Swain Tech Heat Treating Vs. Ceramic Coating - Page 2

JohnnyTSi · Oct 8, 2009, 10:47 AM

I had Performance Coatings do a ceramic coating for a header and O2 housing (1g DSM.)

It turned out to be a waste of money as far as a heat barrier goes. Rustoleum BBQ Grill paint does just as good of a job, and is easier to maintain.

John-

Lancerguy'03 · Oct 8, 2009, 10:51 AM

i have sawin coating on manifold, hot side of turbo and O2 pipe....and it looks great after 3 track days and 30,000miles....

xRoguex · Oct 8, 2009, 11:18 AM

All of my parts were coated by tirado custom coatings in texas. This is ceramic coating - not swaintech.

After 5000 miles - NOTHING has flaked or so much as changed a bit.

Radiant heat is down 40% - checked via IR thermo.
Surface temp is down almost 25% - checked via IR thermo.

Cool down rate is GREATLY improved. I can touch my manifold about 10 mins after shutting the car off.

JakeTheVIII · Oct 8, 2009, 11:45 AM

Lots of people saying good things about Tirado Custom Coatings. I'll probably be going with them soon.

95630706 · Oct 8, 2009, 11:48 AM

Swain tech is a real thermal barrier and has stood up to about 60k of NE seasonal temp. extremes, rain, snow and slush driven 7 days a week all year.

Under hood temps are noticibly lower, no rust or flaking. It is a little porus so I soaked it down with some 1200 deg. silver paint to keep it from getting dirty when I got the parts back. It has held up nicely. I would do my entire exhaust from manifold to tail pipe if I had the money.

In my research, the stuff that is shiny silver or black really doesn't do much except keep the rust down even though they call it ceramic coating.

pure_evo · Oct 8, 2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wariosport

Hey who does it locally? I am really interested in getting this done. I think if can cut down on some the heat it should be well worth it.

Mario, check your PM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xRoguex

All of my parts were coated by tirado custom coatings in texas. This is ceramic coating - not swaintech. After 5000 miles - NOTHING has flaked or so much as changed a bit. Radiant heat is down 40% - checked via IR thermo. Surface temp is down almost 25% - checked via IR thermo. Cool down rate is GREATLY improved. I can touch my manifold about 10 mins after shutting the car off.

What part of Texas?

xRoguex · Oct 8, 2009, 12:18 PM

http://www.tiradocustomcoatings.com/index.html

uh... i forget! damnit.. Austin? I think... Let me look..

xRoguex · Oct 8, 2009, 12:19 PM

San Antonio, TX

xRoguex · Oct 9, 2009, 04:00 PM

Tirado Custom Coatings - Ceramic Coatings - TESTED!

spdracerut · Oct 9, 2009, 06:28 PM

Had Swain Tech thermal coating on my Nissan turbo manifold for 5 years, 80k miles or so, lots of track days and it held up great and significantly reduced underhood temperatures.

Now, on a tubular manifold, it has been known to flake a little. Personally, I'd still get a tubular mani coated with it, but on a cast, it'll last forever.

**Zeus** · Oct 9, 2009, 09:03 PM

There are some good "ceramic" coatings out there... Jet Hot for one. HOWEVER, do not think for a minute that any that are commercially known hold a candle to the heavy SwainTech coating for heat "containment", or an actual heat "barrier". Most out there are merely heat "dispersants". Don't know if they still do, but back in the day, the ceramic material used appeared to be chipped right off the Shuttle, and was so thick and corse it would take more skin off you than being side swiped by a shark. That coating would/could not "flake". You could hit it hard enough with a ball peen hammer to crack/spider web it (ask me how I know), but the stuff wouldn't flake. Back then if you sent them something too thin to coat though, they'd also laugh at you. They wouldn't coat all these thin walled manifolds floating around these days. Hell, back then, most of the other companies didn't exist, and still don't use the same technology to this day. There is a reason the SwainTech is so expensive, and there is such a long wait!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm NOT busting on the more popular coating companies out there these days. Not at all. Matter of fact, they are quite attractive from a $$$ standpoint, and do a decent job of what we want them to do. They make the most sense for Average Joe who does not have to worry about an orbiting vehicle on re-entry. If you do have to re-enter the Earths atmosphere, and only have access to companies who do car parts, there's only one I'd trust. For everyone else, ask around, find out who does good work and stands behind it. Spend your money, and sleep sound at night.

McLaren F1 2003 · Oct 9, 2009, 09:15 PM

Swain Tech FTW! i have my downpipe coated and the wait wasnt as long as they told me. it came a week faster than i was expecting (your result may vary)

MJ23FE · Oct 9, 2009, 09:16 PM

My 1st gen Full-Race ProStock manifold was Swain White Lightning coated when it was new, and it's been on my car for atleast 40-45k miles. It's held up great, but it's unfortunately starting to flake and only in certain spots. You need to know that the flaking just started about 2 months ago. So it's last a good amount of time. I don't see the flaking really effecting the coatings performance. There's a thick bonding gray layer that actually adheres to the metal, and that hasn't budged. Only the top white layer.

It looks like the areas of the manifold located directly below the hood vent which see a lot of rain are the spots where it's flaking, but they also seem to be the spots that see the most heat as well.

If I ever get another part coated, I'm going to try and get some heat cycles through it first to see if this help the coatings longevity.

My car is a daily driver, and I definitely keep her in shape with lots of exercise.

I'll try to get some photos of the flaking on Sunday since I'll be at work all day tomorrow.

-Jalal

McLaren F1 2003 · Oct 9, 2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ23FE

If I ever get another part coated, I'm going to try and get some heat cycles through it first to see if this help the coatings longevity.

i believe ive read that on items that can glow red hot (like some turbo manifolds), it IS best to run a few heat cycles through it first to prevent flaking

**Zeus** · Oct 10, 2009, 06:03 AM

We generally never sent a brand spanking new part in... the metals are porous, and will certainly retain some oil. You'd think coaters would bake them first, but then again there is the liability of warping some else's part. Before you send any new part in to ANYONE, it's probably best to get some heat in it. However, SwainTech's coatings flaking at all is new to me... then again, I've not looked at coatings for a long time.

Worked with a guy who send in his heads, pistons and valves too (3000 GT VR4). They coated the exhaust ports, valve tops, and piston tops. Wow, did good things for spool, etc. Over 4000 lb car (still with the leather power seats) going 11.20's at 130 was damn good back then.