My son found a guy who powder-coats ATV frames and said he was going to get the spider and the intercooler pipes done. I told him he was crazy, and what the heck is powder-coating. Well, they turned out great! Powder-coating is a very effective method of covering metal. I look forward to seeing them reinstalled today.

 

They do look good. Just so you know, you can get "home" powder coating kits if you have a method of baking them on that does not include the oven in your kitchen. A buddy of mine and I tore down our motorcycles many years ago and powder coated all of the bare metal we could and they looked great.

 

My wife likes it when I bring parts in and stuff them in there.

 

We didn't even try it...

We bought a beat up oven off Craigslist for $25 and used that in the garage for our powder coating. When we bought our home that we live in now, the contractor and my wife thought it was funny that I wanted a 240v outlet installed in the garage for a "kitchen oven". I can still hear them saying "do you plan to bake when changing the oil?"

Anyway, good home use kits can be purchased and if you take your time, anyone can powder coat to a certain degree.

 

Looks good!

Is there a special high temp powder coating for turbo parts?

 

"Powder coat"? No, not in the sense you may be thinking of, as powder coat is essentially plastic, which melts together and bonds with the metal when it is cured in the oven. The temperatures reached on a turbo would melt it.

There are various coatings available though, typically having varying degrees of ceramic content. Of course there is also high temp paint, such as VHT. These are mostly to make it look nice. While they may provide some tiny degree of heat reduction, its not really their primary function.

In my research, in preparation for my upcoming frame/cab swap, I was considering a turbo blanket, and some sort of wrap/shielding/coating for the exhaust manifolds, up-pipes, and remaining exhaust.

I think I will now go in a different direction. Inspired by this thread, I did some googling earlier, on DIY ceramic coatings. Unfortunately, I did not find anything that is all that effective/durable. To get the good stuff, you have to have it professionally applied.

What I came across is SwainTech White Lightening TBC ( Thermal Barrier Coating). It is a "real" ceramic coating, applied in a molten state, and permanently bonded to the metal. It is also much thicker then typical "spray on" type coatings. Now, if shiny polished finishes and/or flashy colors are what your after, this isn't for you, but if exhaust heat retention and under-hood heat reduction are your main goal, then this stuff is probably the best, performance wise. They say it can also be painted, so you can at least change the color if you want. From what I can see, this stuff is basically bullet-proof cement once applied.
The price is fairly reasonable too, compared to other options. The show a price of $90-$135 to coat the outside of the turbo turbine housing. A good quality properly fit heat blanket is about $200 or more. You can get "universal" ones on ebay/Amazon for $20-$30, but they likely won't fit our turbos well, or at all. Plus there have been many stories of inferior materials in these cheap blankets catching on fire. Add to that, the oily leaky nature of our motors, and you have a recipe for roasted powerstroke. Even the good $200 ones still have this issue. They will absorb/soak up oil, and can eventually burn. Additionally, they are generally a one time use product. They lose their flexibility once heat cycled, and become brittle. Virtually all turbo blanket manufacturers warn that trying to remove them will cause them to fall apart.

The exhaust manifolds are a whole 'nother challenge. There is nothing off-the-shelf that is going to fit their unique shape. Dynamat offers a bendable/shape-able heat shield like material for this purpose, but its not cheap, and will never really fit right.

As for the up-pipes, Using a wrap would be the easiest/cheapest solution, but a.) would again add the danger of oil absorption and eventual fire, and b.) will drastically shorten the life of the pipes, as wraps tend to hold moisture right up against the metal., as well as c.) eventually falling apart and require replacement.

So, I am leaning towards SwainTech on the manifolds ( I will be buying brand new Dorman manifolds, so they will be "clean" and rust free), and on my existing up-pipes ( if they don't charge too much to de-grease and blast the rust off them). I may or may not do the turbo right away, just for money reasons, though, I would really hate to have to pull the turbo out later, when it will be so easy to get to with the cab off. Plus, I think there is a lot of benefit to keeping heat in the turbo and out of the engine compartment.

So, Manifolds $150-$235 ( estimate on their website for cast iron 8cyl manifolds- not clear if its for the pair or one- if its for one then thats gets a little pricey, but probably still worth it in the long run.)
Turbo $90 - $125 ( maybe a bit more for cleaning/blasting the rust?)

Up-pipes - looks like $40/ft per the website. I think the pipes are about 1ft- 1-1/2ft each) I can probably just de-grease and sand them down myself before sending. Not sure about the collector?

Automotive Coatings Price Sheet | Swain Tech Coatings | Industrial Coatings | High Performance Racing Coatings

They also offer friction reduction coatings. If I do the ceramic coating on the turbo housing, it will be apart anyway, so I might as well put fresh bearings in, even though it was done about 1-1/2 years ago. Annnnddd, in that case, I may send the new bearings to be coated with the low friction coating. I'm hoping it would be pretty cheap, as I see they do a single engine main bearing for $8. All of the turbo bearings have the same or less surface area as a single main bearing, I think, so I can't see it being a whole lot more then that, especially if I had the exhaust done at the same time?

 

I just got my piston back from SwainTech. I had a heavy coat of PC-9 done. Looks really good. (different product but thought I would mention because of the quality from the company) Edit nearly unobtainable vintage motorcycle piston that was just a touch loose and the cylinder is perfect.

 

Ready for Memorial Day!

 

He said he could powder-coat the front compressor wheel housing.

 

A quick word from our sponsor!

 

Looking good

Why do you remove the foil? Isn't it supposed to help with cooled air temps?

 

Noise suppression seems to be it's main purpose. We have not seen any performance difference on AE or gauges. It does however allow additional turbo noise to escape.

 

Hmmm....

Wondering if I wasted my time putting new foil tape on mine...

 

No you didn't waste your time. It clearly is more about heat then noise. Look where the tube goes through, and what is near it. The foil ( and the foam underneath it) are a heat barrier, intended to prevent the air charge from picking up any additional heat from the nearby exhaust manifold. I suspect it is also to keep the power steering lines and the alternator from picking up heat coming FROM the intercooler tube, since that is the "hot" side. Anybody ever measure the outside temp of a fully heat soaked driver side I.C. tube? I would be curious to know the surface temp with and without the foil wrap.

Unless you are building a show truck, where looks are more important then function, I think removing the foil is foolish. Unless of course you have the tube ceramic coated, then you can have both looks and improved function ( heat insulation) Otherwise, just pulling off the foil/foam is no more of a "mod" then someone pulling off a lower air dam because its "ugly" without understanding its important functions.

 

Interesting opinion, do you have any facts that support your argument?