Thinking about either painting or wrapping my RSD tracker exhaust. Where it was originally black it has started to fade really badly, not sure what the best way to go woul be...any advice would be appreciated BIG TIME!!

 

If you wrap it, in black tape and it will fade also. You just have to repaint it, bu you can repaint your present system also.
Coyote

 

Wrapped and painted......

I had the pipe sandblasted, then used HI-Temp BBQ paint.... Over 2 seasons and I haven't had to touch it up yet.

You can go ceramic coat, but that's pretty expensive.

As far as wrapping. Start from the back and work your way to the front. Do it with the pipes off the bike...(Yes, some people will try it while mounted to the bike) Some people soak the wrap in water ahead of time..It supposedly makes it tighter..... I did not do that, and not have had any issues.....

 

When I wrapped my last set of pipes I also used the DEI silicone black spray and it still faded fast. When it got too faded all that was needed was to respray to blacken it up a bit but my OCD led to another exhaust. I guess both is the way to go.

Drew

 

i tried to paint mine using high temp header paint, looked good for the most part. I left the tips chrome. but on the flip side the paint scratches really easily so I ended up buying new pipes.

 

There was just a thread on here about a week ago a guy is wrapping his Tracker pipe and is going to put the heatshields back on after it is wrapped. I think it would look killer. That tip and heatshields on those RSD pipes are what make them look great!!!

 

Thanks all for input, going to paint first to see how that works out, found some exhaust paint that takes up to 1500 degs, they do look pretty good wrapped thou...

 

i scuffed mine up a bit with a brillo pad then used flat black bbq paint it works awesome and has lasted along time

 

Hey Jump... How you doing brother... Looks like you knocked it out of the park again with your bones. Great job just like the old train. Take care brah!

 

first thing to do after removing the exhaust is wash it with soap and water. you want to remove any grease, contaminants, wax, etc prior to scuffing so you dont inadvertantly force junk into the pores of the metal. after washing, put on some rubber gloves and wipe it down with some wax and grease remover. just spray or wipe it on and immediately wipe it off, only moving with the removal stroke in one direction so you dont cross contaminate the clean area. applying it brings the junk out of the metal's pores and wiping it off removes it from the surface making it clean.
put a light, dust coat of paint on first, it will look spotty and thats ok, dont let ocd make you put a full or heavy coat on first. give it about 15 minutes and put a full coat on, move along quickly and give it a full wet looking coat.
dont get anxious and put another coat on too soon, this is why many guys say these paint jobs scratch too easy, you build the paint's mil thickness too quickly, without giving the solvents in the paint time to evaporate. you can end up with a spotty paint job, or runs or brittleness. all the earlier prep will help you avoid things called fisheyes caused by an unclean material substrate.
wait a full 24 hours and take a scotchbrite pad and scuff it down. if you have any runs, use 400-600 grain sandpaper and get rid of it, otherwise, using your scotchbrite pad, just rub enough all over to remove the satin finish and dull the whole thing. this removes any dirt nibs and junk that might have gotten into your paint and gives the previous paint "tooth", something to grab too.
after scuffing, wipe it down again with wax and grease remover.
apply a full, wet coat of paint, wait an hour and apply a second coat.
after another 24 hours, reinstall your parts.
this procedure is what a pro paint shop would do if you took it there, it will not scratch easy, it will be smooth and look professional and can be done with barbecue paint from walmart, it handles temps to 1200 degrees or so and your total project cost is about ten bucks.
the worst part is the time it takes to let the coats dry, but you either want it done right or you want it done right now.

here is an examply of one of my paint jobs, so you know im not just blowing smoke...