ceramic coating headers @ home

oven pic... They actually call it CERAMIC

3 different baking cycles? Sounds interesting.

I built a circuit for a kiln to do some heat treatment of metal and ceramic coatings. The circuit will allow me to control temps up to 2000 as well as rate of climb and holding temps. I have some high temp powdercoatings on order to play with:

Wow, I wish you lived closer to Houston, we make good use of your kiln :^)

In regard to the earlier post of the spray from the can coating, I was helping an owner of a GT5s perform his initial start up on his engine one evening after dark. I'll add that according to the neighbors, it was too late that evening. Regardless, he had a flat tappet cam so we were prepared to break-in the new cam by keeping the revs above 2500RPM for 25 minutes or so.

We had one guy with a hose to spray cool water on the radiator and my job was to search out leaks in the engine bay. Shortly after the engine lit, the headers started turning red, they then went yellow and finally white hot. I had never seen anything like it in real life. Youtube, yes. But never in person. We didn't want to shut down the engine at risk of the cam; so, we pressed on. It was incredible, the entire header was white hot; not just a few inches off the head. Later he figured out that he had plumbed the air pump incorrectly into the header. I'm getting to my point.

At first, there was a lot of smoke accompanying the glowing headers, and I remarked that whatever initially coated those headers is long gone. I could not see how anything could have survived that experience. I was wrong, he informs me that the spray can high temp paint bonded beautifully to the header. Now you know how to make your own kiln.

I used the same paint to do the headers and repaint the mufflers on my car. I did them in black.

As the muffler sections wouldn't fit into the wifes big oven, I followed the instructions for curing on the car.

One 600mile drive later in really bad rainy conditions and 60% of the coating flaked off and the rest discoloured.

I prepared the material properly, used the recomended VHT primer and then the applied top coat.

Then I sent the system out to be blasted and ceramic coated. Looks great now.

From the forum response I figured I had a 50% chance of it sticking. I have put 100 miles on the new motor and the headers look like the day I baked them at home. I did not use any primer, I sandblasted and rattle canned them. I'm so thrilled with my new found power. After everything I have done with 1362. The same rule applies. I could have bought an equal car for less than I've spent. But I'll tell yall' I have met the best people and had more fun with this car than any other I've ever owned. OzGT5... my can said nothing about primer.. Time will tell, but it was worth the 6 bucks.

Got this stuff on my sons SVT Contour headers. They are rusting under the coating. I sent my 180 degree headers out to have them ceramic coated. They now look like stainless steel. Coated internally too. Cost me $300. Headers were $1100 without the coating. Makes sense to protect them. Wish you well with your's though. Certainly look nice, and you can't beat the price.

Gary,

I knew it would happen. You would get into powder coating!

Have you thought about a jet car?

I got to watch it Dave. Too many diversions take too much time.

I build this car too slow to be doing a jet car. Fun idea though!

Yeah, now i got you thinking about it!