I'm about to replace the headers on my 68 Chevelle, 327 engine. The guy who will install them for me told me not to go crazy with ceramic coated cause no matter what, it will come off. He is going to have them powder coated. My question is, does it matter if I buy headers that are coated or painted since he's going to have them powder coated anyway? Also, does anyone have a ballpark figure on how much it costs to have this done? Thanks again for your help

"Powdercoated" headers will NOT stand up to the heat of the exhaust. :confused:
Plenty of guys around here using ceramic coated headers (including myself) with satisfactory results.

there is a company that sells powdercoating for exhaust, I have checked into it but havn't found any reviews yet. maybe this is what he is planning on

heres a link
http://www.caswellplating.com/powder/

its the ceracote line of products

I'm about to replace the headers on my 68 Chevelle, 327 engine. The guy who will install them for me told me not to go crazy with ceramic coated cause no matter what, it will come off. He is going to have them powder coated. My question is, does it matter if I buy headers that are coated or painted since he's going to have them powder coated anyway? Also, does anyone have a ballpark figure on how much it costs to have this done? Thanks again for your help

I think it depends on how good of a job they did coating them. I have several buddies that have coated headers that they have had for years and they look new. I have a set of Dynomax coated headers and the coating is pitted and has been breaking off in chunks almost from the start. I wish I had popped a few bucks more for a better brand headers since I will eventually have to replace these anyway.

I'm certainly no expert. The person I'm dealing with swears by powder coating them. He claims that he hasn't had a set of headers fail yet. I've seen and heard mixed reviews on the ceramic coated headers. Has anyone you know of or anyone else ever had their headers powder coated and have them fail?

Have you looked into Jet-Hot Header Coatings? You can buy new ones direct from them with their Sterling coating on them.

We have always used ceramic coating on all our headers for the past 6 years. Probably 20 pair a month. Not one person ever called with a complaint. Much safer than uncoated. Cooler underhood temps = more HP. Well worth the money. PM me if you need to.

That Cerakote link is NOT powder coating. It's sprayed on with a regular paint gun. I just recently sprayed a set of headers with a competitors ceramic product. It's cheap to do and looks decent. No idea on longevity. They do say its the same stuff that factory coated headers have applied.

I sent my headers out to Jet Hot Coatings, and I never had any trouble with them. They looked good for years it is a good coating.

They cure powdercoat at around 400 degrees, So I guess as long as your exhaust temps stay under that mark you should be all set. :) - I have 3 year old ceramic coated headers on my car and they look like new. Also keep the heat in the exhaust and not under the hood.

LK

I had a set of new headers jethot coated on a camaro, daily driver and they wre pitted and needed to be doen again. I just never sent them back due to the hassle of taking them off and the car being down.

Jim

Tony, since it seems nobody yet has any experience with powdercoated headers, give it a try and let us know how they perform.

Mike

72Sprint, No, I haven't looked into Jet-Hot coatings. I'm not familiar with them (that). Are they an outfit that powder coats headers? Do they sell headers already coated? Do they have a website?
Mike72ss, I met a guy at the shop who had a set that were powder coated and they looked awesome. Of course, he only had them for a year or so.

standard powder coat will burn off.
you need jet-hot coated or just by DynoMax headers.
Great deal with the jet hot already on there.

standard powder coat will burn off.
you need jet-hot coated or just by DynoMax headers.
Great deal with the jet hot already on there.

I agree as I mentioned before. :yes:
The terminology being used here is too generic. Standard powder coating cannot be used on an exhaust system including headers. It must be coated with a ceramic based powder.

Tony,
You'll need to clarify the actual coating application being applied with your installer to possibly avoid a real mess later on.

That's agood point Bill. I'll definitely do that. I've never dealt with this guy before but he's got gorgeous muscle cars in his shop all the time and they swear by him. However, I also feel the advise I've gotten from this site in the past has been invaluable

I had a set of new headers jethot coated on a camaro, daily driver and they wre pitted and needed to be doen again. I just never sent them back due to the hassle of taking them off and the car being down.

Jim

That has been my expierence with Jet-Hot also. I however, had a bad oil leak out the fitting for my oil pressure gage and leaked all over my drivers side header. I fixed that leak and had no idea it would bake on and eat away at the coating over time so I never cleaned off the dried oil on the header.

Now a large area of coating that has peeled off. Thats my fault for not removing the oil. However, its not my fault that there are a lot of other areas that have small spots that have peeled off, many of which arent even close to the affected area, or are even on that side header for that matter, the other side which had no leaks on it at all, are also peeling. I had this set of headers coated myself as they were used and in good condition when I took them off the car. Saw no reason to replace them. Now im thinking otherwise.

FWIW, some powder coating shops also offer jet coating for headers.. I would pick up the local phone book and make some calls..