Looking for the best paint to spray a new set of headers that might last a little bit. Anybody have something that worked good? Thanks Jim
I've seen VHT last reasonably well as long as you prep well and follow the post cure instructions to a T.
VHT is THE classic white finish. It works best (and lasts longest) when applied over a sand blasted or bead blasted surface. Using a fresh set of gloves when you install the pipes will keep them from getting fingerprinted and funky lookin'
A friend of mine that runs a smal local rodshop has told me if you want painted headers to last, have them ceramic coated then paint over the coating. He does it with alot of his stuff and said he has no issues with it. costs $$ b ut then you have the performance of Ceramic coat with the vintage Look.
If you were gonna have them coated, you could just use the white ceramic coating that the white paint is intended to mimic.
Yea, but all the places i have talked to about coating, its costs almost 2x as much to have it one is a custom color.
Can you get Jet Hot in colors or just chrome? My brother-in-law did Jet Hot Chrome on his '56 Chevy and they look great.
When you use VHT make sure you use the VHT primer first. Also pre-heat the pipes before you spray. You can get VHT at Summit
SWAINTECH in Scottsville NY will coat them white for a reasonable (normal) fee and thats thier normal collor. Look them up on the web and give them a call. -Bigchief.
Our powder coater have several flat heat coatings,, black silver gray and white, did my dads jeep header looks good and it was just over 100 bucks and will last forever! Check around this stuff is available at a lot of places.
I don't believe I've seen Powder-Coated headers before that I know of. Do you have any pictures of them? What type of powder are they using? Can you get us some more information on the product?
If you're running a closed engine bay, paint will work great. Preperation is a must no matter what you do. Sand blast first then don't touch them with your bare hands. Even oil from your skin can burn under the paint. If you are running an open engine, your best bet is to have them coated. No rust that way. glenn33 www.carartonline.com
I used a silver header paint available from Eastwood. I followed all the instructions, sandblasted a set of cast iron rams-horn manifolds to bare metal, wore gloves----the paint looked good for one season. By next season it looked pretty tough---and this was on a car thats primarily driven only on sunny days, the rpu in my avatar. I have never seen any white header paint that stood up to daily driving more than 2 seasons.
Por-15 makes header paint, but I have never used it. Maybe someone else has tried it? I sold POR-15 for years and their manifold paint is great stuff, and highly heat resistant, but will rust. glenn33 www.carartonline.com
i originally painted my rams horns with aluminum engine paint before puttin em on the car..after i got tired of them lookin burnt up i sprayed em with BBQ grill paint while they were on the engine! came out fine,cept my cheapo plug wires got a few spots on em,but they were grey and i was painting the pipes black anyway.they DID smoke when i 1st let the engine heat up but other than that no problems and a decent flat finish.just my 2 cents creepy
The coating that our powder coaters used a is a spray on , baked on, satin deal, not powder coating. We have used it on several cars and have had no problems, I'll get some pics today.
My fenderwell headers take a lot of abuse from stone chips because they are above the front tires. The VHT doesn't last very long, though it looks great when it's new. Is the Jet Hot or powder coating more durable? I assume it holds up to heat better, but does it chip easily? I've got to get mine done this winter.
I have used white VHT on the full length Hooker headers in my Comet. The first time I sanded the factory paint off, heated the pipes with a propane torch, and painted them. That lasted a year, but it did have a few rust spots when it got wet out. The second time (while the new motor was going in) I had them sandblasted. I followed the directions when I painted them. Then I cured them in the propane BBQ. Also wrapped them in newspaper when I put the motor in. These are a royal pain in the ass to get in and out. They have been in the car for about two and a half years. The car always sits outside in our nice dry climate. hahaha. They are still mostly white, but with lots of rust and few oil spots (valve cover gasket). I guess thats patina. If they are easy to get on and off (less than a full days work like mine are) I'd say go for the VHT. You can take them off and touch them up every year. Plus its "just like the 60's bro"TM I have always wanted to try the CermaWhite from Tech Line coatings. But i guess they wont sell it to just anybody, because it is listed in their "shop only" section of their website. Just noticed it is listed in their retail price list, so maybe they are now selling it to the public. I has been a couple of years since i asked them about it. it is $30 for 6oz. They say that it take 6-8oz to do a set of medium V8 headers. http://www.techlinecoatings.com/BulkExhaust.htm .
I used POR-15 on my headers and followed the directions to a tee. Was disappointed when they started showing rust after only 2 years. Their stuff for frames may work better but I think the header coating is a waste of money and effort.
i used vht once and it seemed to yellow and rust fairly quick, the last set i painted white i used bbq paint from home depot. i think it's 1500deg. i sand blasted the headers, heated them with a torch (maybe 200 deg.) and did one very light coat of paint, i let it sit and cool down for about half an hour then heated them back up and did several more coats. this was on an 29 roadster with lakes style headers and i put about 1500 miles on it before i sold it, it also sat out side uncovered most of the time and the paint never discolored, rusted, or flaked off.
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