Paint or Project Dont matter

pstrbrc wrote:

81Red750 wrote:

to mirror and add. I've used the Duplicolor Ceramic with great results and longevity. the trick is 2 fold:
1. prep right - media blast if possible
2. oven bake the parts. Dont tell the wife, but bake the painted items by the directions on the can (I think its 300* for 20 minutes, but its been a while). It will stink a little bit

the oven baking really gets the paint cured and resilient.

My can says "300 for 20 min, 400 for 20 min, 500 for 20 min."
And if you can fit your pipes in the oven, you've got a bigger oven than I do.

I just did SBC 302 Exhaust manifolds, so it wasnt quote like our pipes

I'm going to use Bar-B-Q grill paint its cheaper and harder you can leave your exhaust is the sun let it get hot then spray let them dry and put them on.

If you have a heat gun, use it to cure the pipes. I've done it several times on customers bikes and no complaints. You can even use a propane plumbers torch. Just don't boil the paint (easy to do).

Why not let the exhaust heat itself up and bake the pipes itself?

It will work to a certain extent. However, you're not getting an even heat to the surface. I know that a heat gun or a torch isn't the best, but it will do in a pinch.

On our race cars we just fire the engine up and then kill it as the headers just start to smoke. We cycle it that way 4 or 5 times allowing them to cool after each heating. That has worked really well for us.

I have used a couple of heat lamps and a foil tent to make a mini heat oven for some cast manifolds for a pulling tractor (it worked pretty well).

I was a mechanic for a VW dealer back 25 years ago. We would use a 100 watt light bulb in a shop light to make an oven in the bottom drawer of my tool box (white trash Easy Bake Oven). There is no telling how many meals we've made or reheated using that method

Just my 2 cents worth on a rainy cold Sunday. It worked for me.

Tony T

Thanks Stone Cold! That was interesting, now I know what to do.

Just a quick word of caution. The pipes will heat really quick in the bend where they come out of the head; let that area be your guide not the lower part of the pipe. The bend will be really hot and the area just before the muffler may not even be warm to the touch.

Good Luck,
Tony T