Header paint

After much cussing, cutting and rewelding, I think I have the POS Pacesetter header ready for final install. The factory put on the crappy black paint to prevent corrosion in shipping, but will not take high heat.
What kind of header paint did you use and how has it lasted? Is a ceramic coat worth it? Thanks.

Ceramic coating is nice. Keeps temps down, and stays nice looking(like you can really see it under the intake manifold). Worth the money on a nice show car, but not really an XJ, IMO.

I used black BBQ paint when I painted headers in my Chevy. Rustoleum IIRC. It seems to have lasted longer than the normal exh. paint you can buy anywhere(dont remember the brands off hand).

go to oreilly's and get some vht header paint and dont think about it again. as far as a spray paint is concerned that is the best.
mike

No Oreilly's here in Washington. I did get some VHT.

Be sure you get rid of all the paint that comes on the headers, either by hand sanding or media blasting. I have heard good things about VHT's 1500* and I think they are making a 1600* paint.

~Alex

Don't worry the paint will come off on it's own, in about 15 minutes. I had that Header installed about 5 weeks ago, and the jury is still out on the sound. I had to replace all of my mounts in the process, and now I've got some vibs at low speed. I installed the BrownDog heavy duty mounts and that is where I'm getting the vibs from. So I am having a hard time hearing just the headers themselves. It's still better than the factory exhaust. Let me know how you like them after they are installed, and if you think they sound funny.

gigage said:

Don't worry the paint will come off on it's own, in about 15 minutes. I had that Header installed about 5 weeks ago, and the jury is still out on the sound. I had to replace all of my mounts in the process, and now I've got some vibs at low speed. I installed the BrownDog heavy duty mounts and that is where I'm getting the vibs from. So I am having a hard time hearing just the headers themselves. It's still better than the factory exhaust. Let me know how you like them after they are installed, and if you think they sound funny.

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Are they just loose or are they so stiff that you are feeling just how well balanced your 4.0 is now?

They don't have as much rubber as stock mounts, I've talked to the guy at BDog and he says thats normal because of being meatier. He advised putting washers between frame and cross member. So I actually put some rubber grommets there instead, and it seemed to help some. I'm going to run it for awhile and then decide whether to go back to OEM mounts. DD so I have to decide between comfort and durability.

I have ?? should I retorque the header after it has run awhile??