water under it.

i have heard the same, if it is true or if it really matters is different, but it does help out with keeping the egts up while keeping the outside cool. steve

[2007TRX400EX]

Moto Pro472, is your atv in your living room? i wish my parents let me do that.

[Moto Pro472]

lol...

Its a kx250... The quad is behind the camera in the pic. Its in the basement for the winter time. I finished half my basement and the other half is workshop. Our old couch old table and leftover rug never made it to the dump so I have it in the corner of the workshop. You can see some sheetrock and crap in the corner.

:devil:

[bkelley]

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/1105/dscf7411.jpg

[2007TRX400EX]

Looks good. How have you kept you engine so clean? i wash mine after almost every weekend, and every ride after a muddy ride. Did you put anything on your engine?

[mineralgrey01gt]

the header and such looks real good. I think im going to do mine today. Its still way too wet to ride around here and i dont want to tear the yard up that bad. I need to buy me a header cover though. Thinking of getting the carbon one from HMF

[Moto Pro472]

looks real good. Sorry didn't mean to thread jack. The e series is in real good shape I wish they still made them how they used to.

If your bored you could do something with the front triangular motor mounts next. Either paint or polish. Or even throw a little bit of mothers on the nerfs to match the e series.

[honda400ex2003]

Looks awesome dude. that machine is really coming around for you. steve

[bkelley]

Originally posted by 2007TRX400EX
Looks good. How have you kept you engine so clean? i wash mine after almost every weekend, and every ride after a muddy ride. Did you put anything on your engine?
No, I don't use anything special to clean the engine. It might be because I live in a very dry environment and don't go through much water or heavy mud. But to wash I use a mix of laundry detergent and hot water for all my bikes. The enzymes in the detergent help to breakdown the dirt. I fill a spray bottle with about 4oz of detergent then the rest with hot water and shake it up. Then I spray down the entire bike with the detergent mix and let it sit for a few miuntes (not in the sun, you don't want it to dry). Then just take a sponge or whatever and use a little elbow grease on the spots that need it and wash it all away. It's really amazing what it does to the tires. A little degreaser also works good for dirt stains on tires.

Originally posted by Moto Pro472
looks real good. Sorry didn't mean to thread jack. The e series is in real good shape I wish they still made them how they used to.

If your bored you could do something with the front triangular motor mounts next. Either paint or polish. Or even throw a little bit of mothers on the nerfs to match the e series. Yeah, I've still got a whole can of the stuff left so I figured I'll be polishing everything I can haha.

Originally posted by honda400ex2003
Looks awesome dude. that machine is really coming around for you. steve Thanks, man. And thanks to everyone else. This has been really fun and couldn't have done it without you guys. The arms will be going on today so I'll have more pictures after that, too. Then it's off to the dunes this weekend for some riding.

[KISSmyACE]

Where do you buy the high rated temp paint for the headers? I need to do mine, it looks terrible. My exhaust is the exact same as yours but a friend powdered the can black for me. I wanna try to find a new White Bros E Series emblem to rivet to the can.

[bkelley]

I got the paint from Home Depot.

[KISSmyACE]

Originally posted by bkelley
I got the paint from Home Depot.


awesome, thank you. I'll have to go shopping!!