should i paint headers?

[jsomedaysoon]

I got a used set of headers from a junk yard and i'm in the process of putting them on. the old bolts came out suprisingly easy. only two gave me a hard time. The headers are kinda rusted and i've heard about people painting them but is this just for looks or is there another reason to paint them. every thing else on the truck is rusted so i dont care if they are rusted but i heard that it helps keep down engine temps. they had a header paint at napa but it recomended using a high temp primer which they did not sell so i'm not sure if i should wait or just throw them on.

 

[BB33's]

Any high temp paint will work but most only go to 1200 degrees. Headers have been known to hit over 1300 so that paint doesn't work best. I have had luck with barbecue paint, seriously run to a Home Depot and pick some up it works.

 

[shift1313]

the heat thing really only comes into play with ceramic coating. you want to keep the heat in because the exhaust flows faster when hot, this helps scavenging. Eastwood sells some ceramic stuff that you can bake by running your truck. The only problem is i think it needs to be sprayed on. I dont think you will see any benefit for under hood temps. the engine bays arent really cramped like some cars/newer trucks. I wouldnt waste your time with any paint not rated to 2000degrees. It will burn off. Also you can just paint over the rust, you need to clean them. If your not worried about looks i dont think the gains will be huge unless your pushing your motor already. Meaning a motor thats pumping out a ton of power might see small gains. On a stock or close to stock engine, next to nothing, .

 

[jsomedaysoon]

cool thanks thats kinda what i was thinking. i can always wrap them with some of that header wrap later if it becomes an issue.

 

[shift1313]

header wrap is awful. I mean it works but it holds moisture. If you have a set of headers that is already rusting, the will rust a lot faster with wrap on them. Especially if you take this thing through water and soak the wrap. The only thing i would use wrap on would be stainless or Ti.

 

[jsomedaysoon]

gotcha... i'll leave them bare then. it sees alot of water. I hope the installation goes as easy today as taking everything apart went yesterday.

 

[Dagger_91Beast]

I agree with the rest for the most part. I haven't done a lot of header work on my Bronco, but I used to rebuild Mustangs and almost always bought used headers for my small blocks. I didn't care about the heat or the look, but if i took the time to clean them off the paint kept them from rusting pretty well. Since I didn't care about the look I just sprayed on some engion paint, or like BB33 said BBQ paint, any of the heat resistent stuff before I installed them. It's quick and easy and may save some wear down the line.

 

[jsomedaysoon]

i put them on today with out doing anything to them... mostly because i feel like the rest of the truck will fall apart before the headers would ever rust through. the body is in pretty rough shape. I have one more connection to make tomorrow in the light to find out if the whole thing works or not. I've got all my fingers and toes crossed haha.