What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Ceramic paint/coating

noJeepshere

noJeepshere

I Drove Trains!
GMOTM Winner
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
10,555
Reaction score
5,388
Location
Layton, UT
I have a set of shorty headers I need to paint before I install them next week, and am wondering what would be best to coat them with? I'm not looking to be flashy at all, just want to protect them (they're raw stainless now) and help keep under hood temps down.
 
do you know what stainless grade...I'm guessing 409?
The 316/308 are what our aseptical grade lines are made from at work, they need no upkeep.
the 409 I'm not so sure about if exposed to salt environments, but in my experience the ceramic can be scratched and then exposing the metal.
I've used paint on ceramic from Eastwood and although it isn't forever, it holds up good.
http://www.eastwood.com/paints/hi-temp-engine-paints/exhaust-paints.html
 
If they are really stainless, any reason you can't just buy header wrap? That is my intent when I go stainless. It's a no-no on plain steel headers due to rust issues, which is why you go stainless, right?

Given present technology, I don't think anything out of a can will do a meaningful job of keeping heat inside the header, particularly when asked to last.
 
it's stainless, it shouldn't need anything...

ss is not like steel when it comes to coating... it's like alum and requires special prep/products in order to stick..
 
He mentioned heat, which is why I said header wrap. Not sure how much is hype and how much is fact regarding keeping heat in the pipe, but based on underhood temps, the cooler you can keep the engine bay, the better off you are IMO.

I'm sure the figures are out there (great, here I come google) but I fully expect that header wrap will provide far more insulative properties than something we can buy and spray out of a can.
 
stainless needs a coating on it before wrap, or it can still erode...its happened to our stainless production tanks that were insulated and the porous stainless not "sealed" prior to insulation.
 
Does it depend on what type of stainless, or does the type not matter, stainless in general?

I don't like coatings because thus far I've not seen one that is impervious to everything, but if stainless would still need coating with a wrap, I'd rather deal with the probably minor increase in underhood temps as opposed to ruining a set of expensive headers.

And if the numbers are out there (before/after underhood temp, inlet air temp, etc) for header wrap, NOT by a company selling them, I'm not finding them.
 
header wrap helps with underhood temps, moreso sometimes than a quality ceramic coating like Jethot... and being ss, wrap is probably a better choice than any coating for sure... wrap causes corrosion issues and obviously the ss would help with that... I just don't like wrap on a long term basis, get's kinda sh*tty after a while..

imo, just run em.. they're freakin ss for god's sake, 95% of header are steel with crap paint or crap ceramic on em..... I've never found underhood temp to be any real issue.. sure, dropping it with jethot, etc is nice, but not necessary...
 
our tanks are generally 304...about the most common and most durable widely used stainless...409 is about the cheapest and is common in exhaust usage.

I think any metal in general will erode quicker if wrapped, without the porosity being sealed.
Our issue with the 304 was the tanks are in the outside environment and are subject to rain and temp extremes of MI weather....they are generally sterilized at temps up to 300*F and then cooled to about 50*F
If water gets into the insulation it tends to superheat while sterilization is occuring (much like an exhaust system would) and deteriorates the metal at a quicker rate than if the metal is coated prior to insulation.
I think that is why OEM tends to leave the stainless exhaust systems exposed to the elements.

Our tanks are .375 wall thickness and were in use for 25 years before we saw failure of the tank walls.
 
Some good info here. I'm not sure if they're stainless or not, they look like raw steel to me but they are Borlas, and at $950 new (got them unused second-hand for $400) I would hope they are stainless. I'll post a pic of them so some more knowledgeable eye can tell what they are.
 
they should be a quality piece then Riley....
 
nytepe9a.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom