Painting Muffler and Tips

[greensto]

I purchased an exhaust and the finish needs a little TLC. I'm hoping to use engine gloss spray to get the same finish as:





However, my exhaust isn't polished like the one in the above reference, so would I still be able to use sandpaper to smooth it down? How should I go about getting a smooth, gloss black finish on the tips and muffler?

Reference pic of the muffler and tips I will be working on:



Would this still work after I prep it?

[Webb70]

That will work after prep, but I do believe that VHT also makes an exhaust paint....

[ShocknAwe]

Sand it all around, I would probably start with a mid grade sandpaper to get all the burrs off, then fine very fine and then finish up with your buffing paper for prep and then use it again very gently in between coats.

Good luck!

[Pig Farmer]

Originally Posted by Webb70

That will work after prep, but I do believe that VHT also makes an exhaust paint....

VHT makes "Flame Proof" exhaust/header paint but it is flat. If you bake the paint according to the instructions then you can wet sand the paint to a semi-gloss finish but you'll never get that super glossy look. That being said, once baked, the Flame Proof paint is pretty durable.

[greensto]

I saw how great the Flame Proof stuff was, but I can't fit it in my oven and I can't spray paint the exhaust at a shop so I'm at a loss when it comes to the midpipe area. Luckily, that part can't be seen when installed anyway so I will leave it as-is. The muffler and tips are the only parts I want to make look shiny and new. I will take your advice, ShockNAwe