My hooker headers just arrived in the mail and the coating on them has peeled and given way to a good amount of rust near the collectors. My question is, has anybody out there sanded the rust off headers and then repainted them with 500 degree paint from like AZ? Or 1200 degree paint if 500 isn't enough?

 

dont even waste your time. no paint is gonna hold up to the heat of headers. it will peel within a few heat cycles. headers get freakin hot.non coated headers get within 800-900 degrees in a few minutes on a hot summer day

 

I used paint stripper to remove all the old paint and then hit them with 3 coats of 1200 deg flat black. they are not to bad and havent flaked yet. just be carefull when you install them not to scrape the paint off because it will rust. IMO 1200 deg. paint is better than that crap they put on it at the factory to keep it from rusting during shipping.

 

Looking back I should have just not been cheap and orders the coated headers.

 

I have heard good things about the POR15 being used to paint the headers. The paint that comes from the factory is only really meant for the storage and shipping process of the headers. In your case, it doesn't look like it even did that much.

 

i bought them used. what is POR15?

 

Its a type of paint. http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=1&dept=1

 

IMO ceramic coating is not worth a crap..... I have seen all kinds of headers from all places and all of them do the same old stuff.

 

I agree, my "ceramic coated" Pacesetters started rusting in less then a years time. Had I known that prior, I would have just ordered the painted ones, stripped them, and either sent them out for a more durable coating or painted them with a better paint.

 

In the past 8 years I have spent close to $1,000 in coating my headers multiple times not including the 2 times from jet hot....

So last time I used thermal tech coatings.....$400+ Fresh, new engine in the car(race car, no street time.) Car stay inside encloded trailer.....wel I have run maybe 10 gallons of gas through it tuning...pulling in and out of trailer, alignment shop etc. and the damn coating is coming off.

I will never buy another set of coated headers.....either stainless or I will just run em bare until they rust off and just get another set.......Extremely dissapointed in "coated headers" Pc. of crap if you ask me.

 

Go stainless and be done with it

 

Wow, that sucks. I remember you told me quite awhile back about the thermal tech coating and it sounded pretty promising.