Need some honest advice here...

I just put Hooker Competition shorties on my 67 Camaro. They are not block huggers, they just dump at an angle rather than go under the frame like a long tube header. They fit really well, except for the dimple I had to put in at the steering box. I put them on this weekend. Then this morning, I ran the car to my exhaust place to have them hooked up to my pipes. I had the lines wired up to the car so they wouldn't drag, but the headers were open. It was ridiculously loud. graemlins/clonk.gif

Anyway, in the five minutes it took me to get to the muffler shop, the paint had bubbled right off most of the headers. I just laughed. When I get the car back, I would like to paint the headers. I realize that most paints will not work. I have been fooled by "1500 degree" paint at Autozone a few times (shame on me). What I want to know is: does anything work? I didn't want to get ceramic/powdercoated headers from factory because they are really expensive, and if I put them on and don't like the performance, its too late to send them back. There is a powdercoating place not too far from me, so if I like the headers after a few weeks, I can take them to him. But will powdercoating work? I don't want to pay the money if it won't stick.

What do y'all think? What works/doesn't work in your experience, including heat paints, manifold paint, powdercoating, etc.?

I would appreciate any advice you have to offer, as always.

The headers are Hooker #2466

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=search.asp&type=bysummitpart&searchtype=both&part=hok-2466


Thanks everyone, and God bless. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Obviously ceramic coating is the best option, but expensive. I have seen powdercoating used, not in high heat applications, that just peeled (actually fell off in sheets) or rusted severly where ever there is a sharp corner on the metal. My guess would be the metal wasn't properly prepped in those cases. But others seem to really like powder coating.

If you want to try a paint the only one I have ever used that was any good at all was VHT flame proff coating. I like the dull aluminum color. I've used it on headers on some pretty hot engines up to 12.5:1 with no problems. The key was bead blasting the headers first. The stuff won't completely cure until you run the engine for a half hour or so. I've never had it bubble or peel on me. You probably have to special order it. Most auto stores today only carry the cheaper stuff like dupli-color or temp. Both of those brands will bubble on the first start up.

i already wrote a reply to this but for some reason its not showing up. I have my headers powdercoated with an 1100 degree powder by a local guy. They looked good, however when we ran it for about 10 minutes the top layre bubled off. weird thing is after i flaked it off, there was another coat that looked the same as the day he did it. I haven`t driven it around yet but plan to this sunday, im not sure if when theres more heat more will burn off or if it will stay how it is, but i`ll let ya know.

However i do think that Jet-Hot is the absolute best way to go!! It may be expencive but i feel its definetly worth it. It looks GREAT and lasts.

When I used my Raytek to check pipe temps on my headers, I saw temps around 600 +/-. This was at idel upon arriving home. Others have mentioned using bar-b-q grill paint.

hey, there was an article in one of the mags that used a infra red thermometer on uncoated headers on a motor on a dyno at 180 degrees and they were around 550 then they used a set of ceramic coated headers(inside and out) and got motor to 180 and these were only around 230 degrees almost 1/2 the temp of the uncoated and only 1 hp less!!!!!!!!
not many powder coaters like doing exhaust bt i guess they are coming out with higher temp powders, either way i would save and have them ceramic coated, my 2" bb hooker comps cost me 210 bucks to be coated inside and out and they guy bead blasted them inside and out before coating, he has these flexible tips he sandblast with to get inside the tubes and he has the same idea that sprays the coating, mine came out great, check my site to see them, i had them done at NHTC in manchester,NH and would use them anytime again, goodluck
jake

If you love your car and don't want to keep pulling the headers off every few years to redo them I would suggest JetHot! It does cost a few bucks but I have heard nothing but good stuff on them. Once my Thorley's turn, I will send them off to JetHot and get them done. If you contact the guys there they will automatically send you a video and brochure.

Gideon,

Could you pass along the part # for those headers.

Edit: Duh, If I'd read the post all the way I'd have seen it.

graemlins/clonk.gif

I've had pretty good luck with POR20 high temp exhaust paint, but there were a few spots that bubbled up after awhile, probably because of contaminants getting on them, oil, power steering fluid, etc.......but you can easily touch them up with a Q-tip, for 20 bucks a pint, a pretty cheap, easy solution..........KZ

jet hot coating obviously is the sweet ticket, but as was mentioned earlier in the post, vht's paint does work. i used vht's nu-cast on my old headers, and ran them for a full year, without a hint of peeling. i got the idea from my uncle who used the same stuff on his blown model a's blockhuggers, they've been fine for a few years now. i have also seen the way jet hot keeps things cooler, my super comps are bare (actually same paint as yours had, it's not even meant to last, just for shipping rust protection), and it runs around 600 degrees. ive seen similar motors to mine on a dyno with jet hot coated headers, running around 350-400. heck, my buddy's 632 has jet hot on the headers, and it runs about 380-400. it's good stuff for sure, but on a budget the paint will last. good luck

We used Eastwood's stainless steel header/manifold paint on a set of freshly blasted headers. After ten years of use(sunny weekends only), they still look pretty good (but could use a re-coat). I am happy with the Eastwood paint.