headers smoke

[drewfever1020]

ok i painted my headers with high heat header paint and they start to smoke when the truck is on for a bit.
why is it smoking if it is header paint?

[drewfever1020]

ok i painted my headers with high heat header paint and they start to smoke when the truck is on for a bit.
why is it smoking if it is header paint?
do they always smoke after you paint them?
does the paint have to get used to the heat?

[OrangeCrush1970]

I would think that they will stop smoking. Probably just curing the paint

[Ole Blue 68]

1. You sure you didn't get any contaminants on them? (oil, coolant, etc?)

2. How much smoke you talking about here?

[76bonanza]

I have yet to see any high temp paint that would hold up to header heat.

[lowriden58]

Originally Posted by 76bonanza

I have yet to see any high temp paint that would hold up to header heat.

bbq & stove paint by krylon i believe. that stuff works great

[Longhorn Man]

any and all paint will burn. Some of the ceramic paint smokes less, and will last a year or two... but, they will burn some at first, and then wear away too.

[exmonkeypunk]

painting headers is hit or miss. I've done self powdercoating to headers and had it melt off an hour after installing.
you will get some initial melting of the paint, sort of like a heat treating separating the man paint molicules from the boy paint molicules so to speak.
You might find that all the paint burns off. Agree'd with the above comment, did you take any precautions in getting any oil coolant or anything else stripped off before painting? or did ya take them off the truck, dust it off and spray?

The high temp bbq black paint might work for you as well like dude said. I have never sprayed headers with it before, but have heard the same stories about it working great.

[drewfever1020]

ok i used paint srtipper to take the old ugly paint off....
then i clean it with soap and water really good to make sure there is no dirt or oil.......
then i painted them with high heat paint.
when i turn on the truck and its been on for like 30 seconds it starts to smoke.
the longer i leave the truck on the more smoke it makes.
im guessing it just needs to get used to the heat and burn a little off!

[exmonkeypunk]

what temp was the paint good till? 500 or 750 or 900

[drewfever1020]

paint was good to 1200

[TravRMK]

The BBQ paint is the only paint I have been able to keep on exhaust systems.

[Myself]

I've had 1200 degree Dupli-color on my hedders for about 30,000 miles. It's finally starting to fall off, still no discoloration though. The metal must be sandblasted first to remove ALL rust and old paint. Then they will need thoroughly degreased, then thoroughly washed. Then you paint them in several light coats. The thing that makes it last is baking it in an oven. Not so easy with long tubes. I do 250 degrees for 30 mins. Let cool down in the oven until cold. Overnight works great. Then 350 degrees for 45 min. again cool down in the oven. Then 450 for 1 hour. After that they will be very resistent to heat for a very long time. The spots on mine are from water always getting in through the inner fenders and through my old cowl hood. It's a daily driver and sees all weather conditions. If not for that I think they would still look new!

[exmonkeypunk]

just be sure to ask the mrs. before putting your headers in the oven. There will be i fight, i guarantee this.

[Myself]

I try to do parts when she's not around, or working outside. She can't stand the smell the first baking round puts out.

[drewfever1020]

thats the what i didnt do, i didnt bake them!
should i just let my truck run and let the headers smoke

[Scott Webster]

I painted my manifolds with 1200 degree paint and they smoked for 10-15 minutes but they seem fine now. I removed the rust using the battery charger and solution method. Let dry over night and painted them 3-4 coats (when one can was gone). They were dry for a week before install. Don't know how it will hold up yet since my truck hasn't been out of the garage since the engine went in.....

[vintagesteel]

it's new paint. they will stop after a while. Stinks to high hell though!

[straitnate14]

Originally Posted by Myself

I've had 1200 degree Dupli-color on my hedders for about 30,000 miles. It's finally starting to fall off, still no discoloration though. The metal must be sandblasted first to remove ALL rust and old paint. Then they will need thoroughly degreased, then thoroughly washed. Then you paint them in several light coats. The thing that makes it last is baking it in an oven. Not so easy with long tubes. I do 250 degrees for 30 mins. Let cool down in the oven until cold. Overnight works great. Then 350 degrees for 45 min. again cool down in the oven. Then 450 for 1 hour. After that they will be very resistent to heat for a very long time. The spots on mine are from water always getting in through the inner fenders and through my old cowl hood. It's a daily driver and sees all weather conditions. If not for that I think they would still look new!

looks like you got a plug wire getting chewed up or melted in the pic? between your 6 an 8 plugs

[Shane]

it'll smoke till all the paint is burnt off ... then you'll need to repaint

[LONGHAIR]

Merged.....

Please review the rules. They are near the top of every forum.... and here for your convenience http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...t.php?f=34&a=9


Specifically....

XIV. Multiple Posting - It is simply not acceptable to post your question more than once, or to post it in more than one forum. Choose the forum that your question or post best fits in, and place it there and only there. If, after posting, you feel it should be in another forum, private message the forum Moderator and ask if they would move it for you.

This seems to be a growing trend lately

[HoupPhotography]

I painted the headers on my daughters Bronco, they smoked & burnt the paint off. Then I read the rest of the drections, this is not sepcific but it says something to the effect of curing for 2 hr's at 2000 deg then 1 hr at a 1000 deg. All of the one's I've seen have that on them, which makes the paint useless.

[Myself]

If you just "burn them in" on the vehicle the paint gets too hot too fast. It needs to cure slowly in steps. I've tried other methods and they just don't work. I've had only good results baking them in stages. I've also done ATV and jet ski parts with excellent results.

[chris71]

be careful around that smoke off of freshly painted headers, i know there are all kinds of header paints out there but i just painted a set of headers with eastwoods header paint and i actually read the can, they say that the smoke fumes burning off of the headers are toxic, who knows how bad that stuff is really, it may just be a cya from eastwood

[Psycho71]

Yeah, I used VHT paint on mine. Supposedly good to 1200 degrees. I started the truck, let it run for a couple of minutes, shut it off and let them cool all the way down. Repeated this about 5 times.

After that I drove it around the block, and by the time I got home there was already paint peeling off.

This was on sandblasted headers.


About the same result I've gotten from about ten different recommended curing processes.


Jay