So after only a couple of years the fenderwell headers on my 37 look like crap..Sprayed them with VHT white and baked em when I built the car. I don't want to ceramic coat them , Years ago I had an El Camino that I installed Hooker super comps on that had been flame sprayed, or metal sprayed which ever term you like best..They seemed to hold up very well and I kinda liked the rough texture. Looking for input from others who have run flame sprayed headers...
I’ve run them..not bad looking..but when I got some Oil them when they were a little warm they got kinda ugly..I think I paid 100 bucks to have them done versus 300-400 for ceramic coating
I seem to remember on my El Camino that when I got greasy hand prints on em it would burn off when I ran the engine.
Metal sprayed in 1962. Even though the car is now on the other side of the pond now, the headers still look like the day they were sprayed.
The process is called aluminizing. Do a search for aluminized coating services. There are still companies doing the process. Maybe you can find one that will do a small order. I had a set of headers done in the 80s and are white in color. I still have them on the car today and they still look good. Bill
I had the headers on several of my cars aluminum sprayed over the years, it was the best way to get a durable white finish. You do need to be careful about oily hands or leaks but I cleaned mine with lacquer thinner and a brush and after they heated up a few times you couldn't tell where the spots were. Unfortunately the company that did mine put the equipment in storage and preferred not to get it out for just one job. I asked if I could buy the equipment - nope. So from then on I just painted them black. I asked a couple local ceramic coaters and some said they could do white but wouldn't guarantee it? Most didn't do white. I would definitely recommend aluminum spray if you can find a source. Any leads on a coater who does aluminum spray or a good white ceramic coating in NorCal?
I know a guy who does ceramic coating locally ,he too said he could not garantee white.I talked to 2 different places here in town that still do metal spraying I'll find out monday what they quote for doing em..
The blue headers were done 10 years ago at a shop in Escondido and have faded and have a burn mark. The silver headers were done 30 years ago by Jet-Hot in Tempe AZ and still look like new. Guess where I'm sending my next set of headers!
I also had a couple of sets aluminum sprayed over the years. Actually, if you get oil on them, over spray paint on them, or even "on purpose" paint on them...just wait a week or so of daily driving...the paint and or oil stains are gone. I put a set of alum. sprayed headers on my moms car. I painted everything that could be seen at street level with black, VHT. In a couple of weeks, it was like I'd never painted them at all. And this was with VHT, brake-cleaned surface, heated, the whole preparation...didn't stay put very long. Done properly, banging on them with wrenches, tools, oil, various cleaning chemicals (engine bay cleaning)...no problem. A set I had the aluminum spray done for my 67 Chevy II's custom made headers, very tuff stuff..! Lasted without damage for the 4 -1/2 or 5 years I owned the car with that engine in it. I even wrapped one (about) 8" section of tube in the old fashioned, white heat wrap tape that's supposed to damage the base material. No problems what so ever. Cheaply applied, the aluminum can chip. Used to be an aircraft type place in Sun Valley (SoCal) that did the spraying. Don't know if they are around now. Mike
I got a set of Hooker super comps that were aluminized in the mid eighties and they still look great, no problems with staining.
My brother in law, Mr. Google, say there is one in Anaheim, CA. http://www.vaporkote.com/aluminizing.htm
So today after work I dropped my headers off at RW Little Co. In San Diego, The foreman Randy said perfect timing as he had a couple of other sets to do, He quoted me $ 150 to blast and spray em, said they'd be done by the end of the week He said they used to do lots back in the day and lately he's been seeing a small resurgence ,Will let you know how they look.
One advantage with aluminizing is if you get them to put a heavy coat on, you can sand/polish them to a high luster. And unlike chrome or stainless, they won't discolor from heat.
If this is the rough textured white-ish silver coating popular in the 70's and 80's, iI would be interested in finding a shop that does this in the Chicago area. Please post pictures after the coating is done.
Columbia Coatings has an air cured ceramic coating. Have to follow the instructions to the "T" but they come out nice. Takes two - three days of air dry to get them fully cured then you can handle them without worrying about staining. The first pic is my drying/curing rack, second is the same after two 30 minute break-in runs on the engine.
Look for an aircraft engine rebuild shop. There are still several who rebuild reciprocating engines and they either do aluminizing or have a vendor who does it. On one of my early jobs, the company was rebuilding everything from Allison V 1710 to Pratt & Whitney R 2800's. The steel fins on the cylinders were aluminized before installation. Really helped with heat transfer.
Try contacting Acme Metalizing, they are located at 59th & Central on the west side of Midway Airport. They have been doing flame spraying for at least 50 years and will do small jobs.
Recall this like 'yesterday'...R&C did a 2 page report in '61 or '62. Really wanted to do mine on my Hemi, but blower drive, manifold, cam kit, etc. drained the finance pond...
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