Zircotec Ceramic Coating

[Don]

Anyone have experience with Zircotec ceramic coating?

" A high-technology ceramic coating originally developed for the nuclear industry and already used by five Formula One teams is now available for automotive applications.............."


http://www.gizmag.com/go/6642/


http://www.accentus-zircotec.com/

[RedEye]

Bump. I too am looking for a ceramic/heat solution for the side pipes, hopefully other than some sort of expanded metal or external shield.

[Don]

Originally Posted by RedEye

Bump. I too am looking for a ceramic/heat solution for the side pipes, hopefully other than some sort of expanded metal or external shield.

Asked about Zircotec since I had not heard of them. I have used Swain Technology. Their ceramic coating is off white only and the ceramic particles result in a surface similar to rough sandpaper. The pipes were then baked with a black high temp coating by a local vendor. The UPS Store hand crafted the corrugate containers to ship the pipes to Swain, and returned to me in the same containers. Since UPS packed, insured the side pipes with them.

White Lightning Exhaust Coatings | Swain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing CoatingsSwain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing Coatings

[RedEye]

Don,

Thank you for the vendor information. I'm curious about Swain's product in two ways. Did you have your side pipes coated with the thicker .015 White Lighting material? If so, how do they appear with the apparent texture of the White Lighting product? And to what degree has this abated some of the heat and danger from the hot pipes after using the car?

Thanks!
Red

[Don]

" Did you have your side pipes coated with the thicker .015 White Lighting material? "

Yes. The side pipes had been completely rebuilt included header connection, muffler shell and turnout, were coated by Swain over bare metal.

" If so, how do they appear with the apparent texture of the White Lighting product "

Coating is an ivory pale white, not a bright or pure white, the only color. Ceramic particles are noticeable as is the rough sandpaper appearance. My personal preference was black, had the pipes high temp coated black over Swain's coating by a local vendor and then baked. Black coating made the ceramic particles less noticeable.

" to what degree has this abated some of the heat and danger from the hot pipes after using the car? "

Did not take a temp reading of the old side pipes for comparison to the new side pipes. Since the new pipes had to be coated and I also wanted the black appearance, selected Swain based upon their White Lighting narrative, use of a " ceramic " coating and comments from others. Seems the term " ceramic " has become generic and different coating vendors have their own definition. Pipes are still hot, but less than my original set, caution is still necessary.

[RedEye]

Thanks a bunch Don.

[Ralphy]

We use a lot of plasma coatings at work. We have our own spray shop. The header pic coating to me looks very similar to a jet engine combustion chamber coating, off white. I'm not sure what the formula is. The term we use for these coatings is thermal barrier. When the engines come back in for rebuild the coatings look yellow and burned. The texture is a bit rough and may I add porous. If you touch a newly sprayed part with dirty hands the dirt is absorbed into the surface easily. Most parts we rework will get a final cleaning and they do clean up. However I'm not sure what type of cleaning fluids are used and if you could clean at home.

Parts before thermal barrier spray should/must be blasted to give the spray something to cling to. Rarely does this coating chip. Some of the other build up coatings can chip easily. Thought I would throw it out there.

Ralphy

[RedEye]

Good information. I'm concerned about the texture causing an appearance that may make the pipes appear to be in less that excellent condition. I think I'll probably use a standard black ceramic coating in an effort to reduce some temperatures. We did this on an airplane and the results were well appreciated in getting the cowling temperatures down by about 100 degrees F.

[Ralphy]

Another issue could be expansion and contraction rates of a material. If the coating were to chip, it would most likely be at the heads. Since this is where the highest heat expansion would be. Aircraft chambers are made of inconel which is app. 75% nickle headers are made of what, mild steel. F1 does use inconel on there exhaust I do believe.




"Inconel is often encountered in extreme environments. It is common in gas turbine blades, seals, and combustors, as well as turbocharger rotors and seals, electric submersible well pump motor shafts, high temperature fasteners, chemical processing and pressure vessels, heat exchanger tubing, steam generators in nuclear pressurized water reactors, natural gas processing with contaminants such as H2S and CO2, firearm sound suppressor blast baffles, and Formula One and NASCAR exhaust systems."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inconel

Inconel also does not corrode.

[Don]

Originally Posted by RedEye

Good information. I'm concerned about the texture causing an appearance that may make the pipes appear to be in less that excellent condition. I think I'll probably use a standard black ceramic coating in an effort to reduce some temperatures. We did this on an airplane and the results were well appreciated in getting the cowling temperatures down by about 100 degrees F.

Red Eye........can you define further as to the product which would be " standard black ceramic coating " Just curious as to how other vendors define their use of " ceramic "

I never used the side pipes with the only the Swain coating, no experience on foreign products altering the appearance, chipping, etc. The vendor that coated the pipes with high temp baked black mentioned it would be a challenge to sand blast off the Swain coating w/o damaging the metal, i.e. adhesion etc. Would guess having the black coating applied over the Swain coating was not a common approach.

[RedEye]

Hey Don,

My reference was solely to the appearance of the product, in that a standard thin coat of ceramic would appear much like a flat black paint. Oddly, appearance counts almost as much as function, as life would have it


Red

[Ralphy]

A little more thought on this. I think ceramic coatings are porous. Which may allow water to leech thru to the base metal causing corrosion. Starting with a new set of stainless headers/side pipes would be a plus. Also make sure the person puts enough spray on and does not try to go cheap. Not to thin not to thick!

[Don]

Another consideration on the Swain coating that I refer to as rough sandpaper and Swain calls textured. The off white coating might be challenging to clean from greasy/dirty hands, road tar, other road hazards that would mark up the side pipes. By the additional application of a coating with the high temp baked on black, the nooks and crannies, i.e., textured/rough sandpaper, were filled in and the appearance became more like fine to very fine sandpaper. I did visit Swain in upstate NY prior to using them and viewed their process. The ceramic particles are visible and the result is the " textured " appearance. A guess is on other applications the ceramic becomes a liquid and mixed in for attaining the smooth and colored look.

Not implying that the Swain coating is best or better than others, just would be helpful for all when making a decision on a coating that the term " ceramic ' as used with exhaust coatings was clearly defined by the vendors in order to make a valid comparison. Some sites mention ceramic, but no details such as thickness etc

[KevinW]

Back to the OP, I plan to have my headers coated in the zircotech off-white coating, once they are back from the welders. Will let you know in a month or so.

[Don]

Following is from an e-mail Newsletter authored by Zirotec. I have no personal experience, pro or con, with the products.

Zircotec high performance coatings, ceramic coatings, engine, automotive, motorsport, exhaust manifold and header coatings.

" The video looks behind the scenes at Zircotec to show the complex processes that are worked through to produce the high performance coatings and superb finishes supplied by Zircotec. If you think Zircotec is a paint then you need to watch this video and see a plasma at 10,000°C (18,000°F) with almost pure molten ceramic travelling at twice the speed of sound. "

" The second half of the video shows how well a Zircotec coating performs in preventing excess heat loss from a red hot glowing exhaust system. The video also shows some of the applications for Zircotec coatings. "

The Zircotec Process - YouTube