Ceramic coat sidepipes or not?

[lippy]

*Possibly* my last option to decide. I was planning on using VHT or PlasiKote black paint on my sidepipes, but now I'm reconsidering ceramic coating from ERA. I sort of like the look of the flat spray painted sidepipes and also like the ease of touching up. But ceramic, if it lasts long, may run cooler and be easier.

Pros and Cons of ceramic as I understand them:

Pros
- Clean, uniform look
- Cools quicker and may run cooler


Cons
- May not last that long (not sure)
- Hard to repair if damaged
- Need to recoat ($) if damaged or worn
- $$, but not that much

Your experience with ceramic coating would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Dwight]

Ceramic is the only way to go. Cools in minutes to the touch. Great thing at car shows with people getting close to the sidepipes.
Nitroplate (Nashville, Tn) will ceramic coat headers and sidepipes for $335.

You can touch them up with ceramic/aluminum rattle can paint.

Cooler under the hood because the ceramic holds more of the heat inside the headers and passes it out the exhaust system.

They claim more horsepower, maybe 1 or 2 hp???

Ceramic, the best of everything

Dwight

P.S.
it will last a long time.

[DanEC]

I would go with the ceramic coating. It's not immune to road rash and it will scratch but it's much better than paint. Does ERA provide coating inside and out? That can lower surface temperatures enough to be worthwhile - but it's not a preventive cure for being branded if you rest flesh against it momentarily. Also, if the road rash starts to get unsightly after several years, you can still paint over it with VHT paint and it will last longer just because a high % of the surface underneath is still ceramic protected and sealed.

I also like the slightly eggshell finish of the black ceramic coating as compared to VHT paint which is very flat.

I have undercar exhaust that I fabbed up myself so I sourced out the ceramic coating separate from ERA. I think it's a good option. I did have some issues with the slip joints because my pipes were coated inside and out. I had to carefully remove the coating on the mating surfaces with sandpaper and then I lubed them up with the Walker exhaust sealer that ERA recommends to slide them together. Easier said than done.

[DanEC]

I also used Nitroplate coatings in TN and highly recommend them if you decide not to have ERA coat them.

[tkb289]

Jeff,

Some good suggestions above. There is a local alternative if you are interested. Take a look at Accessories Plus in Belmont (ask for Steve). They ceramic coated the entire exhaust system for my FIA. You can do all the test fitting and tweaking to get everything to hang properly and fit just right on your 427, then take it in for ceramic coating.

Your set up will be different that mine, but below are some photos of the coating for my partial under car set up. They did a great job and I am very pleased with the end result.

- Tim

[lippy]

Tim - funny you should mention Accessories Plus. I googled them and spoke with Boyd. Sounds like a good alternative and a fair price.

One thing that threw me off is that Peter at ERA mentioned that his ceramic coating guy coats in silver, and if you want black he paints the silver ceramic with black VHT paint. So it doesn't appear that there is much of an advantage to this approach vs just painting. But when I spoke with Cap's in Fresno (good reputation) and Accessories Plus, they indicated they use a black ceramic coat that doesn't require any painting, and is more durable. I suppose there are two or more alternative processes.

Right now I'm leaning toward just getting the headers and sidepipes unfinished and having the black ceramic done locally - either at Accessories Plus or Cap's.

[bobcowan]

Ceramic coating is a Must Do item for a number of reasons. Blocking the transfer of heat through the pipes will lower your underhood temps a bit, and help prevent 3rd degree burns of the leg. The will still get hot enough for a good 2nd degree burn, though.

Headers/extractors work by creating a slightly negative pressure wave in the head pipe, and evacuates the cylinder better. The more heat you have at the collector, the better that works.

Silver looks good, but I think black looks better. I painted my ceramic coated pipes with a spray on black ceramic coating that decreases heat transfer an additional 50* or so. It will eventually chip off or get discolored, especially right behind the front wheels. No big deal, I just clean them off and re-spray when they need it.

[lippy]

I am going with black for the sidepipes and collectors, so I guess I should also do black for the headers. Any disadvantage to black headers, or should I consider a different color for the headers only?

[G-Pete]

Ceramic coating is the way to go. A little wrap in the engine compartment and you're ready to go...

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by lippy

Tim - funny you should mention Accessories Plus. I googled them and spoke with Boyd. Sounds like a good alternative and a fair price.

One thing that threw me off is that Peter at ERA mentioned that his ceramic coating guy coats in silver, and if you want black he paints the silver ceramic with black VHT paint. So it doesn't appear that there is much of an advantage to this approach vs just painting. But when I spoke with Cap's in Fresno (good reputation) and Accessories Plus, they indicated they use a black ceramic coat that doesn't require any painting, and is more durable. I suppose there are two or more alternative processes.

Right now I'm leaning toward just getting the headers and sidepipes unfinished and having the black ceramic done locally - either at Accessories Plus or Cap's.

Apparently not all ceramic coaters have satin black available to them. If you can find someone close by who can do it - that is the way to go. It will look like 2kb289's photos above.

[Cashburn]

Tell PP to check with his coater again on the process he now uses... Since we introduced him to a material supplier a few years ago.

[Three Peaks]

Originally Posted by Dwight

Ceramic is the only way to go. Cools in minutes to the touch. Great thing at car shows with people getting close to the sidepipes.
Nitroplate (Nashville, Tn) will ceramic coat headers and sidepipes for $335.

You can touch them up with ceramic/aluminum rattle can paint.

Cooler under the hood because the ceramic holds more of the heat inside the headers and passes it out the exhaust system.

They claim more horsepower, maybe 1 or 2 hp???

Ceramic, the best of everything

Dwight

P.S.
it will last a long time.

Do you have the contact information for Nitroplate? I'm just about ready to send my sidepipes to them for coating. I've seen pics of the bright silver they use and it almost looks like polished aluminum or chrome.

Thanks,
Bob

[Mother]

I use shinny black cermic coating. I have used the coating for 14 years. No problems. It cuts down the radiant heat tto less than 500 degrees on the headers, and the side pipes are cool enough to touch.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by Three Peaks

Do you have the contact information for Nitroplate? I'm just about ready to send my sidepipes to them for coating. I've seen pics of the bright silver they use and it almost looks like polished aluminum or chrome.

Thanks,
Bob

They are pretty easy to reach in my experience.

High Performance Ceramic Header Coatings - Nitroplate

[tkb289]

Jeff,

I am not sure what the exact materials are that Accessories Plus uses, but the basic process is to high temp bake the parts first then bead blast and coat. It's my understanding that ceramic coating is about .002" thick versus powder coating (for low temp parts) which is about .006" to .008" thick. Sound like Cap's and Accessories Plus use a similar one step process.

Having the headers a different color than the collectors and side pipes comes down to what one likes. Silver or white will make the headers stand out, black will make them tend to disappear … similar to a roll bar, black or chrome it's comes down to personal preference. Both look good.

- Tim