Anyone paint their headers??

[callmeebryan]

I have recently pulled pretty much everything off my motor this past week and have been sanding down and repainting everything that i can.

Before i install my new turbo, i would like to take my headers off and sand them down and clean them up, and repaint them. I have had experience with JetHot coatings in the past but dont really want to spend 150$ to have my headers recoated by them.

Have any of you used Spray can header paint with any success? I am particularly looking at the VHT 1500*F+ Flame proof paint.

Any pictures of your painted headers would be nice too.

 

[Woody]

The only success I have had with VHT Hi-Temp paint is on mufflers and tail pipes.....Tube headers......burned off quickly. If you are going for appearence (outside only) you can have the your headers and Y pipe ceramic coated for around $125. There are a lot of powder coaters out there that are getting into ceramics now.......(i am one of them)

 

[turbo nasty]

The VHT flameproof Flat Black is their highest rated and is actually what the space shuttle numbers and letters are painted on with. The lack of pigments in the paint allows higher temps than 1500.
Prep is the key and dont spray too much on, just enough to color them and that is it.
All rust and contaminants must be off I recommend going over the whole set with a wire wheel then wiping them down with paint prep or equiv.
Hang em up and just enough LIght coats to ONLY COLOR THEM.

Them simply follow the on car procedure for curing. Long story short I did my TA headers and they are doing great so far.

 

[Black Power]

I will never paint my turbo headers...especially after I saw them glowing the other day after a looooooooong nitrous pass

 

[TurboTnZ06]

I painted mine with 1500F black spary paint back in 2002. Still much better than if I had left them as is. I had them welded up too.

 

[Warp6]

I painted my headers with the VHT 1500 deg paint too. I cleaned them, hung them on wires then heated with a propane torch inside and out. While hot sprayed light coats. This was about 5 years ago or more and they still look good. Go for it.

 

[rmar]

150$ ain't bad. the last ceramic coating I bought was 400 a gal.
my cost. and I usually buy 4 gal at a time. Plus haz shipping.

actually what the space shuttle numbers and letters are painted on with. The lack of pigments in the paint allows higher temps than 1500.

And you seen what happened to that thing.

 

[Bob Smith]

In the early 90's, I used this product on my GS exhaust manifolds. It's still holding up well.

Eastwood Co. - Stainless Steel High Temp Coating Kit

 

[johnnyttype]

check out Tech Line Coatings Inc. They have some ceramic coatings it looks like. One product called Turbo X is good to 2000F! Only comes in satin black or blue. $49.95 for 8oz. They also sell all sorts of other engine coating products as well!

Products:
Retail Packaged, Exhaust System Coatings
Price List:
Retail Price List

Does any have experience with this company?

 

[rmar]

I use almost all of there products. Good company. Good products.

I'm accually doing 2 sets today with their coatings.

 

[rmar]

This is Tech Lines color guard black. It is a little glossier than the satin.

 

[johnnyttype]

not too shabby. how does the colorguard fair with high temps? bubble, flake, peel? i know they have more colors for the colorguard.

 

[Turbo6Smackdown]

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This was Vht's metal grey 1500 degree. I did EVERYTHING EXACTLY as they described in the directions and the finish lasted about a week. After about 2 months, the headers are about 40% rusted again. Do it yourself finishes are just NOWHERE NEAR the professional, industrial grade finishes the pro's use. Send em in man, really. A rusty pair of headers just ruins an engine bay. Suck it up and do it the right way the first time.

 

[rmar]

It stays a little blacker that the satin and you can topcoat with a seal
that will keep it a little glossier. If you stay with the solvent based coatings
they are a lot more forgiving. It's not 2000 deg. but it will handle most items.

 

[callmeebryan]

Turbo 6,

Do you have any pictures of what it looks like currently?

Also, did you torch the metal to heat it up for better adhesion?

Also, did you bake the paint at the specified temperatures?

 

[novaderrik]

The VHT flameproof Flat Black is their highest rated and is actually what the space shuttle numbers and letters are painted on with. .

And you seen what happened to that thing.

what happened to the space shuttle? it has been launched about 120 times, and only 2 of them didn't make it back in one piece... and of the 2 that didn't make it back, the VHT black paint that they used to paint on the letters had nothing to do with why they didn't make it. for what it does, that's about the best success record you can expect, which is only surpassed by the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that is brutally simple and has been in use since the 60's. but the Soyuz can't do most of the things that the Shuttle can do.. but that's getting a bit off topic...
the stuff the use on the shuttles for heat protection does a very good job at what it was designed for- now, if we could only get some of the stuff they make the tiles out of for automotive heat protection applications. look at an infrared image of the shuttle sitting on the runway after landing- the entire underbelly glows with all the heat the tiles absorb, but you can walk up and touch it and it feels the same temp as the surrounding air. how awesome would it be to wrap some of that stuff around your turbo housing and up and down pipes?
actually, we probably do use some of that stuff that was developed for the shuttle a lot, but we just don't know it. the VHT heat proof paint is just one of the things- along with the ceramic coatings that have already been mentioned in this thread.

 

[QUIP'6']

i painted mine with vht 3 years ago and they are still perfect. i read the can and they recommend a couple coats of vht then preheat oven to 450 degrees then let bake for 45 min then it will turn to ceramic and it will last alot longer than just painting then installing because it will just burn off. i think there is a time limit for curing if you click on my lower picture in my sig you can see number 3 tube which gets cherry red is still colored

 

[XxDarkSidexX]

I painted my headers with the VHT 1500 deg paint too. I cleaned them, hung them on wires then heated with a propane torch inside and out. While hot sprayed light coats. This was about 5 years ago or more and they still look good. Go for it.

pics? thats sounds very user friendly

DS

 

[turbo nasty]

Pretty straight forward

Go over them with light sandpaper

clean them with warm water and Dawn dishing detergent

rinse well

heat with torch (not glowing) to evap rest of the water

once cooled wipe down with paint prep chemical (actually called paint prep) from parts store in paint section.

hang up and mist LIGHT coats just enough to color and then let dry.

Install on car and follow on car procedures for curing.

 

[Brer Rabbit]

Take a look at POR-15

Ive used the "Factory Manifold Gray" high temperature coating from Por-15. It states on the can that it will withstand temps up to 1400 degrees. I have used it on the exhaust housing of my BB67 and it looks brand new as it is the same color as the cast iron. They have different colors. I also did a downpipe awhile back but sold it on the board. The set of headers I did came out great but again were sold them when I went with polished stainless headers. I would sandblast em then coat them. They will look great for ever. The finish is a flat look.