How to refurbish my exhaust

my GPZ550 has the original 4-in-2- exhaust. The exhaust is in reasonable good condition. But the headers (especially the 2 inner ones) are rusting. Some bits of the black chrome has come off. How did kawasaki made this ? Is it a very high temp. resitant ceramic coating ? Or did they used electro plating as you would do with normal chrome ?

I don't want to buy an aftermarket exhaust 4-into-1. I would use the stock exhaust for as long as possible.

You might consider having it ceramic coated black. It might cost a couple hundred bucks, but it would look like a million bucks. See:

www.jet-hot.com/

I'm not sure if all "ceramic" coating is created equal or not, but the coating on my exhaust system is quite fragile. It didn't stick properly on one of the headers either, but I think that's a different matter. Regardless, it may still be the best option available that doesn't cost tons of money. Just don't get your expectations up too high.

PS: check the build thread linked in my signature for photos.

OMG !!! a couple of hundred bucks !! I only paid 400 us dollar for my bike. So this ceramic coating will cost as much as my bike.
I'll have to use a cheaper heat resistant spray such as vht.

so if the bike cost $1500, you'd be more willing to spring for the ceramic coating?

It's going to be rough when he needs to spend half the purchase price of the bike for new tires. :laugh: Ed

Yeah that seems to be right. I wanted the bike as cheap as possible. I do need new tyres in the future. But the exhaust will also work without a new ceramic coating. It won't last as long, but I probably will sell the bike in a couple of years, so i don't want to spend to much on it.

I used Rustoleum ultra bar-b-que grill paint on the manifold section of my muffler system & it's still good after a few thousand miles. Since the chrome was in very good condition, I just hit the rusty areas with jewelers brass wire wheels. I was expecting the paint to get burned off the shiny chrome, but it's still intact. see pic.

In your case I would probably sand the pipes with emory cloth before painting.