Header Paint

[RobbieKNobbie]

The headers on my 89 are just about covered in rust and sooner or later they're going to grow some holes so I figured I'[d better do something about it...

Welding in patches was an option, but due to the compound bends, and how dirty the remaining metal is, I doubt that would have gone well.

Then I spotted a gentleman in Baltimore (I'm 3 hrs north above Philly) selling a complete Vance and Hines SS2 header and can on Craigslist. His price wasn't TOO high, so I packed the car with my youngest and some munchies and we made a day of it (we also did a brief The Wire tour of downtown Baltimore - I just couldn't resist). The pipes were in decent - but not perfect - shape so I went ahead with the deal. A little rust at the collector, but I could work on that.

So the pipes sat for a few weeks (mandatory maturation period for all projects entering my life), but I started working on them yesterday. First objective was to remove all the rust, so I tried sandblasting, but couldn't get into all the nooks and crannies at the collector, so I finished the job with a bottle of Naval Jelly.

It took maybe two hours of brushing on heavy coats of the pink goo, then letting it sit fifteen minutes, then brushing on more, and on and on. Followed up with a thorough rinsing, and drying off with an air gun and this is what I got...


Then I scuffed up the remaining surfaces and on sprayed on some primer. I got this stuff from Amazon, KBS Xtreme Temperature Coating Primer. I've never used it before so we'll see...
It went on pretty well, no orange peel or anything, so that's a start.

[RobbieKNobbie]

... Next came the paint. This was Hi-Temp Silicone Coating from Design Engineering (also off Amazon). Again, I've never used it before, but it says its specifically for headers, so hopefully it's stick for a while.

It went on pretty good. No runs and it dried to a decent semi-gloss. I was hoping for full gloss, but I'll live with this. I was a little worried about compatibility issues between the paint and primer, but so far so good. A lot of times different paint/primer combinations will 'birds eye' and leave a pattern of unpainted spots, but this was OK.



Directions say give it at least eight hours before heating, so I'll pick back up with this tomorrow. I plan on changing my oil/filter then, so I'll have the old headers off anyway. I'm not going to bother swapping cans since my old one is in better shape, but I will change the intermediate pipe. I have to clean it up a little, but I don't plan to paint it.

[ryanschoebel]

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out! I've been thinking about redoing the headers fora bit,so I'll be interested to see if it holds up decently. 

[RobbieKNobbie]

Alright, the old intermediate pipe is a little rusty, the new one is much cleaner, but not perfect. So, I decided to clean up the newer pipe and give it a quick polish.



First, I used the wire wheel to clean up the rust spots, then cleaned up the wire marks with a Norton Sponge wheel. 



And then I put on a cotton wheel and gave the pipe a polish.



I'd like to prevent it from rusting up again, but where I work the parking lots are covered with a mixture of road salt and cement dust all year long, so that creates a difficult environment, even for the "stainless steel" pipe used here. If anyone knows of a high temperature clear coat that could give an extra layer of protection, please let me know!

Hopefully I'll be able to ride to work tomorrow so I can do an oil change and swap out the pipe. If it works out, you guys will be the first to know!

[Troyskie]

 

Does anyone know what coating did the factory use to make the headers black? It looks like an electroplate.

[RobbieKNobbie]

Rain the last two days  so the swap will have to wait til monday.

Until then though, I did find this on Amazon (I swear I don't do all my shopping there!) Has anyone used it for headers? I'd like to know your experience...

https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Automotive-260771-11-Ounce-Degrees/dp/B006ZLQ0JI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540670015&sr=8-3&keywords=high+temp+clear+coat

[ryanschoebel]

Not sure if anyone has used it, but the reviews sure give it high praise.

[aviationfred]

I believe that the Vance & Hines SS2r exhaust came with Nickel plating over mild steel. That is why there was rust showing on the pipes when you made the purchase.

The pipes look awesome so far on your restoration.

Fred

[HydroDog]

Does anyone know what coating did the factory use to make the headers black? It looks like an electroplate.

Are you asking about the early double wall pipes or the latter single wall pipes? The early double walls look like black chrome. I use ceramic stove top cleaner to polish them..

[Troyskie]

Hydro, yep the double wall 1100 headers. I was expecting black chrome, but don't know much about it. There is a mob a couple of hours away that should be able to do it. I won't hijack the post anymore