Powder Coat Exhaust Tips (Everything You Need to Know)

You have got an expensive car and flex with it. The car is great looking and glitters in the light. Such a beauty!

But, suddenly you saw that dull exhaust tips making your tips such a mess.

You are pondering why the tips develop soots and turn into such a mess. Having an exhaust chrome tip, you might wonder if it wasn’t supposed to turn dull. But, you are facing reality, right?

Nevertheless, like most car owners you want your exhaust tips to look like shining pearls and get the full eyeball on your beautiful car!

Want to know the secret? 

Let me whisper it in your ears. Powder coat your exhaust tips! Yes, this simple action can be a great way to permanently make your exhaust tips shiner.

So, if you are interested to take the aesthetics of your exhaust tips to a whole new level, read on the rest of the post as I’ll share everything your need to know about powder coating exhaust tips.

Let’s jump right in.

What Are Powder Coated Exhaust Tips?

Exhaust powder coating is the process of coating exhaust parts with a thin layer of powder. Afterward, the powder is melted and bonded to the part’s surface. It provides a durable and long-lasting finish that can withstand heat and corrosion.

Basically, steel or chrome exhaust tips become dirty and dull after washing but if you can coat them with powder they won’t look dull again.

An exhaust powder coating is an ideal solution to protect your exhaust system from corrosion and heat damage. You can choose from a variety of colors and finishes. of colors and textures. When it comes to protecting your exhaust parts, the best option is exhaust powder coating.

It is common to powder coat exhaust pipes, manifolds, and mufflers. Other parts that need to withstand high temperatures, such as brake calipers and rotors, can also be coated with this material.

Can You Powder Coat Exhaust Tips?

Yes, definitely. In fact, powder coating is a thing I always suggest to every car owner to get their exhaust tips powder coated.

And, on top of that exhaust tips are the only parts that can be fully powder coated without chipping it off.

Due to the excessive heat of the automotive exhaust, the headers, down pipes, and mufflers all have to be ceramic coated, but the tips can use any color of powder coat you like. 

What Are the Benefits of Powder Coating?

Powder coating can be tremendously beneficial for automobile parts. But, why? What are the benefits you can have if your car’s parts are powder coated?

1. Powder coating can be used on a wide range of materials. Such as steel, aluminum, and titanium.
2. It’s easy to use powder coating inside complex shapes and contours.
3. Unlike ceramic coats, the finish of the powder-coated surfaces is much smooth and consistent.
4. Exhaust tips are the only part that can be powder coated without chipping it off.
5. Reduced turbulence and drag.
6. Durable and heat-resistant finish.
7. Powder-coated finish protects from corrosion and heat damage.
8. Powder coating is a cost-effective way to protect your exhaust parts from corrosion and heat damage.

Can You Powder Coat Motorcycle Exhaust Tips?

Yes, you can even powder coat your motorcycle exhaust tips. Motorcycle parts come in a variety of shapes and sizes and it’s quite complex to coat with other coatings other than powder coat.

And, powder coating is the only exhaust coating that best suits coating motorcycle exhaust tips.

How to Powder Coat Exhaust Tips? (Step by Step)

So far you came to know about powder coating exhaust tips, their benefits, and their compatibility with it. And, now in this section, you will learn how to powder coat exhaust tips step by step.

Let’s begin.

Step by step process to powder coat exhaust tips

#1 Remove the Exhaust Tips

So, the process begins with taking off the tips from the exhaust. This will allows you to clean and coat easily.

Exhaust tips are attached to exhaust pipes. So, removing it from there is not a difficult job!

Some cars attach the tips to their tailpipes physically or have them spot-welded at both ends. In this case, spring tips hold exhaust tips which you can take off through musking. In the process, you might have been required to use WD40.

When you pull them, you should be able to easily remove them. A rubber mallet can be used to loosen the tips if they feel stuck so you can remove them.

#2 Clean the Tips

Now, it’s time to clean the exhaust tips, man. Before coating, it’s mandatory to clean everything that was there before. You need to wash it off and clean the dirt, dust, and grease. If you skip the step you can’t coat paint on the tips. The coat won’t adhere to the metal in that case.

So always start off cleaning the tips. Scrub them with sandpaper. It is also necessary to clean the exhaust tip before applying the coat.

Sandblasting is another wonderful way to prepare the surface of the tips to make it convenient for the next steps. 

#3 Spray Paint with Electrostatics

It’s time to spray paint with electrostatics as you are done with cleaning the tips.

Powder and tips possess positive and negative electrostatic charges, respectively. Electrostatic charges on the tip and powder allow the coat to adhere.

After the powder-coated tips are put into the oven, they are baked for a specified period of time.

#4 Curing/annealing

This part is super important. The process of curing enhances the strength and durability of coating by hydration.

Regular coatings can dry themselves but powder coating doesn’t dry on its own. So, it’s even crucial for powder-coated exhaust tips to send through the curing process.

Powder coatings cure at a temperature range between 350 and 450°F over a period of 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the powder type.

Here’s a catch. When you select powder coating for exhaust tips you should be picky to choose. If you don’t want to go inside the tidbit of it, let me suggest to you the best powder coat for exhaust tips. Here’s the one you can get without much pondering.

That’s it! You are all to powder coat your exhaust tips.

Read Also: Only 6 steps to learn Install exhaust tips without welding

What Are Ceramic Coating Exhaust tips?

Ceramic coating exhaust tips are tips coated with ceramic. Ceramic coating is a high-temperature insulating coating that protects the engine from extreme heat. Ceramic coating is an irreplaceable solution to coat engine parts as they produce extreme heat.

Basically, ceramic coating is a chemical polymer that is applied on the outside of the vehicle to protect against external paint damage. As the ceramic coating creates a new layer outside of the exhaust tips, it gives high protection to the part.

And, the main thing about exhaust tips coating is to increase its aesthetics of it. Ceramic coating can also make the exhaust tips shiner and protect them from being dull over time. However, powder coating is cheaper and much better to coat exhaust tips.

What Is the Best Coating for Exhaust Tips?

Selecting coating can be hard since there is no way for you to directly check the quality to make the decision right away. So, you should have learned this beforehand.

Choose a powdered coat with a high-temperature rating to ensure your exhaust tips last longer.

There are different curing processes and temperatures for each coating powder (length of dwell and temperature).

To avoid over-curing or under-curing, the coating shop should employ the proper cure schedule.

The performance and finish quality of powder-coated products are determined by their curing process (cure schedule).

Curing schedules are available in four stages: melting, flowing, crosslinking, and curing. At the tips, the powder melts, and the components (binders, resins, and pigments) fuse.

During these stages, time, temperature, and rate of temperature change need to be controlled to achieve the best coating quality.

Considering all of these into account, here’s my singular take. Grab this for your next exhaust tips powdering coating project.

How Much Does It Cost to Powder Coat Exhaust Tips?

Powder-coated exhaust tips are comparatively cheaper than ceramic-coated exhaust tips.

There are different types of exhaust tips out there in the market which vary in pricing from tip to tip.

So, let’s find out.

Usually, the price of exhaust tips depends on which material it’s built upon, Which material was used to build it, etc. Although the price varies from tip to tip. However, generally, the amount is 20-40 USD.

Wrap Up

So, that’s it all about powder coat exhaust tips. In this guide, I discussed the exhaust tips, powder coating, benefits of powder coating, what is ceramic coatings, how to powder coat exhaust tips, and finally discussed the pricing of powder-coated exhaust tips.

I would say powder coating is a worthwhile investment to increase the aesthetics of your exhaust tips by leaps and bounds. It can increase efficiency and performance as well.

That being said, if you have any questions feel free to ask here.