Technical making exhaust tubing look like fresh, new, bare steel,,,,,,,,

Question. Is there a process that anyone knows of that can be used on plain exhaust tubing to make it look like new bare steel, that will not burn off, tarnish, or rust? Thanks

 

Jet hot?

stainless tubing

 

I use steel wool to remove the tire rubber form my tailpipes, reducer to remove the oil stains, lightly hit them with VHT aluminum header paint, and 000 steel wool in the bends and radiuses to make them look like I didn't just paint them. The exhaust on my Olds was installed in 2008 and still looks brand new.

 

Exhaust isn’t very hot after a certain spot
I’ve also sprayed vht on a beater exhaust to to see how it would do.

held up ok. But I did minimal prep

 

Any one off exhaust system should be made with stainless steel. Doesn’t have to be polished, but being stainless, it will never have to be replaced. No need to VHT or Jet-Coat it. My 29 roadster pickup has a stainless steel exhaust system that has lasted for 40 years and counting, this year!

 

Regular "custom bent exhaust" places, can not and will not bend any kind of stainless tubing. (wish they could)

Stainless tubing requires a Mandrel Bender. VERY $$$$! Those locally that do have a steel tubing Mandrel Bender will not do thin wall stainless exhaust tubing.

Powder coatings have a high heat (very durable, long-lasting) flat black or silver (only colors) coating application. However, the silver color powder looks like the "redneck chrome" out of a "rattle paint" can.

I was just wondering if there was a "new process" (most haven't heard about, or has just recently been discovered) that can "coat" regular common aluminized exhaust tubing to look like new bare steel, and be as durable as the 300 type of stainless tubing. I know the saying. "Wish in one hand, shit in the other, then see which one fills up the fastest."

 

You buy stainless U and J bends and weld them yourself. No bender needed

 

There is Cerakote. They use it on guns and hot metal pieces. Many colors available. I had the headers on my old coupe done in Cerakote bare metal color. Turned out like this ( sorry for the grainy image, best I had )

 

X2 for Cerakote.
Research the different types.
Durable, heat resistant, super heat resistant, air cure, oven cure.
Research the method of application. Super duper clean metal. Light coats. Etc.

 

Cerakote C-Series (Air Cure) sprays out like paint, no mixing, and it dries in ambient air, nothing fancy needed. It'll outlast any other coating and exhaust temperature won't affect it. The surface to be coated needs to be DA sanded or media blasted and super clean prior to coating.

I'm using Cerakote C-Series on my turbo manifold, header, and downpipe/wastegate dump, as well as some other colors of Cerakote C-Series on various parts on my F-100 build like vent window frames/window track/regulator, etc.

 

actually some muffler places do bend stainless pipe me included. the problem with stainless exhaust tubing is it is not the polishable type like everyone thinks of when they think stainless. i use stainless on my plow truck and the last set were on there for 20 years before the salt killed then off at the connections. the exhaust pipe stainless starts turning brown as soon as it is driven for any length of time. most people want milkhouse type tubing for their hot rod exhaust which is to thin to bend past 10-15 degrees on a regular exhaust bending machine. i use alum kilt steel tubing which actually stays fairly dull aluminum looking for a long time. i dont even think about using regular steel tube anymore because it does start rusting right away. if you want shiny stainless exhaust most of the time you are going to have to buy bends and straight tube and build your own.

 

Don't start the engine, the exhaust will stay new forever.

But that's not what cars are for, is it?

 

"300" series stainless is the polishable type. "400" series stainless tubing is what you are referring to, which can (sometimes it kinks) be bent on a regular exhaust tubing bender. However, here locally, none of the custom exhaust places will even touch the 400 series stainless, even if I bring in a stick!

I'll check on the "milkhouse" and "Alum kilt" tubing you suggested. Never heard of such. HUGE exhaust wholesaler up across the border in PA does have 20' sections of "400" series stainless tubing. It's a thinner wall thickness than the normal selection of aluminized tubing. They state it's harder to bend.

13-14 years ago my middle daughter and son-in-law (who was in the Army) were stationed in Denver. Wifey and I spent a week visiting before he shipped out to Desert Storm. We visited ALL the Denver area attractions! I brought a couple bottles of WV moonshine with me to give to a "Mike" (I forget the name of the muffler shop. BIG place! Makes the places around here look like amateur beginners!) and they bent up a custom set of the thicker 400 stainless duals on my then almost new Econoline Van. I supplied a pair of 304 stainless Porters, and 3/8" stainless rod I pre-bent for the hangers. They had NO problem in bending that system with what looks like the same type of benders that are used here locally. Now, that tubing has turned a very dull, cruddy-looking tubing. Rusting at the places where they used the mild steel MIG welder wire. A "look" I would not want on a high-boy roadster. Otherwise, the exhaust system is holding up very well!

AS far as the suggestions on using 300 stainless "J"-"U"-45-90 degree sections of tubing to "build my onw system",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. (THANK YOU) I do not know how to TIG weld, have no access to a TIG welder. I'm at the age now, where I am blind in one eye and can't piss out of the other. Having a very hard time "following the crack/seam" trying to MIG weld! The youngest daughter was a WV Certified welder, but she has a family now.

So (sigh) I am at the mercy of what is available to me here locally.

I will do an extensive search on the Cerakote C-Series coating as you guys suggested. Thanks.

The high heat, flat black powder coating is my final option. It will not look all that bad even with polished stainless clamps, hangers, and acorn nuts. But my heart is set on a new raw steel look.

Thanks

 

the aluminized tubing is very common here, but i also am in a rust belt state. the milk house tubing i referred to is exactly that, it was used in milkhouses on farms for dispersing the milk from the cows to the separators to the tanks. it is a food grade tube. a lot of our farms around here have since gave up on the dairy farming and remove the tubing from the building. i have not seen it as much as i did 20 years ago. i am suprised you cant get a local muffler shop to bend the stainless tube i just use engine assembly lube on the dies as i am bending it and bends right around.

 

This is what a 17 year old exhaust system looks like on a car with 98,000 miles and gets driven in any weather (no snow) using a little VHT and steel wool like I described above. I have polished SS systems on my roadster and PU, this is a part time drag car and street car. That doesn't mean it I don't put it on the lift and clean it up once in a while It looks like that right 3" tube is tight to the driveline but the car is hanging on my 2 post lift . Looks as good as the day it was installed. That stub in piece up front is where I removed the Y pipes (used to have cutouts).

 

Yeah, that looks GREAT!

 

What we use is Krylon Dull Aluminum #403.
Flat silver in color, does not burn off even at the collectors.
I have seen exhausts that I painted years later and still look good.
Does not wash off with mineral spirits either, like many screen door aluminum paints do.
We also use it for many other things such as brackets, transmission pans etc.
$9.75 a can@ Zoro.com
We buy it by the case.

Bill