Thread: painting an exhaust header

Morning chap, since my header is still off at the minute ive decided to clean her up and have it painted VHT matt black. Ive sand papered and used wire wool to clean off the surface rust and the metal underneath is still lovely.

It’s mostly likely going to be a home job then baked in an oven to cure after. Anyone tried this before and did it work?












David

It will hold up for a couple weeks then it will start peeling badly.

Yeah, you would be better off with a real coating like Swain's White Lightning:

White Lightning Exhaust by Swain Tech for Automotive Coatings including engine piston coatings, ceramic coating services engine, automotive ceramic coating, ceramic header coating, dry film lubricant, race engine coatings, exhaust header coating

This will both cut down on under hood heat and protect your investment at the same time. If you want a color, you could then use the paint you were originally going to use and it will have a surface to stick to, as well as the ceramic will keep it from burning up and peeling off.

My .02

I believe that I used the vht with ceramic on my down pipe. It's still holding up after about 8 months.

Ceramic header paint will work fine. My turbo manifold is ceramic coated and it looks minty fresh.

it will work on your downpipe fine it will NOT work on your manifold lol

This is what I used. It's rated at 1300-2000 degrees.... It'll hold fine where ever you put it.

Amazon.com: VHT SP117 FlameProof Coating Flat Aluminum Paint Can - 11 oz.:…

I used the black of that VHT high temp a few years ago. It has held up really well on the intake manifold, but it turned colors on the exhaust mani. That was on a turbo manifold that gets pretty hot. It did help keep rust at bay for the most part

I second that I tried some high heat header paint looked good for a week and than started coming off and just made a mess

I painted the exhaust housing and center cartridge on your t28 with it... How's THAT holding up?