I just finished modifying a set of headers,turned upside down and backwards to fit my open fender model a. two primary tubes are about half an inch from my frame(which is powder coated)will the powder coat melt that close?
Should be ok, at that distance. As long as your exhaust temps are not to high, as with a improperly tuned engine!
It is possible to heat powder coat enough to cause it to bubble, but you have to get it very hot. If you have a decent air gap, and decent exhaust temps, you should be fine.
regular powdercoating melts at 400 degrees. I'm sure they have some higher temp stuff but not sure what temp its good for.
Are you sure it's powder coating? Many powder coaters do ceramic coating also. I would have never thought powder would stay on exhaust manifolds.
Jim,the guy that did the work told me it was powder coating,he did my inner fenders and a bunch of suspension parts at the same time so I ***ume he was telling me the truth. The only reason I say that is I ask if he did ceramic coating and he said no but the powder coating would hold up. Jimmy (the powder coat guy) did a set of headers for his brother in law several years ago and they appear as they were done last week. HRP
Typical powder coating melts a little over 400 F. Prolonged exposure near that, may cause discoloration. 1/2" should be ok.
Hi .... If your ign timing is retarded it can create very high temp have seen headers and cast manifolds glowing red hot
Wow... That's news to me. We do powder coating in house at my work, and from experience I have seen heat bubble powder coat. I'm curious to what coating it is too...
I had the Tri-Y headers powder coated on my old 390BBF and it peeled within a relatively short period of time. I should have had them ceramic coated. I'd feel that the heat will radiate and could damage the frame in that area.
[QUOTE="Jimmy (the powder coat guy) did a set of headers for his brother in law several years ago and they appear as they were done last week. HRP[/QUOTE] HRP, can you get more info from Jimmy and maybe post his contact info? Seems that he could get a little business out of it.
Jimmy worked for a business that did industrial powder coating for multiple industry's around the country and his boss allowed him to powder coat out the back door on his own time..Saturdays. The business has been since been bought out by a huge company to powder coat their products and Jimmy told me he can't do any powder coating for the public anymore. I am told there is a powder coater in Greenville,South Carolina and I am going to have to seek them out in the future. HRP
I've had my headers powder coated, holds up fine, I even started a new motor on them, SURE COAT in Sedallia Missouri, the guys there do their Sprint Car headers and they say they hold up for one season. Mine look as good as the day I installed them. Surecoat says they cook them at 500 degrees.. Call em. Only kicker is it only comes in silver, why,??? That being said, if you get too much heat too close to your frame it will bubble, 1/2 in seems fine to me. I'd think.
I own a powder coat shop. trust me, they did not use standard powder coat on the exhausts they probably used high heat powder coat. If the header tube is a few inches away it should be alright. We've done bike heads and where the exhaust tube bolts to the head we have never had issues in that area with it bubbling. We have talked to the customers a couple years after and no issues what so ever! There was a local hot rod shop that had another powder coat shop in town coat the headers on a fresh build. He installed the headers and when it came time to start it up and run it, the headers caught fire after it ran awhile and the car burned down to the ground! So NEVER have exhaust manifolds or headers powder coated with standard powder coat, use the high heat stuff. Cured powder coat will ignite and catch fire if it gets hot enough.
Sometimes the things that come out in addition to what was specifically asked are just as informative as the actual answer. No BFD!
I don't know much about any of this, but the ceramic is supposed to hold the heat in the header. If you ceramic coat the header, it might help the standard powder coat hold up on the frame, where clearance is at the minimum. Another possibility is a small piece of polished stainless protecting the frame where the heat is the worst.
agreed I use the high heat powder on motorcycle exhaust, small airplanes etc and small stuff like that with good luck, but the average V-8 will burn it to a crisp. I wont even do auto exhaust with it, I know what the end result is going to be.
The Jalopy Journal
