header wrap spray???

header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 02:12 AM

I want to set my 451 in saturday.I wrapped th headers in that copper embedded wrap but forgot to buy that paint or what ever it is that sets it.

Is anything available off the shelf that would work?I dont want to wait another weekend to do this.My fault but thought i would come visit you racers(wish i was) and see what you guys do thanks alot.

Posted By: VernMotor

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 02:22 AM

All header wrap I have use or seen. does nothing but rust the headers out

Posted By: 451 D*O*D*G*E

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 12:39 PM

I could see that over time but by time that happens i'd be ready for new pipes,these are cheap but very heavy.

Anybody else?

Posted By: cl440

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 01:54 PM

I use black paint for bbq grills on my header wrap on the Charger and also on the headers for the Duster(no wrap on them) I like it and its cheaper than header specific paint.

By the way, the headers on my Charger have been wrapped for 15-16 years now and have not rusted away?

Attached picture 6794187-Duster6-3-11.jpg

Posted By: Moparnut426

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 01:58 PM

I wrapped the thunderheader on my 06 harley, bought it new in 06, and it never showed any signs of rusting. Im sure if ya left it sitting in the barn without starting it for a year it might begin to rust, but these never looked bad. Also i used a black header paint on it after they were wrapped.

Kasey

Posted By: MR_P_BODY

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 02:20 PM

Quote:

I want to set my 451 in saturday.I wrapped th headers in that copper embedded wrap but forgot to buy that paint or what ever it is that sets it.

Is anything available off the shelf that would work?I dont want to wait another weekend to do this.My fault but thought i would come visit you racers(wish i was) and see what you guys do thanks alot.

Your better off getting the headers coated.. I dont
like the header rap stuff because I see it rusting
all the time(unless your pipes are already chrome
or plated, then it last longer, which then I wouldnt
be running a rap any how)... the coating helps hold
the temp in but after time they all let the heat transfer

Posted By: Evil Spirit

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 02:55 PM

Quote:

I want to set my 451 in saturday.I wrapped th headers in that copper embedded wrap but forgot to buy that paint or what ever it is that sets it.

Is anything available off the shelf that would work?I dont want to wait another weekend to do this.My fault but thought i would come visit you racers(wish i was) and see what you guys do thanks alot.

To answer your question, you can use whatever header paint you want to color the wrap. Problem is, some of the wraps suggest soaking the wrap in water to get it more pliable to install, so you don't get hot spots where the wrap isn't touching the pipe, and the paint won't stick to the wet wrap, so you have to wrap header, install, start engine to fully cook the wrap, and remove to paint. That may be where some of the rust issues start, also. The pipes should already have a good coating of paint on them before they are wrapped, but there again, to set the header paint usually requires an install and heat cycle to set the paint.

On another note, I don't personally care for the wraps, especially on mild steel pipes, because the heat goes through the pipe, then is reflected back into the pipe, and the pipe material itself sees higher temps than an unwrapped or a coated pipe. Many times this overheats the pipe, making it brittle and prone to cracks. I've had to replace 1 year old headers because they cracked right at the top of the tube by the head.
A good coated pipe, say Jet Hot just as an example, is coated inside and out. The inside coating stops the heat before it gets to the pipe, and provides a thermal barrier so that the pipe never sees the high temps and/or the brittle condition.

I hope this gives ya a little info to help ya decide to wrap or coat.

Posted By: Stanton

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 03:22 PM

9 out of 10 people couldn't tell you the purpose of header wrap.

Most will tell you its "so they don't burn themselves on the pipes" and others will say "to lower the temps in the engine compartment".

Well believe me, you run the motor any more than a few minutes and you sure as hell don't want to be touching the wrapped header !!!
And it won't do squat for engine compartment temps either - once the wrap comes up to temp it will radiate the heat just as well as bare pipes.

Header wrap also looks like crap. It holds dirt and crap and the white stuff will discolor from the heat.

And it will rot out pipes that haven't been ceramic coated. If they don't rot out first they will eventually crack from the higher heat retained in the pipe.

Which sort of brings us to the point of the wrap. Heat is energy and the purpose of the wrap is to keep that energy in the pipe and subsequently produce more power. You'll see it on a lot of drag cars but not on much else (race cars) because as previously mentioned, once its up to temp it will radiate the heat just like the pipes.

As for painting it, that would defeat the whole purpose as it would be soaking the fibers and filling the miniscule air pockets that provide the insulating quality.

Posted By: Evil Spirit

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 04:08 PM

Yeah, the idea is to keep the heat inside the pipe, and there have been times we even had to re-jet the carb because the headers scavenged differently.

As to the paint, if you just fog the wrap enough to give it an even color, it doesn't change the amount of "air pockets" enough to ruin it's effeciency.

Where I used to work, they did a lot of vintage race cars, and it was common for cars of that era to wrap the pipes. Often we would just have the insides ceramic coated, leaving the outsides bare, and use the wrap for looks. The inner coating blocked the heat from getting into the pipe metal, and the wrap got the look they were after. These headers were usually stainless, so rust wasn't an issue.

Posted By: cheapstreetdustr

Re: header wrap spray??? - 08/25/11 10:44 PM

Blah blah blah......
.
.

Hey dodge ...
just go get some decent header paint and paint em...

it helps keep water/motor oil out of the fabric.
and helps keep the material from freying...
(its like pantyhose.).once you knick the fabric it will pull and run and come apart over time at that spot...
Paint helps it stay together a little better.
I use vht silver header paint.
works fine...I have TTI's wrapped since 04.
no rust, less heat when pulling plugs(dragrace) the only thing i dont like about it is..ITCHEY working with it.
Ill continue to wrap all my drag headers fwiw.

you guys go ahead and biotch now...

cheapst