Header paint/coatings

[1dollardog]

What do you guys use for a diy header/exhaust paint/coating. I'm looking for something primarily to keep the heat in the pipe but something that looks good and will stay on and not chip or burn off. I'm wanting to do it myself so it can't be something that has to be baked on.
Thanks

 

[turbo nasty]

No paint is going to last. Best I have used is teh VHT Flameproof 20000 flat black it handles the highest heat and is what they use on the space shuttle for the letters and numbers to survive reentry.

Prep is key clean clean clean. no rust, grease.

Paint just enough to color them and no more. I did the on car curing process and it lasted for about 8 months before starting to die. Thats in a DD in all weather and lots of miles

 

[1dollardog]

No paint is going to last. Best I have used is teh VHT Flameproof 20000 flat black it handles the highest heat and is what they use on the space shuttle for the letters and numbers to survive reentry.

Prep is key clean clean clean. no rust, grease.

Paint just enough to color them and no more. I did the on car curing process and it lasted for about 8 months before starting to die. Thats in a DD in all weather and lots of miles

Thanks. I've seen that in napa. Is this just for looks or does it do anything for under hood temps or performance. For my set up I'm looking to keep as much of the heat in the pipe as possible.

 

[turbo nasty]

No paint is going to be a thermal barrier vs. a ceramic coat IMO. The reason I painted mine because they were mild steel and it was for rust preventitive

 

[granatl]

They make home ceramic coating kits now. Much like the paint, you have to make sure the metal is CLEAN. And during re-assembly, be aware that you can easily rub off the coating. But, once installed and run a few times through heat cycles, it'll cure. It also must be applied very thin. Paint is only for looks, ceramic coating contains the heat.

 

[Eazy-E]

If you go to a local shop that powder coats parts it would only cost you so much more than a diy kit and the hours it would take to do it. One of the local places over here ceramic coated my stock headers for under 200 bucks and i got them back in 2 days. Its a win win

 

[turbo nasty]

Guy here local quoted me 275 ish for headers, crossover and THDP Flat black 200 degree coat

 

[aminga]

You can do the ceramic yourself. But you need a detail gun or an airbrush and a blast cabinet with Aluminum oxide media. If you have those things you can do it yourself. If you don't pay someone. There are some air dry ceramics out there that will cure on car.

 

[BIGONTS]

I painted my headers with the VHT flameproof 2 years ago and they look great. No peeling, chipping, bubbling, etc.. Just clean them up really well and heat them up a bit before painting. I used a torch to burn off any oil, etc. that might have remained after cleaning and let them cool a bit following with 3 coats. I was getting a lot of stuff powder coated at the same time and was considering getting them headers ceramic coated, like I did my downpipe which is stainless steel and no prone to cracking. After some research, I decided on the VHT can home paint because these headers are so prone to cracking and will probably need to be fixed and welded a few times. Might get expensive getting them stripped and recoated trying to keep them looking good after each repair.

 

[charlief1]

High Temperature Paints-POR-15 Inc.

 

[rw87tt]

Look into Techline Coatings.