mac exhaust bad paint

Just installed a Mac 4-1 black painted exhaust on my 81kz 550 a2 and after running the engine for 5 minutes or so the paint on the headers started to bubble! I was assuming they used high temp paint that would take the heat but apparently not....i like the exhaust otherwise. Has anyone else heard of this happening? and do you know if Mac is easy to deal with as far as product defects and returns? grrr frustrating. Would have got a kerker if I could find one :dry:

They are cheap. On mine the paint didn't bubble, but it turned grey within a few months. A year later little specs of rust came through.

I don't know what the bubbling would mean, but if you can't get them to fix/replace it, you may want to check out Otto's thread on ceramic coating.

Yes that is a problem with the black headers from MAC they are very easy to deal with as long as you did not by the pipe on eBay. They have a strict "no warranty" policy when their items are bought on eBay. I buy my pipes straight from them, and had never had a problem with them backing up their product.

mine never did fit my bike POS IMO but ... spend the xtra money on something good, but if anyone wants a MAC cheap ...75 with no baffle

Street performance wise, MAC pipes are very good. The cannister pipe is better on the street than the megaphone pipe. Any pipe that you buy that is "painted" will do the same thing. The only thing that will hold up is Ceramic coatings. And I do have one on my 76 KZ900 It fit perfectly.
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...ew&catid=2&id=403681

I didn't buy the pipe directly from Mac but it was through a reputable dealer and not ebay. Ill have to see what they say about correcting the problem but in the end I'd like to stick with it if possible. Maybe ceramic coating is the way to go. I like the sound and for the price it can't be beat.
I was worried that since the bike is stock and not yet rejetted it could be running lean and hotter than the paint was designed for. I was going to test ride the bike before i rejet in case I don't have to but ill think twice if all the paint is just going to melt off hahaa

you should jet two sizes higher on the mains and richen the idle screws about .25 turns.

jwe2 wrote:

Just installed a Mac 4-1 black painted exhaust ...quote]

Well, I can tell you from personal experience on a serious Mustang Header/exhaust purchase from MAC - That was your problem - using a MAC

They are the worst in my mind and I would never entertain the idea again.

I'm looking at buying a Mac chrome exhaust for my 82 kz1100 only because it all I can find in chrome that fits.

so who do ya think made those cool ass headers for yosh in the 70s/80s? mac!

factory paint on any header sucks,i dont care who its made by!
you can thank craigs friends at the epa for a big chunk of the junk paint issue,sandblast it or atleast scuff it up and shoot it with some good black paint

Hi temp paint MUST be cured (cooked) before using tghe header or it will bubble off as you saw. I used a pro heat gun to cure the paint when I did mine.