Best Shorty Header Paint

Other than Jet Hot type coatings, what is the best header paint to use on a set of Shorty headers...and would sand blasting help?...


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I have never found any "rattle can" header paint worth a flip, none seem to last. My current set of headers were ceramic coated silver and still look new I installed them 2 years ago.

Vince

I always say rust is the natural color of headers. Factory applied industrial coatings like ceramics or chrome are pretty good, lasting several years. I've never seen rattle can painting hold up. The temperatures involved are simply too high and last for too long for high temp paints to survive for very long.

However, if you're going to do it, removing the rust is an important step. Rust really can't be painted over successfully because it always flakes or peels off the base metal. So the process of doing that takes whatever coating is on the rust with it.

Bogie

I was looking on another forum pertaining to this subject and ran across this product....
http://www.techlinecoatings.com/Exhaust.htm#blacksatin
4 oz $20
12 oz $50
32 oz $125

what about wood stove/ fireplace paint? I got flat black and while it doesn't get hot my rally rim still look good. It holds on well. I may try it on my headers just too see. 6 bucks a can is cheap enough. It painted 4 rims and still have some left over from 6 years ago.

I was in a store the other day and mixed in with the high heat rattle can paint rated to 650 deg. there were a few colours with a 1500 deg. rating. How hot do headers get?

they can get up to 2000* or so if the engine is running lean.. 12-1,500* usually

eastwood sells a pint or so of 'iron grey' with cermaic particles in the paints... best stuff I've tried... it does actually stay on and I've tried it on stock manifolds and tubular headers- if it starts to flake off or lock bad, simply brush a small bit on the rusty place.

I used some Dupli-Color Ceramic 1200º paint on my shorty headers. Aluminum color.

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...15&autoview=sku


One can put down 3 wet coats. Although I haven't got to the point of putting the paint to the test. I did however sandblast off all the black protective paint the factory put on (recommended by Dup). They also recommend you bake the coating at 300º for about 20 min or so before installing.

Black fireplace coating works pretty good, turns grey at the high temp zones. Easy to reapply too.

I have good luck with high temp VHT brand. Found it at Autozone. The key is to clean or sand blast the headers first and wipe them with a evaporating grease cleaner. Cleaner the better. I always use a torch to heat metal parts before painting, removes an residue, oils, etc. I then let the metal cool slightly so that it's warm and then paint. I have had really good results. I have a set of shorty headers that still look good after 10 years. Much like painting anything else, the prep is very important.