I just spent a ton of time building a set of headers and would hate to see them rot. Does anyone have experience with any of the companies like Jet hot etc?How about any do it your self paint or coating?other suggestions? Thanks,Louie
I used BBQ paint from the hardware store, it is keeping the rust off the outside quite well over the last 2mo. with lots of rain and heat cycling. I think the hi-temp coatings run in the $175+ range for a pair of headers already bead blasted. TA
I always used a do it a home product call Ceramkrome by Tech Line. Summit/Jegs/Speedway sold it, but they stopped all sales to the public, cause it caused brain damage, a third eye or some EPA shit like that. I bought some high heat product from POR15 to try but haven't got that far yet. Also try doing a search: +header +coating there has been a lot of posts on the subject
Louie, Ive used header paint and bar-b-cue paint, and they always burn off. I wanted to leave my exhaust bare metal and one of the oldie celebrity rodders said wipe it down with linseed oil. Of course it smells like cooking cat for about 15 minutes, but it keeps it bare. I refresh it about every 6 months. H
I've had Jet Hot coat a few exhausts and feel it is worth the money. I make sure they do it inside and out. Keeps them from rusting from the inside out and contains the heat better which increases velocity and therefore helps the exhaust scavenge more efficiently. Looks good to...
I used the high temp header exhaust paint from eastwood and it's crap. Burned off the first time I drove the car.
I recently had my flathead six headers done by HPC, inside and out, and am very happy with them. Cost was around $180 including shipping one way. Haven't run them long, only a few hours, so don't know if they will discolor or not. Headers tend to rot from the inside out, extreme heat and moisture. Pete
If you are painting them at home, spray some paint down the inside of the tubes as well. I dunno how long it will last, but I figure if it lasts long enough to get a carbon coating on it, it may stand a chance.
I've used a silicone coating before. I think from Jegs or Summit. Blue can with black and yellow graphics. Never kept the car more than a year though so I can't speak to long term success.
Homeresque.....Does the header take on a brownish, yet sort of rainbow look with the linseed oil treatment? If that's the deal I want to do that to my headers and didn't know what caused that effect.
Have them metallic ceramic coated. I had mine done last year and they still look brand new. I think it ran about $125 for the set. RM Engineering/Finish Line Coatings did mine. They are in Milwaukie Oregon (503-659-4278) www.finishlinecoatings.com Russ Meeks is a great guy (salt flat racer)and he stands behind his work. Red Hamilton (Red's Headers) uses them and recommended them to me.
I sent mine to Jet Hot a year ago. They looked bitchn for about 500 miles then they turned kinda greyish silver. Every one I know that has had stuff Jet Hot coated has had the same experience. I'm not REALLY bitching....they got kind of dull and grey pretty quick and have not gotten any worse. Lasts a HELL of alot longer than anything else I've used...250 bucks including shipping. Good luck, -Abone.
Shit. Oops, wrong pic.. Here is a shot with a coupla hundred miles. They don't look this nice now, but still not TOO crappy..
I used hi temp paint, but most important is to drive every day. Got my first leak at 103 thousand miles on my own made headers, damn it!!!................OLDBEET
Winfab...nope. Just stays bare metal gray. Of course in SoCal we dont have exactly the same rust concerns as everyone else, but it would start getting a red dusting by now. But this seems to keep it away.
I have Jet-Hot coating on the headers on my coupe. Not as shiny as it was when it was brand new, but no comparison to the rusty mess it was when the header paint burned off. These days, there are more than a few outfits that can do this kind of coating locally. My pal with a muffler shop here in town has a local source for coating. I reemphasize the importance of coating inside and out. Had an external coating on the mild steel setup originally on the roadster. Looked great until it rusted through from inside. Of course, a weekend car like a roadster is more prone to this than a daily driver, but it was depressing when it happened (dramatic, too). The stainless replacement will probably outlast me, but it was pretty spendy. I think mild steel with an inside-and-out coating is your best tradeoff between durability and cost.
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