WHo has painted thier headers with decent results?

Busted07

I need my gorilla to be about an inch longer.
Nov 15, 2005
0
3
0
Ive heard that powdercoating cracks and comes off, and that regular rattle can paint flakes off after a little bit. I bought some Heavy duty cast iron colored high-temp paint, thats supposed to be good up to 900 degrees, but the only thing is, it says to bake for 30 minutes in an oven after application. Im not using my house oven, and dont have a spare one, so im going to try something different..

I have some self etching primer i was going to use, then layer the paint on with several thin coats to build it up, then put them in front of a propane heater i have for a while to cure it.. anyone think this will work, or use a different method?
 
The dude i got them from just sprayed them silver with some regular old paint, had them on his car for a year, then took them off and switched to long tubes. There was still paint on them and a little rust so i gave hem to a buddy and he bead blasted them, so i just want to kinda protect them till i can afford some jet hot long tubes.
 
The dude i got them from just sprayed them silver with some regular old paint, had them on his car for a year, then took them off and switched to long tubes. There was still paint on them and a little rust so i gave hem to a buddy and he bead blasted them, so i just want to kinda protect them till i can afford some jet hot long tubes.

It does an ok job.
 
The self etching primer may not hold up to the same temp as the heat paint. You may be better off only using the heat paint and looking at a garage sale, good will, or salvation army for an old oven.


Good point, i just knew that primer like bonded to the metal, so i thought it might help.. :shrug:
 
Now.. to see if i can fit my stangs gas tank in the trunk of a dodge intrepid, so i can take that home, paint it and install it too. :D
 
If you truely care about them, have them ceramic coated. I wouldn't waste my time or money on anything else. Prices vary greatly, so shop around.
Do not confuse them with ceramic paint, not the same.
In the pic below, the top set has been on my explorer for 2 years, and look exactly the same as the pic.
(bottem set was the old FMS ones i had on the truck, no relavance here, just a pic i had already).

307357_39_full.jpg
 
If you truely care about them, have them ceramic coated. I wouldn't waste my time or money on anything else. Prices vary greatly, so shop around.
Do not confuse them with ceramic paint, not the same.
In the pic below, the top set has been on my explorer for 2 years, and look exactly the same as the pic.
(bottem set was the old FMS ones i had on the truck, no relavance here, just a pic i had already).

307357_39_full.jpg


Damn... thats impressive.. Ill keep that in mind for sure!
 
Something neat i found about how to bake the paint on your headers after painting them with a high temp paint that requires baking..

"How do I cure the paint on my new Headers?

Ideally when removing them from the box and plastic bag you handle them very carefully as the paint easily rubs off until it has been heated to over 500 degrees. If you have access to an acetylene torch hang the headers and aim the torch up into the collector so the heat comes out the tubes at the header flange. Otherwise you can use a heat lamp or heat gun. This procedure bakes the paint on the header and assures longer paint life."
 
go to www.eastwood.com and look through their exhaust header paint. The stuff rocks. We used the black on the exhaust piping for a 16 cylinder twin turbo diesel generator motor. Everything else burned off but even after 3 years there are only a few small rust spots. It comes in black, cast iron, stainless and silver I believe.