Black Gloss Exhaust Ceramic Coating

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 1:04 am

Hi Guys;

Well many of y'all know I was the Guniea Pig to try out the black gloss ceramic coating offered by Powder By The Pound that Luckysox found. J.R. (CBX-Tras) also graciously offered to help out and have QC Coatings apply it (Which is a top notch applicator for ceramics). The test pipe was a Kerker 4-1 (Thanks Eroc for the pipe) and it's below before it was done:

It arrived back Thursday from J.R. But I have had my hands full here with other things. The report is, it's a beautiful Satin finish, very close to what the Kerker's actually were originally and I'm really very happy with it!!! But, it is NOT what I would call a "gloss" finish and does NOT resemble the pictures on Powder By The Pound's website, and I think calling it a gloss finish is a misrepresentation. But that's my opinion and at $120/qt. I kind of expect things to closely resemble the pictures used to advertise it. But not even close in my opinion and I do not consider it a viable alternative for 1100F header down pipes that have lost their black chrome. But again, that's my opinion. But it is very nice!!!! Here are some close up pics and y'all can decide:

Thanks again J.R. for all the help and the fantastic packing job for the trip to Florida, and Eric for the pipe!!!!!

Wayne

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 1:12 am

Very nice Wayne. I knew from the pictures of the finish on PBTP's web site that it wasn't gloss black. No one offers it and it won't be available any time soon. For the purists out there who MUST have black chrome, the only choice it to find a really nice original take-off. They're out there but go for big bucks. Meanwhile, I think the satin black looks awesome and it does the trick.

Thanks for doing this. Now you have a very nice refinished exhaust.

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:34 am

Yea Tom the Pipe looks just great!!! And as I said I'm thrilled with it!!!.....it's for a 900/1100 and I just don't have a bike to put it on right at the moment. I do have a 900 motor here soooo......hmmm!!!!

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:38 am

You might ask the manufacturer if they have a way to buff it to a higher shine. I know that some aluminum ceramic finishes polish up pretty well with Mother's Mag polish. But I'd be hesitant to try it out on a finished pipe without knowing what to expect first. You might consider a test piece.

At least it came out real black if the pics are any indication. A few years ago, most black ceramic thermal barrier products looked dark grey.

Even if it did come out glossier, it won't look like black chrome until it gets a thin clear gloss on top for the look of depth, IMO.

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:58 am

Maybe right Gene about a clear over it....Good idea to contact them and see if maybe they used something on the parts in the pics on their web page after the ceramic was applied to shine them up....I'll contact them and send them these pictures and see if they respond. But yes, it is black as coal and no grey hue at all....Like I said, it looks very close to how the Kerker's looked new. I bought one in 81' right after I got my 750F and this is very close to how it looked.

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 12:37 pm

There is no high temp clear coat available suitable for exhaust temperatures.

Lets not forget that one of the reasons Honda was able to do a black chrome finish is due to the double wall head pipes that act as a thermal barrier. Single wall pipes (like 99% of all aftermarket pipes) would dis-color the black chrome in a very short time. The same thing might happen on the black ceramic if you try to polish it to make it glossier but, I thick it might be an option.

I think we're collectively chasing something that might not be achievable with today's materials but, maybe some day we can get there.