Coating headers with high temp ceramic paint.

I used the same paint on an edelbrock intake about 3-4 years ago. I put it in my bbq grill for a couple hours, 3+years later it looks just as good as jet-hot coating.

I love it, because I will probably make my own long tubes. Speaking of...

...anyone have any ideas how to bake long tubes?

Find a company with a commercial oven or rent one of those big grills (Hog roaster) from your local rental place they should be at least 4 feet long and 2 feet deep some use propane too.

Hey good article. And daammm those look nice!

One question... You mentioned that the paint that comes from the manufacture isn't a hi temp paint, and i agree. Seen many a header lose the paint in a matter of days.

However your saying to just scuff the paint and then paint over it with the high temp good stuff. If the paint underneath the good stuff wants to burn off, then what will the good paint stick to?? I'm thinking that the headers could've been stripped with paint stripper or even better, blasted with some sort of media. (Please note that these are just questions and I'm not anybodies authority on the subject)
I hope I'm wrong as i hate to see your hard work go to poop.

On another note, when i built my "Exhaust System" i used the VHT High temp 1300-2000° silica/ceramic aluminum and then "shot it" with my mapp gas blowtorch in an "even pattern" (um close enough??) after it dried to the touch. (managed to get the headers ceramic coated though$$$)
I then used the High temp clear over that then re-apply the torch to attempt to cure.

Have no idea how well this works yet though.

One thing to add. NEVER break your new FLAT TAPPET CAM in on fresh ceramic coated headers. ( so THEY say. ) Even though the ceramic coating is sprayed on with a flame gun they still expect a heating/cooling cycle once on the engine. The extreem heat thats generated while running your engine for .5 hour at 2500 to 3000 rpm can ruin the coating. expecially if your lean.
I would say the same for your well baked on ceramic Paint coating as well.

Hey pinto, I agree with you completely, I asked myself why I was painting over the headers without removing the factory paint, but they came with a sticker that said "these headers should be coated with a high temp paint... will rust ..." I actually called pacesetter and the guy told me I could apply it right over it, using the directions from whatever spray I was using. I'll see what happens in spring.

Originally Posted by biglaw22

If you are reading this article you are like me. You don't have the extra cash or you are too cheap to spend the extra money for stainless steel, ceramic coated, or any type of professional coating.



My budget did not allow for much. So I bought the Summit painted headers for $149.99 turns out they send you the pacesetter ones that would have cost me $220.99.
The paint that comes on the headers is not a high temp paint so it will burn off if not cared for. I picked up Dupli Color’s High Heat with Ceramic that’s good up to 1200 degrees if properly applied. It is $5.50 a can and if you are doing small block shorties like me one can is enough.

Before getting started check your headers for any defects, if they are used sandblast them and spray them with a high temp primer first. My headers were new so I skipped this step.
Start by scuffing up the surface of the header with a scotch-bite pad (I also sanded out the runs in the paint)
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Now that the headers are scuffed up they need to be cleaned before they can get painted use soapy water for this step. I wiped mine down with damp paper towels because I had no grease to remove. Make sure to dry the headers thoroughly.
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I made some hooks to hang the header on for painting and baking. Any wire coat hanger will work.
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I have an extra oven that I don’t care about so I had no issues painting the headers attached to the rack. I positioned the headers so I could get full paint coverage while still allowing them to fit in the oven without having to move them around.
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Painting a light first coat helps the paint stick better. I painted mine in a makeshift spray booth that only has 2 sides. I would suggest doing this outside, but when it is -20 degrees, painting inside works better. Make sure you have a well ventilated area.
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After the paint has had 10 minutes to dry you can add a second light coat
Wait 10 minutes and apply a thick final coat.
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Bake them for 2 hours at 400 degrees and allow for cooling before handling (ventilation is a must, use an outside oven if possible)

Take them out and enjoy.
Finished Headers

The finish looks great, what is the color? Stainles steel or Aluminum or? And, how has the color held up after use? Thanks

I baked my long tubes in an old oven that i cut and raised the top on. Worked great, just had to re wrap the top of the stove that i added too with fiber glass insulation.

A Note on the Factory Paint

I have done this same technique with the Duplicolor on several headers and other exhaust components. It is really great stuff. It even held up on a Toyota Supra turbo down pipe that I fabricated.

While this paint is marvelous and generally holds up great, I have had two failures while using it. BOTH TIMES the failure occured on headers that I DID NOT have the factory black paint completely stripped off of before applying the Duplicolor. The first one I did a scuff and shoot as in this article and the Duplicolor came off completely (with the factory black paint under it). The other time I used an "Aircraft" type stripper, and got 95% of the factory paint off, but there were still areas where little strips of the little paint remained. Guess what happened to the Duplicolor? It came off everywhere where I couldn't get off all the factory paint.

I have a friend that does the ceramic coating and there is a big difference.
The ceramic coating is a liquid like the paint but they cycle the headers thru two bakings at 750 degrees and the prep work is alittle more extensive.

BUT...the end result does look identical and unless you get the items absolutely clean and in his case bead blasted to the correct "profile" the whole thing is a big waste of time.

He did a set of used Harley exhaust pipes for me as a favor and his helper didn't do the best job of blasting them and after about 6 months they started changing finish and eventually flaked at the areas that used to be chromed...this was a problem and the entire chrome finish should have been removed OR completely left on. It seems a temperature differencial occured and caused the discolorations. The flaking was just poor prep work I think.

I am setting up a cheap powder coating operation with a kit from Harbor freight and going to take an old oven and build a larger box but use the "guts" from the oven to heat the double sided box. Going to line the box with fireplace brick OR Sheet Rock made for use around free standing fireplaces.

Wish me luck...if successful this thing will be big enough to do a bike frame or maybe a bumper so longer (7') and taller (42") than normal and just alittle wider (30") ...might use extra heating elements...

BUD

anybody know how crucial the temp is, i understand you have to get it at least to a certain temp, but can it be hotter, i dont have an oven like that i can use, but i do have something to make a big oven out of, but, its using a wood stove, so there is no way to really moniter the temp to 400 exactly. I feel confident i could get it that hot, but it very well could get hotter