57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

That coating looks great! I'm about to sandblast the storage paint off my headers and had planned on VHT black. My confidence in durability isn't very high. I'll have to look into this stuff! Is it purpose made for cast?

No, it will go over headers as well, but they do recommend that you sandblast the surface before application. They offer three colors - cast, bronze and black. I think the cast looks more like aluminum though. The instructions for headers said to take a small patch of cloth and wrap a wire around it then dip it into the coating and use it to swab the inside of the tubes. Since I was dealing with much shorter lengths I didn't do that. Instead, I focused the spray pattern and shot it down inside the manifolds.

The expense is a factor. There probably comes a point where it's almost as cost effective to have the parts ceramic coated as it is to DIY. Of course, when you do it yourself, you have control over the timing and the quality of the prep, etc. If you send it out, that goes away and you're at the mercy of the business doing the work.

Time will tell if it's durable or not. The guys at Hot Rod Express said they go thru several heat/cool cycles before putting the headers in service. Run the engine until you see a small amount of smoke come off the headers/manifold and then shut it off and cool down completely. Doing that several times will help cure the coating. When I get everything buttoned back up next week, I'll post an update.