Getting headers coated is pretty common, and in my plans for the CP car. I have been researching costs on building my own exhaust, and I can build an aluminized steel exhaust for 1/3 the cost of stainless. It's making it hard to pony up the cash for a dedicated autocross car that will never see salt unless I spill my nachos.
Paint is certainly an option, but I was curious if anyone had any experience in having a full exhaust ceramic coated. Cost? Was it worth it? Yada yada. Spill the beans.
I will be doing it on a customers Jensen Interceptor in a few weeks.
Not sure how much it will cost, I just want the really clean look.
I saw an episode of one of those Velocity shows where they did a whole exhaust in the shiny silver coating. It looked really good. The first heat cycle is critical with that finish. I did some headers on a Sunbeam tiger in that finish and the tech who installed them didn't wipe them down before firing it up. You could watch the fingerprints appear on the surface as they heated up. They were permanent 
Jumper K. Balls wrote: I will be doing it on a customers Jensen Interceptor in a few weeks. Not sure how much it will cost, I just want the really clean look. I saw an episode of one of those Velocity shows where they did a whole exhaust in the shiny silver coating. It looked really good. The first heat cycle is critical with that finish. I did some headers on a Sunbeam tiger in that finish and the tech who installed them didn't wipe them down before firing it up. You could watch the fingerprints appear on the surface as they heated up. They were permanent
I have heard the fingerprint thing. I'd be curious to hear about costs if you're willing to share.
I'm not doing shiny - probably flat white.
For an Auto-X car, I'd probably just coat until out of the engine bay.
On a road race car, I might do past the seat to help with heat.
In reply to Gimp:
If you're autocrossing a CP car with nachos, I'm betting you're going to spill them. 
Not all coatings are the same. For instance, Jet Hot reduces a bit of heat, but the main purpose is aesthetic, as they make your exhaust look great, and the coatings tend to last.
Swain Tec coatings ( longtime GRM advertiser) may not look as pretty as Jet Hot, but they do a great job of keeping heat down. We've had several of our headers / exhausts coated by them, and have been very happy with the results. I wouldn't recommend grabbing a hot header while the car is running, but if you are fiddling under the hood, and your hand brushes against the header--- you won't get burnt.
For looks--- Jet Hot probably wins
For performance--- I'd pick Swain Tec
For a cheap alternative--- check out header wraps from DEI, and Thermo Tec. (both longterm GRM advertisers)
I used Swain Tech on my turbine housing, kept it looking brand new. As far as header wrap goes, you can't beat it for heat reduction. I know a lot of people hate it but it does work. That said, I don't like it for a different reason, especially the newer ceramic/"lava" type wraps. The stuff gradually degrades, and being somewhat fiberglass-like, tiny needles of the stuff break free and float all around. Given that I had this in my mid-engine open-top Midlana, I suspect that stuff was getting swept forward into the passenger compartment and that I might be inhaling it. I ended up building a low tech header using thick-walled stainless weld-els and don't use wrap or coatings.
Gimp wrote: Getting headers coated is pretty common, and in my plans for the CP car. I have been researching costs on building my own exhaust, and I can build an aluminized steel exhaust for 1/3 the cost of stainless. It's making it hard to pony up the cash for a dedicated autocross car that will never see salt unless I spill my nachos. Paint is certainly an option, but I was curious if anyone had any experience in having a full exhaust ceramic coated. Cost? Was it worth it? Yada yada. Spill the beans.
Ceramic Coating prices are going to depend on the OD and configuration of your exhaust. If you're in the 2.5" to 3.5" range you can expect costs in the 20.00 - 30.00 per ft range for misc tubing. Aluminized or SS is your call. If you intend to keep it forever SS is likely a better bet. Even if its not exposed to salt, condensation will kill it fairly quickly. There's a reason most OEM cars come with SS exhaust. You can get 409 SS pretty cheap these days. Keep in mind that SS pipes are going to require ceramic coating as well in that they radiate a LOT more heat. Especially under hood on headers.....
As for ceramic, I would definitely stay AWAY from traditional "polished / bright" ceramics as they won't live very long in those type of environments. Ideally you'll want to use a High Temp Ceramic which is good for 2000F+. You can get those pipes red hot without any worries of delamination or discoloration.
Joe Gearin wrote: Not all coatings are the same. For instance, Jet Hot reduces a bit of heat, but the main purpose is aesthetic, as they make your exhaust look great, and the coatings tend to last. Swain Tec coatings ( longtime GRM advertiser) may not look as pretty as Jet Hot, but they do a great job of keeping heat down. We've had several of our headers / exhausts coated by them, and have been very happy with the results. I wouldn't recommend grabbing a hot header while the car is running, but if you are fiddling under the hood, and your hand brushes against the header--- you won't get burnt. For looks--- Jet Hot probably wins For performance--- I'd pick Swain Tec For a cheap alternative--- check out header wraps from DEI, and Thermo Tec. (both longterm GRM advertisers) Swain Tec Jet Hot DEI Thermo Tec
A word of caution for anyone using plasma spray coatings like zircotec or swain tech ESPECIALLY if they are wrapped. These coatings are VERY porous which is NOT a good thing around any leaking fluids, i.e. oil, brake fluid, PS fluid, etc. It is very easy for them to go up in flames. The BS hype about the coating being so "Thick" is merely the result of the sand-paper like finish with peaks and valleys which all retain these fluids. If you catch it in time, a can of brake cleaner or carb cleaner can certainly fix the situation.
As to polished ceramic metallic coatings like jet-hot, these materials are VERY effective thermal coatings when used in the proper application. Hence the reason most aircraft engine manufacturers are still using them 30+ years later....... Plasma coatings offer limited corrosion resistance and are limited in there usage in that you can't spray the ID of any pipes and have tolerance concerns on other parts due to the coating build up.
Awesome info here, and you're giving me a lot to think about.
I still have my eye out for stainless options, but I'm not finding a lot in 3" oval pipe that isn't crazy expensive.
just FYI I used BBQ paint on the DD exhaust and it looks great and it's been there a year so far, and it was like $8.
It's not going to beat the performance of any of those coatings, but the price is right.
regarding wraps - I wrapped a "stainless" fleabay header and downpipe from the head to the flexpipe with fiberglass wrap, and it was awesome in terms of keeping underhood temps manageable, plus looked cool IMHO), and supposedly should have helped performance (hot gasses move faster), but the butt dyno was inconclusive.
The header rusted away to nothing in 2 years - the wrap was actually holding it together. I would probably not do it again, unless i used an actual corrosion inhibitor first.
petegossett wrote: In reply to Gimp: If you're autocrossing a CP car with nachos, I'm betting you're going to spill them.
Nah, he's eating them while waiting to be pushed off course 
I used the BBQ stove paint on my homemade catback. It held up really well except the some small chips where the rear tires kicked up debris.
We've done a port to tip coated exhaust with Swain. Looked cool, but the further you get from the engine the less helpful it is.
I've also damaged the Swain coating on my headers. It's flaking off. According to Swain this is due to different heat expansion coefficients in the various materials, but it's got me a bit leery of recommending it to anyone. It's in a different league than whatever your local powdercoat shop can install, though.
If you're looking for heat control, header wrap is less effective than the various heatshields that stand off the pipes. Call up DEI and talk to them, they've got a lot of options that your daddy didn't tell you about.
tuna55 wrote: just FYI I used BBQ paint on the DD exhaust and it looks great and it's been there a year so far, and it was like $8. It's not going to beat the performance of any of those coatings, but the price is right.
I tried this, no dice on mine, it burned off close to the header.
Trying to remember how you will be routing.
How much exhaust in the car? I remember when you were considering 180 degree headers and no passenger seat, but know that was abandoned. Last I remember you were probably putting muffler in the back seat area, but would be having a passenger seat. That still the plan?
Driver comfort in the car and other ergonomic issues are kind of paramount in my mind. If you arent comfortable in the car and you can't get good feedback from it, you arent going to drive it as well. Overheating the driver in the car degrades your ability massively, so I would consider coating a lot more so if you will be routing stuff in the car.
Otherwise, get the pipes good and roughed up (rough sandblasting would be good) and apply paint (paint adheres better to rough surfaces) and apply radiant heat protection to the adjacent floor locations. (its down low and central and the car will be underweight, so no harm in it for your application, besides, the gold foil type stuff is light)
This is also why I will never buy another flat black (or gloss black) helmet and I will not purposely build a black race car.
Do your best to make the car a comfy place to be between runs, then you can think about your performance and improving rather than how hot you are.
Great thread and relevant to my future self.
The shorty headers on my Camaro weren't coated and have developed a lovely, uh, "patina"...yeah, that's it. I've already trashed the budget on the motor rebuild and have lots more cash to throw elsewhere, so getting them sandblasted and then ceramic coated is probably out (especially because race car, not show car). Any thoughts on hosing them down with Ospho to convert the surface corrosion, followed by an application of BBQ (or similar) black? Not sure if the Ospho step is recommended or just go straight to BBQ black and call it good.
Apexcarver wrote: Trying to remember how you will be routing. How much exhaust in the car? I remember when you were considering 180 degree headers and no passenger seat, but know that was abandoned. Last I remember you were probably putting muffler in the back seat area, but would be having a passenger seat. That still the plan? Driver comfort in the car and other ergonomic issues are kind of paramount in my mind.
Not doing the 180s, as you stated, so I can have someone ride with me and either pee in the seat or help me push it off course.
The exhaust setup will be:
Traditional headers with a 3" collector, transitioning to 3" oval tubing, into a X pipe, then into two straight resonators, then up, over the driveshaft, merging into a muffler behind the drivers back (with a firewall inbetween) and out the side of the car in front of the rear tire. The bulkhead and floor sections will have some form of stick on heat shielding.
I agree with the comfort part, but that's not the reasoning for the coating.
I was under the impression that stainless = lasts forever, and I was hoping to gain similar longevity by coating a regular steel exhaust. For the record, my headers are not stainless.
After next weekend I should have the drivetrain in and headers mounted up, so I'll know if I really need the oval tubing. It's only speculation at this point.
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