Word of advice: DO NOT PAINT YOUR HEADER

[2.5GT]

I thought it would be fun to paint my borla header all black using VHT FlameProof paint. BIG F*CKING MISTAKE, holy shit...the damn header nearly caught on fire!

I've read the instructions, basically I've sanded, high temp primer, and VHT flameproof paint. And my dumbass thought it would be even more funner if i use the whole fucking can of paint on the header :roll:
So I started the car, let it idle on and off for about 15-20 minutes. The damn thing was smoking like crazy, so i had to shut it off and let it cool down for about 10-15 minutes.

About 30 minutes later, no smoke. So I thought the paint must have baked onto the header. Then I took the plunge and decided to drive home, and about 3 miles later, the damn thing started smoking again and the smell was even horrible. I've pulled over at a Kroger's parking lot and took a look underneath the bottom of the car. And holy shit, the damn paint started peeling! WTF!? Not only it peel through the thick coat of paint, it went to the bare metal of the header, no more chrome :cry:

Tomorrow, I'm scratching all the left over paint off.

Lesson learned, don't paint your header. Have it heat treated at a professional shop and call it a day.


Here's the paint
http://www.vhtpaint.com/flameproof.html


oh yeah, and Grimmspeed 20% thicker gasket is crap. Definitely not worth buying. Go with OEM gaskets instead. It didn't line up right with any of the exhaust ports.

[rougeben83]

did you use the same flameproof primer? That may be your problem. You don't need to primer to use the ceramic paints on the parts. For one thing, unless you know the primer can take it, you'll only end up with the situation youre describing.

[2.5GT]

I did not use VHT brand primer. I've use the high temp. heat primer you find at Advance or Autozone. It supposedly can with stand up to 1200* if i remember correctly.

[dplacencia]

I painted my headers and heat wrapped them too. I used the cool it pait thermo paint. It smoked for several days but then it went away.

[decke48]

high temp primer must of been the problem because it doent full dry for about 12hrs even with heat

[Airgne]

also the 1200degree paint isnt enough. go for the 2000 and you should be good. i have been painting headers for years with the smoking problem.

[j_saffron]

high temp primer must of been the problem because it doent full dry for about 12hrs even with heat

true, paint that may be dry to the touch, still needs plenty of time to cure. especially when dealing with specific coatings like high temp, rust inhibitors, and metal bonding alkyds.

[2.5GT]

Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I should have let it cure a bit longer before putting it back on.

Anywho, I took the header off today and grind off all the paint. 1 can of primer and 1 can of paint just shed right off. It's amazing how hot the header gets.

[rougeben83]

yeah, don't use primer, just straight up VHT ceramic paint this time. You can spray a very light coating for the first pass (it doesnt even have to fully cover the metal), let that dry, and then spray over it - that first coating will pretty much do the primer's job.