Exhaust/Muffler Temperature?

Hey guys, I need to figure out how hot mufflers get.
I am repainting a set of Cobra F1's for my '85 VF500F.

The paint I started with, POR-15 Black Velvet, is good for 1200 degrees F, but it isn't glossy at all, and I want these things to be a nice shiny black. The next step down in POR-15 stuff is engine enamel, which is good for 500 degrees. However, it says in the instructions not to use it for exhaust components, so I'm guesssing the mufflers go over 500.

In between I've found VHT Brake Caliper Paint, which is good for 900 degrees. I'm not sure if that's hot enough though.

Do any of you guys have one of those spiffy laser thermometers, that you could take and see how hot your pipes are after you get home from riding around? I don't want to go buy one just to take one temperature.

I was going to call the local Honda shop and see if they'd know, but they're already closed up for the weekend.

I'm really hoping that 900 degrees paint will be good enough, but I don't want to go buy it and put it on just to have it come off if the mufflers get too hot.

Otherwise, if anyone knows of some good gloss black high temp paint I could use, I'm all ears!

Thanks,
-Chris

 

Really, 500 degrees would do it eh? That's pretty cool. I'm only painting the mufflers now, and the common collector will be next. I don't need glossiness for the headers cause they're hardly visible, and I'm not going to do them for a while yet anyway. Come to think of it, I dunno if the collector even really needs to be shiny. The cans do though!

I'm back at my apartment now, so the work for this weekend has come to an end

I'll investigate further this week and hopefully I can finish up and get those new cans on next weekend *fingers crossed*

 

HMMMM well I called the Honda shop and he said glossy paint might not hold up, and powder coating is better.

Well I say too bad, cause the whole point of this project was so my cheap ass wouldn't have to pay for powder coating!

So I think I'm gonna give that brake caliper paint a try, and if it comes apart later, I'll bite the bullet and powder coat them.

Does anyone else have recommendations for high temp paint?

 

OK I called VHT. The lady there said the 900 degree brake caliper paint would probably burn off!

Another option is putting VHT 1500 degree clear satin finish paint over the black paint. She said it's not real glossy, but it would be better than flat, and more heat resistant than the brake paint.

So now I guess I need to make a decision! Although I'd really like to know how hot the pipes ACTUALLY get, I seriously don't want to go buy a $50 thermometer to do it.

 

See but I think that 200 degrees is the temperature of the engine coolant, and the exhaust gasses coming out are much hotter than that.

You know what I think I might do, since I still need to do the collector anyway, I'll paint it with the black velvet, and then go over it with the VHT satin clear stuff. If it looks decent I'll do the mufflers that way, and if I don't like it I'll take a chance with the brake caliper paint on the mufflers.

 

In cooler weather when my fingers get cold I often pull over & wrap my hands around my Kerker can to warm up. Being that I can do this w/ my bare hands the outer can temp can not be over 200 degrees. The Kerker being aluminum( I think ) does dissipate heater more efficiently than steel there for steel will be hotter to the touch. In affect what I'm saying is for the cans standard high temp paint or standard powder coating will hold up, the collector is an entirely different story as it will be much warmer most likely upwards of 600-700 degrees( this is a guess, I do know the engines I work on for a living produce exhaust temps of up to 1200 deg. off the turbo under load)

 

See that's what I was thinking too, cause when I'm done riding, I can still touch the cans without getting burned, at least in this cold WI weather

But I bet the closer to the collector you go, the hotter the pipes will be, right?

 

I can get the pipes, (Not Can) glowing red when tuning on the dyno. This is up by the exhaust ports. EGT at about 4" downstream is around 1200F. It drops quickly as it travels and expands. At the collector I've seen over 500F.
You midpipes will be hot enough to melt your boots, That is over 250F.

 

That sounds right to me. I knew the headers get really really hot, but I didn't think the pipes would be so hot past the collector.

So, do you think I would be ok painting the pipes and cans (everything to the REAR of the collector) with 900 degree paint?

 

Yes, Should be Ok. VHT would work on the headers but does deteriorate and needs to be touched up annually. (I've actually done 'em in white on things in the past.)

 

Awesome!

Hey do you know a good place to buy VHT paint?
Summit Racing has it for 8 bucks a can, but shipping is $11!

Would one can be enough to cover both mufflers, or should I get two?