I'm pretty sure that I'm the proud owner of Java's old SSA headers. I tried the 1200 degree silver, that flaked off too. Pretty quickly too. I gave up and just wrapped em. Wrap is pretty bad for your exhaust manifold, but quite frankly, the cost of the header(s) plus the cost of the wrap & silicone spray was less than $75, so if they rust through, I really don't care. I'll drop the few hundred to get good header(s) when I need em. Plus the wrap actually looks pretty badass.

before:

after:

 

Ok, I'll be sandblasting tomorrow and repainting. 02.gif for reference see Phorq's first pic.

I've got some plastikote brand silicon based stuff. I'm going to try that tomorrow. the directions say: paint it, wait 1 hour, install it, run it for 1 hour. We'll see.

 

otherwise vht flameproof man. that stuff is awesome. it what socks was talking about

 

Phorq, my SSA's are on the red 99 I sold. So unless you got them from Peter I don't know who's you have. smile.gif

 

yes the VHT flameproof is what im talking about and it has worked wonders..

i also used duplicolor 1200 degree paint on my turbo and it has been holding up AMAZING.

 

hmmm... must've been someone else who sold their flaking SSA black headers. Bought them for $35 because they looked so gnarly.

 

Ok, i tried the 1500 stuff. I spent 6 hours on the total project at the local shop. My headers still bubbled but it's possible that I can sand the bubbles off and it will be ok... i dunno.

First I pulled the headers. Then I sand blasted them. Then washed them off with water. I used a duplicolor prep wipe, then wiped the prep stuff off. Then I painted them with Plastikote High temp.



The directions did not include my headers's newly installed paint bubbling. WTF guys? Are these headers made of a special extremely hot material?

 

I'm going to the shop this weekend to change my clutch. While I'm there I'm going to remove my header and repaint it overnight. I'm going to try VHT this time. Hopefully it works.

 

The reason you may have bubbling and flaking may not be the paint itself, but your prep work. REALLY make sure the metal has been cleaned so there is no residue or oil. I used brake cleaner to brake down and dissolve unseen residue on my headers, then throughly washed them. Paint prep should be the same as anything you paint. I used a scotch brite pad to rough up my headers so the paint would have a little more to bite into. Make sure you wash them down after you sand and then use a tack cloth to get the fine particles and any other residue off the metal before you spray. Spray a tack coat first, followed by 2 medium coats and then a heavey coat, then cure the paint. I cured mine by installing it back on the engine and running it for about 40 min.

Good Luck! Take your time and they should come out great!

 

I bead blasted, washed with water and then prepped with duplicolor prep wipes. It was not my fault. there's something else at play.

I've painted quite a few things in the past. I know how to follow directions on a can of paint.