DIY Ceramic Coating my way.
I recently upgraded my headers to Long Tube Dougs, because the existing Flowtechs hung down about 4 1/2 inches too low & dragged often w/stock spindles on my 57 150 2dr w/378 sbc. I contacted a few of the commercial ceramic coaters including Jet Hot. They said they only spray what they could reach from the ends for the inside & I thought the price (380) was quite high plus shipping both ways.
With a short internet search, I found Cerakote & watched their YouTube application video. I was concerned about thoroughly coating the inside. I called cerakote technical & was told how to "flow coat" the inside. That consisted of taping up one end of the headers & pouring cerakote in then taping the other end & tilting/turning the headers back & forth coating the insides. According to their estimates 4 oz. should be enough. I bought a pint (16oz) to be safe, I didn't want shiny so I chose titanium finish cost was $70 plus shipping. Shiny takes a machine like a big "vibratory tumbler."
Of course, they say to blast with aluminum oxide or similar (not glass beads) to get a good "tooth" prior to coating. Inside the tubes presented a challenge to blast, but I made an 12" extension for my gun with a thin steel tube (bendable) for my blast cabinet. I felt like I made a pretty good effort & washed in & out with acetone.
As described before, I "flow coated" the inside & saved the excess poured off from the inside in a separate container. For the outside, they recommend a HVLP with .8 tip, I only had a 1.0 for my Devilbiss touch-up gun so that is what I used. Harbor Freight has a touch-up gun with a .8 tip for $35.99 (SKU 46719). It is easy to spray, I had a few runs & let it dry 24 hr. to sand & touch up. I then allowed 5 days for air cure. By the way, their tech told me the heat & air coat formulas are the same.
I've only run the engine about 4 hours since finished, temp between 160 & 190 & they still look great. Of course long term use is the real test.
I'm pretty stubborn about DIY & so far, I'm satisfied with my effort & plan to coat the old headers outside only with the left over coating then offer them for sale at Pate Swap meet in April.
That's my 2 cents
Danny
Thanks Danny. What you did is what I concluded after reading the Cerakote information and visiting Applied Plastics in Denver to discuss their coatings. I just finished trying the Cerakote Clear on my polished suspension parts and it wasn't too bad to apply. Since there's no heating required on the header coatings, I concluded that you can do it yourself too. Applied Plastics told me this stuff can be put on anything you want, even plastic parts. To me it looks like a urethane basecoat without clear over it....a flat finish but it's supposed to be very tough, hard, and heat resistant to 2000F once it cures.
I have kinda put this on the back burner for now since I have so much going on. Since all my exhaust is polished stainless, I'm still leaning toward their polished silver which I can't do myself. It's $290 to have them do it. The downside is the shiny coating is only good for 1300-1500F....which may not even be a problem. They can put an "insulating" layer under it that adds cost but supposedly raises the temp rating 200F or so.
In talking to them I found out they also apply the Cerakote Clear and he estimated $500 to do all my suspension parts. I had already spent almost $150 on materials and $30 on a 0.8mm spraygun I probably didn't need so I decided to do it myself. So far so good.
Thanks for the feedback.
56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension
Other vehicles:
56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
1962 327/340HP Corvette
1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
2001 Porsche Boxster S
2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax
I'm another guy who has not been very happy with coatings on headers. Like Rick said, coating is better than paint.. but.. for me, the shiny goes away to a dull grey from the heads down about 2'. I have Hooker SuperComp 2112's with Jet Hot right now. Years ago, I ran Patriot's with their coating and the finish was also crappy within a few months. I keep my engine very clean, and the tune is OK.