Ceramic Coating Manifold...?

[tsi1991awd]

I was thinking of getting my SBR manifold ceramic coated by Finish Line Coatings. They said their standard pricing includes coating both the inside and outside of the manifold. My question is...would I want the inside done as well or only the outside? I would think only the outside, so it will retain heat inside the manifold, but I am not 100% sure. Any input?

 

[LiquidX]

If you are going to get it done, get Swain Tech to coat it. It is 100% proven to reduce temperatures as a lot of other companies that ceramic coat parts tend to not reduce heat.

Coating the outside will reduce the under hood temp by reducing the radiating heat. Inside coating will keep the heat in a lot better. The only advise I will give on the inside manifold coating is if it happens to chip off, that ceramic paint is going to go through the turbine housing and that would be bad.

 

[pboglio]

Ideally you want to coat the interior to block heat from ever soaking the manifold, but its easier said then done. Swain tech didn't offer coating the inside anymore at one point. Their reason was delamination of the coating and they refuse to do it on turbo applications, at least last time I checked. And if Swaintech can't get it to stick, the other "paints" don't stand a chance in hell.

The problem is heat cycling, it literally flakes off the interior of the manifold, taking the ceramic coating with it like an iceberg floating off into the ocean.
If your strapped for cash, just do the cheapy ceramic paint coating on the outside and call it a day.

 

[tsi1991awd]

Yea, I would probably just do the outside then. But then the question would be should I just get a JMF heat shield or do the ceramic coating anyways?

How much does Swaintech charge for coating? On their website it says like $150+

 

[EclipticalGS]

jmf heat shields are sex anyways. Your choice

 

[tsi1991awd]

Well what I mean is, which would reduce underhood temps more?

 

[brute]

You can also buy some exhaust wrap on the cheap and give that a try. It'd be much easier to wrap a tubular manifold vs the stock cast one, but it does reduce under-hood temperatures.

 

[Aproductions]

I had the same thread like 2 days ago....the shield will help more. I'm actually going to coat mine at TCC and then get a shield too

 

[tsi1991awd]

Yea I don't know....if I get a shield, there's no point getting it coated as well then. I never ran a shield or coating on my last DSM and so this time.....yea it's only one or the other.

 

[LiquidX]

Might be over kill but would greatly reduce temps.

Swaintech the outside, put a manifold blanket over the coated manifold and/or heat wrap it, lastly put a heat shield over top of it too. There are also turbo heat blankets you can get as well. They are more for top mount to reduce the chance of a fire in the case of oil collecting into the bag but that's your choice on it or not.

 

[snowborder714]

I don't believe it's recommended to wrap something that has been coated. This is because if the wrap gets wet for any reason, it will retain that water and could damage the coating. I remember reading that somewhere.

I'd say coat it and put a heat shield over it and you should be fine.

 

[tsi1991awd]

If I coat it AND do a heat shield, I would most likely do a cheaper coating that Swaintech....like locally there is a shop called Performance Coatings that does it for about $100 I think. Isn't Swaintech $150+

 

[snowborder714]

Just keep in the back of your mind you get what you pay for. I have not seen any actual ceramic coating in person, but I have read about plenty of cheap ones that just flake off very quickly/easily. But it's up to you on which route to go.

 

[pboglio]

Coat it with the $100 ceramic paint, then slap the heatshield back on. Call it done. Wrapping ain't such a hot idea, the manifolds tend to crack all by their lonesome, a heat wrap is going to accelerate that.

 

[LiquidX]

On the coating issue. As Brian stated "you get what you pay for". It's true, there has been testing done before with heat ratings dealing with most ceramic coatings vs. Swaintech and most if not all of the cheap ceramic coatings did not reduce the radiating heat temperature unlike Swaintech. If you want to get your temps lower off the manifold get it Swaintech coated. If you want to prevent rust from forming then get a cheap ceramic based paint at the auto store for $8.

 

[tsi1991awd]

Maybe I will Swaintech it and not get a heat shield.

What about coating the turbine housing or O2 housing? Would that benefit at all?