Or other parts.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert and this is really the first time I've tried ceramic on a part of any substance. This is how I did the deed. It may not hold up in service in which case I'll update the thread. The directions here are for columbia coatings ceramic.
The victim is a basic TA-49 straight out of PTE's rebuild shop.
We're going to use conventional powder on parts and ceramic on the other. I broke the turbo into two parts. Cold and hot.
Not seen here is the inlet bell. It was pretty clean and since it's a mortal sin to cover up good billet I polished it with some 0000 steel will and hit it with some gloss clear.
For the compressor housing mask off the inlet and the back side because we need to profile the surface just a little to get the powder to hold. I used Aluminum tape.
Using very low pressure (I used 40 psi) and some 80 grit Aluminum oxide media.give the surface some texture. Basically I just knock the shine off of it.
Give the compressor housing a coat of Low temp conventional powder. I used Eastwood Blasted Aluminum for a stock look that will clean up easy
Pic before cure
After Cure and unmasking
Now on to the ceramic. Cleanliness is important here.
I did the turbo and center sections in one piece. Used aluminum tape to mask off the oil inlet and return on the center section. I used regular old AL foil to protect the compressor blades after a little test. The Aluminum tape and foil will survive a low pressure blast in the cabinet if you don't dwell on it and keep the pressures low.
Give the metal parts a light blast (just knock the shine off).
From this point on use rubber gloves.
Take the part out of the cabinet blow it off with clean dry air and heat it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees and let it cool.
While it's cooling Shake your coating up, when you think it's mixed good shake it some more. Keep shaking. If you can sneak into the kitchen use the wife's blender.
Using either an airbrush or an automotive detail gun (0.8 Tip) apply the ceramic in a single THIN coat. Don't go back and apply it again. If it's covered leave it. This stuff CANNOT be touched up. If you blow it you have to blast it back off and start over.
Allow the part to air dry and then cure per manufacturer's instructions. In my case 30 min at 450 degrees. This will partially cure the coating it will finish curing in service.
This is the result.
The exhaust housing is Cast Iron Ceramic. The compressor is Eastwood blasted Aluminum and the bell is gloss clear. The pictures don't really do the compressor housing justice. The bottom line is ceramic isn't really hard, In some way's it's easier than powder because it applies with normal HVLP equipment. And you can do your own headers, Just keep it to the external surfaces and the worst that can happen is it burns off and you have to do it over again.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert and this is really the first time I've tried ceramic on a part of any substance. This is how I did the deed. It may not hold up in service in which case I'll update the thread. The directions here are for columbia coatings ceramic.
The victim is a basic TA-49 straight out of PTE's rebuild shop.
We're going to use conventional powder on parts and ceramic on the other. I broke the turbo into two parts. Cold and hot.
Not seen here is the inlet bell. It was pretty clean and since it's a mortal sin to cover up good billet I polished it with some 0000 steel will and hit it with some gloss clear.
For the compressor housing mask off the inlet and the back side because we need to profile the surface just a little to get the powder to hold. I used Aluminum tape.
Using very low pressure (I used 40 psi) and some 80 grit Aluminum oxide media.give the surface some texture. Basically I just knock the shine off of it.
Give the compressor housing a coat of Low temp conventional powder. I used Eastwood Blasted Aluminum for a stock look that will clean up easy
Pic before cure
After Cure and unmasking
Now on to the ceramic. Cleanliness is important here.
I did the turbo and center sections in one piece. Used aluminum tape to mask off the oil inlet and return on the center section. I used regular old AL foil to protect the compressor blades after a little test. The Aluminum tape and foil will survive a low pressure blast in the cabinet if you don't dwell on it and keep the pressures low.
Give the metal parts a light blast (just knock the shine off).
From this point on use rubber gloves.
Take the part out of the cabinet blow it off with clean dry air and heat it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees and let it cool.
While it's cooling Shake your coating up, when you think it's mixed good shake it some more. Keep shaking. If you can sneak into the kitchen use the wife's blender.
Using either an airbrush or an automotive detail gun (0.8 Tip) apply the ceramic in a single THIN coat. Don't go back and apply it again. If it's covered leave it. This stuff CANNOT be touched up. If you blow it you have to blast it back off and start over.
Allow the part to air dry and then cure per manufacturer's instructions. In my case 30 min at 450 degrees. This will partially cure the coating it will finish curing in service.
This is the result.
The exhaust housing is Cast Iron Ceramic. The compressor is Eastwood blasted Aluminum and the bell is gloss clear. The pictures don't really do the compressor housing justice. The bottom line is ceramic isn't really hard, In some way's it's easier than powder because it applies with normal HVLP equipment. And you can do your own headers, Just keep it to the external surfaces and the worst that can happen is it burns off and you have to do it over again.
