Jet-Hot Chrome/Bright

[Rusty McNeil]

Can you get an exhaust coated in a really bright ceramic coat?

How much should I expect to pay for this?

Will it hold up?

It's a UFO Stainless 4-2

I'm tired of polishing it twice a year, total PITA

 

[gamorg02]

i was just showing bill kratz this page:

http://cruton.bmg.uab.edu/page_9.htm

 

[one2dmax]

We can get the "Sterling" finish done for you around $300. It comes pretty shiny and can be polished out for an even brighter finish if desired. BUT, it's going to dull as well (heat's a bitch). There are some products out there that work reasonably well to prevent discoloration from heat even on your stainless.

Sean

 

[CaptainKyle]

Here ya go Rusty this place http://www.polydyn.com/index.htm done a real good job for me when I was there. WE done the quite a few parts with there coating on internal parts to & reduced friction & created a couple extra Hp to.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Here ya go Rusty this place http://www.polydyn.com/index.htm done a real good job for me when I was there. WE done the quite a few parts with there coating on internal parts to & reduced friction & created a couple extra Hp to.

Cool, I taked to them today after making the original post; Just did a search for Houston-ceramic-exhaust and they came up.

Do you think JetHot has anything over the smaller shops now that it's no longer proprieatary (sp?) tech?

 

[CaptainKyle]

Cool, I taked to them today after making the original post; Just did a search for Houston-ceramic-exhaust and they came up.

Do you think JetHot has anything over the smaller shops now that it's no longer proprieatary (sp?) tech?

I am sure some of the smaller shops can do just as good to be honest I am not super happy with any of the ceramic coatings on exaust it seems there good for 2-3 years depending on enviroment & the shiny stuff dont seem to hold up quite as good in my oppinion. There is a smaller place in lamarque that used to do good work to but I cant remamber the name of it I will try & find it.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I am sure some of the smaller shops can do just as good to be honest I am not super happy with any of the ceramic coatings on exaust it seems there good for 2-3 years depending on enviroment & the shiny stuff dont seem to hold up quite as good in my oppinion. There is a smaller place in lamarque that used to do good work to but I cant remamber the name of it I will try & find it.

Polydyn told me right up front that the shinier it is the shorter life it will have, something about more aluminum flakes in it making it less stable than straight ceramic.

I'm just tired of the polish work.

 

[CaptainKyle]

It's inWolfs ceramic coating in LaMarque. They did great work for a good friend of mine, and came recommended from another hot rodder I know.

601 OAK STREET, LA MARQUE, TX‎ - (409) 933-4343‎

 

[rusty]

The black ceramic coat on my headers have lasted for years & still look good.:biglaugh:

 

[one2dmax]

The black is far more durable. The other problem you'll figure out is keeping the coatings stuck to the stainless. It's far easier to get it to stick to mild steel then it is to stainless.

Sean

 

[VMax-Mike]

Rusty your pipes look bad ass. Keep them that way. Its not that hard to polish and look how good your pipes look. ceramic wont polish back like ss. I wish i could get a full ss ufo exhaust.

 

[Lugan]

For what it's worth, I just dropped of my rusty Holeshot mild steel 4 into 2 headers off for ceramic coating at a shop called Lo-Ko in Chicago... based on recommendations from some locals. I dropped them off on Saturday with the only guy working that day, the owner of the shop. Following an hour long conversation with the owner, I learned that ceramic coating base materials can vary quite a bit, and raw material can be as low as $70 a gallon (his cost), up to $300 a gallon. He didn't share the supplier's names, but suffice to say that's a huge price spread! His shop experimented with the cheaper coating, and found that it looked okay after prep and baking, but with his standard 2 coats prior to baking, it came out thin, and wouldn't hold up for more than a couple years. His impression is that a lot of parts shipped pre-coated seem to have an inferior product used. People, myself included, tend to think ceramic coating is ceramic coating...but to a supplier, cheaper = more sales. The pricier product he continues to use holds up longer, and comes out slightly thicker after 2 sprays and baking. Another point he stressed was the importance of prep - not only cleaning the parts of rust etc, but the size of media used to blast the part provides specific adhesion qualities to the coating material. Seems logical to me... not unlike a nice paint job on a bike / car vs the $200 special via Maco or some other "price-point" outlet. Last point he made was that ceramic coating will eventually begin to fail if subjected to moderate road grime, salt, moisture etc, but if kept clean and applied well, should perform well for years. I appreciated his candid opinions.

So, not always... but you often get what you pay for.

Hope this info is helpful to someone!:banana:

Pics of my ceramic coated Holeshot 4 into 2 after 7 years and about 5k miles:

 

[Redbone]

I wonder if ceramic coating just the inside of SS would make them easier to maintain the polished look.
FWIW: Mark builds a set of larger diameter pipes made for larger displacement/ higher output Vmax's. (Only Rusty McNeil's MM needs this info:biglaugh

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Much appreciated.

I think what it boils down to after all y'alls comments and talking to a couple of vendors is that if I'm tired of polishing, AND I AM, that the bright ceramic is the best route, but even Jet-hot and the other two vendors I spoke to admit that it's only good for 2-3 years.
It takes me about 4 hours to repolish this sytem about twice a year. Time is one thing I don't have much of anymore; (witness the $7000 pile of engine parts sitting in my garage, think I'm going to have to temporarily quit my job to assemble it)
I can have it off in 30 minutes, back on in the same, and re-coated for $190 by Polydyne here in Houston.

I dropped them off this afternoon.

I wonder if ceramic coating just the inside of SS would make them easier to maintain the polished look.
FWIW: Mark builds a set of larger diameter pipes made for larger displacement/ higher output Vmax's. (Only Rusty McNeil's MM needs this info:biglaugh

Last time I polished them I shot as much ceramic engine enamel as I could down in the pipes, out of a rattle can, it didn't help a bit.
Polydyne is going to do the same on the coating job, they said theirs will help since it'll stay longer.

 

[Lugan]

What I found with ceramic coated headers on a SBC v8 I had for years, is though the shine may dull over time, the color stays the same. That might work out well for you, based on what you've shared for your goals. I'm curious to hear your results. Are they coating the inside and outside or just the inside?

FWIW yesterday I picked up my freshly re-coated Holeshot 4 into 2 system. It feels like an early Christmas present (to myself)! I had my doubts based on the condition it dropped the pieces off in, but the work appears to have been done quite professionally. The packaging alone must have taken some time! Here's a few shots of the collector, outside and in. I'm curious how they were able to clean inside so well....? The company that did the work is: http://www.lo-ko.com/

Can't wait for riding season to return...

 

[Rusty McNeil]

What I found with ceramic coated headers on a SBC v8 I had for years, is though the shine may dull over time, the color stays the same. That might work out well for you, based on what you've shared for your goals. I'm curious to hear your results. Are they coating the inside and outside or just the inside?

FWIW yesterday I picked up my freshly re-coated Holeshot 4 into 2 system. It feels like an early Christmas present (to myself)! I had my doubts based on the condition it dropped the pieces off in, but the work appears to have been done quite professionally. The packaging alone must have taken some time! Here's a few shots of the collector, outside and in. I'm curious how they were able to clean inside so well....? The company that did the work is: http://www.lo-ko.com/

Can't wait for riding season to return...

Dang, those look really good.

They are doing mine inside and out in the bright finish. The inside will be done as far down as they can spray them, not sure how they clean them.

Polydyne in houston is charging me $190 for the job, supposedly they do good work, we'll see, most of the drag racers and what not that do coatings in the houston metro area use them. They do all sorts of engine internal parts coatings too....

I did ask if they flow coated the insides in order to get complete coverage and they said they don't, saying that if they couldn't clean the surface first then it was a waste of time....I would think there would be some combination of mechanical (like a giant media polisher like you clean shell casings with???) and chemical means to clean the insides everywhere but didn't feel like debating it with them.....The highest heat area is where they can get to it anyways...