Refinishing my muffler

I have a Erion slip on that I'm in the process of refurbishing.  It has this black plastic coating that's peeling off in places.  After I strip the plastic coating off I have three choices.  One is to polish the can and be done with it.  My second choice is to paint it.  The third choice is to apply a 3M carbon fiber look-alike film, which is what I really want to do.  However, this will require that I drill out all of rivets on the end cap and at the inlet, apply the film and rivet it back together.  My concern is that once I have all of the rivets out and the ends removed, I might not be able to get it back together.  Has anyone ever done something like this?  I don't want to ruin the muffler.  I like the way it sounds and I can't get a replacement since Erion no longer offers this model.

[image: View Post]bill220, on 25 November 2010 - 02:36 PM, said:

I have a Erion slip on that I'm in the process of refurbishing.  It has this black plastic coating that's peeling off in places.  After I strip the plastic coating off I have three choices.  One is to polish the can and be done with it.  My second choice is to paint it.  The third choice is to apply a 3M carbon fiber look-alike film, which is what I really want to do.  However, this will require that I drill out all of rivets on the end cap and at the inlet, apply the film and rivet it back together.  My concern is that once I have all of the rivets out and the ends removed, I might not be able to get it back together.  Has anyone ever done something like this?  I don't want to ruin the muffler.  I like the way it sounds and I can't get a replacement since Erion no longer offers this model.


it is a powdercoating

i can have it stripped and then ceramic coated black or you can have it powdercoated and yes it will have to be taken apart possbily

I wouldn't go with the fake carbon fiber stuff. Get it jet coated or just keep it clean/polished. Will probably look much better and you won't have to worry about the high temps or it peeling again.

[image: View Post]bill220, on 25 November 2010 - 02:36 PM, said:

I have a Erion slip on that I'm in the process of refurbishing.  It has this black plastic coating that's peeling off in places.  After I strip the plastic coating off I have three choices.  One is to polish the can and be done with it.  My second choice is to paint it.  The third choice is to apply a 3M carbon fiber look-alike film, which is what I really want to do.  However, this will require that I drill out all of rivets on the end cap and at the inlet, apply the film and rivet it back together.  My concern is that once I have all of the rivets out and the ends removed, I might not be able to get it back together.  Has anyone ever done something like this?  I don't want to ruin the muffler.  I like the way it sounds and I can't get a replacement since Erion no longer offers this model.

I disassembled my TBR carbon pipe, and made a new mounting bracket for it that is riveted to the inlet cap/outer shell since the supplied wrap-around mounting strap pretty much sucked. I had to get the correct rivets from a local fastener supply house, but other than that it was no big deal. Just take the proper precautions when handling the fiberglass packing i.e. wear gloves, and handle it gently so it doesn't flake off & become airborne.

+1 on polishing it. I doubt the paint or carbon film would last long on an exhaust. If you polish it a few minutes with some Mother's when you clean the bike will keep it looking good. It's just the initial polishing that will take some effort.

It's definitely not powder coated.  It's black plastic film that, unfortunately is peeling off.
Polished it is.  
Thanks for the replies.

be vary carefull drilling out the rivets, not to slip with the drill and make the hole a lot bigger....  you may not find a rivet big enough to fill the gap nicely.....  Not that I would know ofcource.... :pissed:    :biggrin:

hey bill, did you get the PM i sent you?

[image: View Post]MBrane, on 26 November 2010 - 02:07 AM, said:

Just take the proper precautions when handling the fiberglass packing i.e. wear gloves, and handle it gently so it doesn't flake off & become airborne.

+1 on this.  Supposedly fiberglass isn't too bad for you, but it makes me itch like hell.  Would be a good opportunity to repack too.

As far as the coating, I would avoid the CF film.  That stuff looks super tacky and I don't think it will like the temps the can might reach.  A nice matte silver ceramic coat would look pretty sweet.  If you go black, a gloss would probably look better.  Otherwise polishing isn't too bad either, just a little time consuming when doing the initial polish.