Seems like every 14 I see has it done in the silver, or "Sterling"' as some shops call it.
My bike is black. I was thinking a satin black would look good too. Kind of make the header blend with the surrounding bodywork. What do you think?
Since I haven't seen satin black (semi-gloss?) in person I'm not sure if it has enough shine to it. It looks OK based on looking at samples at various websites. I'm wondering if it will end up looking like a flat black after awhile. If so, then the silver would look better.
Any experience with satin black coating?

Any experience with satin black coating? <<< None whatsoever. But for the header to burn and set an age to it, I would say the black will turn gray at the head area, taper off to black again but a dull flat look is my guess.

What is my choice if I were to coat? Black of course... WOTwo I look like?

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In the short time my black header heas been on (maybe 1000 miles) what Hub said is exactly what happened. The gray by the engine is very dark so it looks black enough. I believe the coating on the header was designed to blend in with the flat black muffler after it was used. It seemed like the ceramic was supposed to be cured by the exhaust heat because it smoked for the first minute after it got hot. Maybe for a satin black, the header would be high gloss when new and flatten out a little after it was heated by the exhaust gas.

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Any coating you put on the headers will get chipped by rock strikes fairly soon. Dark is better than light for concealing the speckles.

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yep had it done it was a waste of cash in the end it look like crap in a few weeks

If aftermarket pipes start looking as bad as stocks, I'd say the ceramic coat is more appealing. The headers cool off very fast after the bike is shut off. I didn't use the system before it was coated so I have no idea how much the ceramic improves heat dissipation. It looks good until you take fairings off and look close. Then you see a bunch of spots.

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I appreciate the replies.
I was under the impression the ceramic coating was fairly tough stuff. Much better than paint anyway. You even gain some slight performance benefits I've heard though my reasons are strictly for cosmetics.
The stock header finish is worse than a bad joke. My bike never sees rain and is garaged at night with blankets and in my office at day. Still, the upper header is beginning to rust. I've seen much worse at this site. I have to do something.
I agree with you that the satin black will just turn flat black before long so I'm going with the silver/sterling finish. Last I looked the shops I checked out didn't offer a gloss black finish, just satin.
As mentioned, I'm not sure why a silver finish would show small rock chips more than black but maybe so.

Kak, yours is the reason why I had my header ceramic coated. The header is stainless steel and after a very short time, it gets this ugly brownish rust look to it. I had mine done at perfomance coatings and they have lots of color options. Mine still looks great and the coating is very tough. No chips in it yet and it has been 2 years.

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I was under the impression the ceramic coating was fairly tough stuff. Much better than paint anyway.

That's what I thought too. Much less durable than a paint. I'm sure you could rub it off a muffler with a good scuff of your boot. It is completely resistant to heat which you won't get in the best header paint but ceramic is paper thin and has 0 flexibilty. Satin may be a bit more slippery so it may resist scuffs better than mat but rock strikes, probably same either way.

Little side note. If you go ahead with it, don't expect a perfect coat unless you talk to the guy doing the spray application and maybe pay extra for additional care. See, the mounting plates on the head pipes slide up and down the pipe and that will scrape the coating off when shipped. The plates can not come off the head pipes. They may have minor scrapes before it leaves the shop. As I mentioned, the coating on my headers was cured by the heat of the exhaust gas after it was installed and run. It was NOT fired in a kiln before shipping. Even if it was, I don't think that would have prevented scrapes from those mounting plates.

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I had mine done at perfomance coatings and they have lots of color options. No chips in it yet and it has been 2 years.

Damn. Go with Performance Coatings, KAK.

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You're right Rook. Take a look at the first pic and you will see that they tied the flanges with wire so that they would not scrap during handling. Also, perfomance bead blasts and coats inside and out. Good company to deal with.

* Last updated by: redtrace on 1/28/2010 @ 7:09 PM *

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Rook and redtrace, thanks for the help and tips.
Rook, I don't know about sending them all the way to New York unless they have more shops closer by. I've heard a shop called Embee in So.Cal is supposed to do good work according to Kerry at Area P. Thanks for the tip about the flanges. Maybe I can relay that to the shop and get them taped up or something. Actually, if I do go with a close enough shop then I may hand deliver and pick them up.
redtrace, thanks for the pics. A couple questions I have.....do the mid pipes still slip on OK over the coating? I thought the stuff was thicker but Rook says it's very thin. Any issues with the coating as you torqued the header bolts or anything else? Did you just replace the gaskets or also use a copper sealant to help seal? I also remember reading here somewhere that it's best to use a little blue loc-tite on the bolts?

do the mid pipes still slip on OK over the coating? I thought the stuff was thicker but Rook says it's very thin.

Mine were single coated and the inside was not coated. The collector (where it reduces to 2 pipes) is separate from the headers on my after market system. It took some work to get those pipes to slide together all the way. I actually had to do it assemble it that far before installing. They say Tsukigi pipes do fit very tight. I can't comment on how the stock pipes will fit after coated in and out but I'm sure it will be fine even if you need to emery paper them a touch.

Any issues with the coating as you torqued the header bolts or anything else?

I would recommend wrapping the handle of the ratchet with tape to protect the headers from scrapes. No other problems.

Did you just replace the gaskets or also use a copper sealant to help seal?

I did both. Might as well since you are in there. ZX-14 header gaskets are 18$ shipped from Schnitz. Bout the same from stealer. Careful when you pull the old gaskets. Try not to pry. If you need to pry, best off pointing the screwdriver straight down on that tongue that sticks up on the manifold. I don't think the surface is machined there. Get a second opinion on that - I'm not certain what was going on there. I bet Hub has a pic Just be very careful prying because when she comes she come flying out and you don't want to gouge.

I also remember reading here somewhere that it's best to use a little blue loc-tite on the bolts?

I think I just torqued them. Locktight is supposed to be tightened a hair to shear it when removing. Might not be too easy to remove. Blue would probably would burn up soon. ?????? I think I neverseized mine, come to think of it.

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/28/2010 @ 9:07 PM *

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Thanks. Never sieze. Does it just stop the bolts from siezing or does it help hold them too? I've never used the stuff.

KAK, Run the header nuts dry. Stay on top of the nuts for a few weeks to a month's time. Use new gaskets so you can keep the crush going as the header will loosen up some. But once you tighten those down, they won't go anywhere. No one is having header problems when they bolt up aftermarket or stock headers. It's a good idea to walk the bike with a handful of tools and work each screw, nut, and bolt you can reach easily. This is regular maintenance like make sure the wings don't fall off is check every now and then.

The trick is to tighten the flanges evenly and not cock it to one side which soon loosens enough you hear complaints. OK, I just came back from catching a few flange nuts collapsing more into the gaskets, meaning, they are tight enough without backing off. You do not want to jam those nuts home in a way. That floating washer on the nut is line pushing an umbrella flat. This helps load the nut so it won't back off. You do not want to stretch the stud threads. The nuts should spin on and off by hand, it is that soft a tightening.

Once you have the header back in the port holes, you float the pipe assembly as you hand tighten the header. As long as you shake the assembly home where it wants to sit, the mufflers will slide in place fine. I mean, the [muffler] gasket can be saved if it still is in one piece and not falling apart. It should fit over the coating without any problem. Then tighten the muffler flange and then the hanger bolt in that order. The thing is, you do not want to load the flange studs at the head when all is said and done.

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Never seize is an anti-locking agent. It will help things come off should they rust but it won't do anything to hold them in place. Never sieze is just a generic term. There are a bunch of brands that go by different names. I used a high temp formula.

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/29/2010 @ 7:01 AM *

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OK Thanks. I didn't know there was a muffler gasket. When I installed my Area P's and mid-pipe I didn't see anything. Wasn't really looking for a gasket though. I was advised in the AP paperwork to use some copper sealant if any leaks showed but I was good.

Kak, I have the Area P slip ons also and they were tight going back on after the coating, but no big deal. I replaced the exhaust gaskets when I put everything back together. One of them was out of place from the factory and was pretty mangled, so reuse was not an option.

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I'll get a pic of the stainless franken-pipe power coated silver and put it up.

OK. I looked at the factory manual and now I see the muffler gaskets.
Looks like when I took off the stock cans/mid-pipes the gaskets stayed inside the flared ends. I never saw them. I have my stock exhaust all wrapped up but I could see the gaskets still in there. They're made of lead, right?
I bought the Area P polished mid-pipes and they're only slightly flared at the ends. They slipped over the stock header ends but it was fairly snug. There's no room for the factory gaskets. Any leaks found could be fixed by a coat of copper sealant per AP instructions. I didn't need any sealant. I checked with my hand and noticed no leaks and after several thousand miles there's no visible sign of exhaust leaks.
redtrace, I assume you bought only the AP cans and the stock mid-pipe can be pulled out of the stock cans and re-used?

* Last updated by: KAK on 1/30/2010 @ 9:38 PM *

They r copper.

No Kak...I have the same as yours. The stock mid pipe can not be removed from the factory cans. Not easily anyway! The gaskets I was talking about are the 4 copper ones at the cylinder exhaust ports.

* Last updated by: redtrace on 1/31/2010 @ 7:45 PM *

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Redtrace, thanks for the reply.
I thought I had something else to buy after reading yours and others posts. You guys are calling them exhaust gaskets and muffler gaskets and it seemed to me you were talking about the lead gaskets underneath. "Muffler" gaskets is what really got me side tracked. Thought I was going nuts by missing something.
I've got new "header" gaskets coming this week.
Why did you remove the header just to install slip ons? I didn't see a reason so I figured you must be talking about the muffler gaskets.

* Last updated by: KAK on 2/1/2010 @ 6:57 AM *

red hey did you have the cat removed before getting them coated? and if you dont mind telling us what was the cost of that finish. did they coat inside also?

* Last updated by: scottjkyl on 2/1/2010 @ 7:02 AM *

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Kak, you're killing me! LOL! I removed the header to have it coated. When I did, I saw that 1 of the 4 copper exhaust gaskets was mangled. I ordered the set and replaced them when I got my header back from performance coatings.

Scott, I have an '06. They don't have the 3rd cat in the header. Just one in each can.

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