Piston Coating

[mark b]

Has anyone used piston coatings recently (within the last year + or -)?

What kind and what was your experience?

TIA

 

[Steve Wood]

Are you talking about all three coatings, or a particular one?

 

[mark b]

Steve - what do you mean by all three? Please enlighten me!

I was looking at what Swain Technologies has done since they did my headers.

 

[Steve Wood]

There is a coating for the piston tops which maintains the combustion heat in the chamber. It also tends to distribute heat more evenly across the piston top as it reflects it back into the chamber. It is also used on the chamber.

There is a dry film lubricant coating for the skirts which prevents galling, increases load capability and allows one to run a bit tighter clearances.

Then there is a thermal dispersant coating that can be applied to the inside of the piston which causes the oil to be shed more quickly and prevents heat build up.

The piston top coating may tend to get covered with carbon fairly quickly in a street engine. Might work better in an alky injected engine.

I suspect the other two will become very common in the near future.

 

[mark b]

OK, now I'm with you! I was concentrating on the piston top coating and should have more precise, that's why I was confused about "3 coatings".

Interesting comment about buildup on a street engine. Some opinions I have heard indicated it might be very beneficial for a street engine. That's basically why I posted the question.

Thanks!

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

I gotta bring this back up, as noone answered the question, and I have the same question too. I didnt want to start another thread on it. I too have a street engine, with no alchohol, and was wondering what benefits there was. I was told its pretty cheap to do, and theres a 25hp gain, from the even distribution on the pistons. Anyone here use it yet? I havent heard a whole lot on it here.

 

[idaho gn]

i run coated pistons in my race car engine ......the pistons are custom so i think it cheap insurance

 

[Dwayne]

These guys are good and familiar with buick v-6 turbo parts

ceramic coatings, teflon coatings, thermal coatings solutions with Calico Coatings

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

what about this 'anti scuff' dry film coating. i hear good stuff about it. tell me this. how would coating your main bearings with that stuff... would that work out? anyone give it a go before?

 

[Grumpy]

had Swain do pistons before... held up fine. did a set of headers to ... had like a "popcorn" finish but held up great to

 

[Lee Thompson]

coatings

It works!!!!!! Been doing it for the last 10 years. Valve springs last much longer.
Coating bearings is a slick way to control clearances.
Also coat my piston skirts.
Have not had much luck with coating staying on top of pistons as the fuel spraying on them has a sandblast effect.
Can be done @ home with min. equipment.
Check Tech Line coatings out of Texas I believe.
They have do it your self bottles.
It is not brain surgery!!!!
Calico Coating in NC is a good source to have it done.

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

it makes valve springs last longer? wow, how in the heck does it do that? I asked the guy at automotive machine, if his coating (it looked like a flat olive drab) lasted on the tops of the pistons, and he said yea, he took an engine apart with over a hundred thousand (dont quote me on that number) miles on it, and he said it looked perfect. it did seem dam durable to me when i tried to scratch it. he showed me a piston skirt with the dry film on it, and it was in really good shape. I was just wondering if you guys heard about it at all. but if lee thompson says it works, then I believe it. though, the coating that was on your piston tops. was that yours, or the industrial stuff? This guy swore by it. He has a pretty good reputation too. anyone else?
how do you do your springs lee? and what do you think about the bearings? do you think they'd last longer too?

 

[Lee Thompson]

coating

I can not do valve spring as I have no way of getting the oil out of them. I have Calico Coating do my springs. The way they last longer is mine are dual springs with dampers---the coating makes them slick so they don't build heat like uncoated springs. I have checked them after a season of use and they still hold their assembled pressure within 5 psi.
I used Tech Line on my piston tops first--then had Caloco Coat them --neither held up like they should. Therfore I don't coat the tops anymore. There may be a good coating out there but see if they have any experince with injected eng. Most coating places deal with carb eng. (Calico does a lot of Nascar stuff.) It will stay on bearings if that is your ? I scuff the bearing, clean with lacquer thinner, and then spray the film on, bake in wifes oven for 1 hour @ 300 degree. It now becomes part of the bearing. It does work!!!!!

 

[Phatman]

sub

 

[Chuck Leeper]

All the surfaces in my stage engine were coated.
The brgs that were in the engine, [Busch engine] were in such good condition, I reused them in the turbo engine.!
Piston tops were done, also. Looked great after many runs..
Still have a large box of stage 2 brgs, of various sizes, w/ most being coated.
NE1 interested?? PM me. I have a list of what's there, for those really interested. These are WIDE brgs.

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

so you coat your own bearings eh? if this process is that simple, how come everyone doesnt do it I wonder? Or do they, and just dont say? And chuck, whats a brgs?

 

[Chuck Leeper]

" And chuck, whats a brgs?"
Short for bearings...
I did not do my own. I bought a BGN engine and they were in there. I reused them, they were in such great shape.
I did have the new pistons coated. [Wiesco's]
The box of "brgs" were purchased from Ron Tarabori, when I got the engine.

 

[Lee Thompson]

brgs

Chuck--would you sell me a set or any # you have as I have a few .002 under wide rod bearings. thanks---Lee

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

Wow, that coating must be nice. I cant wait to try it out. thanks for the input guys.