Powder coating the air cleaner

[StoningtonQB]

So I picked up an original air cleaner recently and am getting ready to do a media blast and a powder coat in semi-gloss. The dilemma I'm having is what to do about the Thermac valve. I don't want to drill it out to remove it for coating, and at the same time have no intention whatsoever of ever making it functional. It may work, but I don't know for sure (and I don't care to find out). However I want this to LOOK original so I have been toying with the notion of just coating right over it. Would there be any problem with having this done? I still want to hook the vacuum lines back up afterwards to give it the appearance of a functioning valve. I'm wondering if the powder coating guy will give me any balls about it.

[DT1]

I had mine powder coated (Thermac valve and all), no problem.

[Rich916]

Did mine,T/valve and all. I went with a high gloss...give a little more "bling" factor.

[slikside]

Almost a year old thread, but it's right at my topic....

Anyone see an issue with also powder coating the heat riser tube??

I imagine that thing gets pretty warm, cuz that's what it's there for, but will that cause any issues with the powder coat, like cracking, blistering, etc??

Don't want to spend money to do it if the heat will damage it. I would just paint it in that case.

Thanks.

[Steve Hafner]

Originally Posted by slikside

Almost a year old thread, but it's right at my topic....

Anyone see an issue with also powder coating the heat riser tube??

I imagine that thing gets pretty warm, cuz that's what it's there for, but will that cause any issues with the powder coat, like cracking, blistering, etc??

Don't want to spend money to do it if the heat will damage it. I would just paint it in that case.

Thanks.

. . . .

I don't know how powder coating would work, BUT . . .

I painted my heat riser tube and manifold "cover" with high temperature paint.

It's lasted for three years so far - but I don't drive it very often.

A small part of it has faded a little, but hardly noticeable.

They WERE black from the factory, as seen on this 80 mile engine:
( a lot glossier then most people think too !!! )

. . . .

[slikside]

High temp paint...duh! Didn't even think of that.

Definitely an option if pc-ing is an issue.

Thanks!

[88fordf150]

You would need to use high temp powder coating on the riser tube. Regular power will not hold up very well near the exhaust.

[slikside]

Originally Posted by 88fordf150

You would need to use high temp powder coating on the riser tube. Regular power will not hold up very well near the exhaust.

OK, thanks for the heads up. Didn't realize they had "specialized" powder coats. I will keep that in mind if I go that route.

[88fordf150]

I used some from Columbia Coatings on a set of exhaust manifolds, held up real nice. They only had silver and black when I did them but it wasn't as shiny or glossy as regular powder.

Originally Posted by slikside

OK, thanks for the heads up. Didn't realize they had "specialized" powder coats. I will keep that in mind if I go that route.

[Lou Boffa]

subscribbed

[71 super]

You can powder the tube, did the one on my bb nearly 10 years ago and it still looks new

[slikside]

Originally Posted by 71 super

You can powder the tube, did the one on my bb nearly 10 years ago and it still looks new

Right on. Do you recall if you did any kind of special high-temp pc, or did you just go the standard route??

[slikside]

Originally Posted by 88fordf150

I used some from Columbia Coatings on a set of exhaust manifolds, held up real nice. They only had silver and black when I did them but it wasn't as shiny or glossy as regular powder.

Thanks. I'll have to ask the powder coaters what they use. That had to have been a high temp type of pc I would think.

I have to believe that if you can pc exhaust manifolds, and they held up well, then a riser tube should be a non-issue with just about any kind of pc. I mean, the thing doesn't even touch the exhaust manifold, only the thin metal shroud around it.

[Tx Firefighter]

It will be fine to do the tube with regular powder.

The exhaust manifolds need ceramic coat. No big deal, most powder shops spray ceramic too.

High temperature powdercoat is not good stuff. Most coaters won't even use it anymore.

[slikside]

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate you chiming in here. I know you do this sort of work yourself, so yours is a valuable opinion to have. I think I'll go ahead and have this done.

Thank you for all the comments guys. Much appreciated.

Steve

[Tx Firefighter]

You're welcome Steve. I know it's not a heat tube, but I powdercoated a metric butt load of motorcycle exhaust heat shields. They bolt directly to the hot pipes.



I was kind of showing off there with that one. Most folks say you can't two tone powdercoat. I figured I'd do a three tone to prove them wrong. Remember, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

Since I am mostly a motorcycle guy, my ceramic coating was mainly silver and semi gloss black.

The black seen here on my one of my own personal Yamahas.



Silver here on a Moto Guzzi exhaust system.





Most custom coating shops shoot ceramic alongside their powder work. They kind of go hand in hand. Ceramic is killer stuff. Just treat it like something you paid good money for and it will last. What I mean by that is don't beat it up, install it with some form of care.

As a durability test I did the entire system on my rider motorcycle and have purposefully treated it bad to see how it lasts. So far, I'm at the three year mark and haven't even washed the motorcycle even once. I treat it like a whore on 5 dollar night. Lots of bug guts, mud, and road debris have bounced off of it. So far, all is well.

This picture was taken three years ago when I first built the bike. It looks like a sack of smashed up buttholes now. I'm making a statement against all of the chrome and polish guys who'd rather clean them than ride them.