exhaust coating

[ggdad1951]

so, I've decided I only want to buy one exhaust system for my project, I've gotten some quotes on coatings for everything past the manifold. What would be the most appropriate "color" to have this coated in?

Black?

Gray?

Clear?

I'm crazy?

[Young Ed]

If the exhaust when new was painted at all I would suspect it was painted black along with the chassis. And yes you're crazy.

[Dave72dt]

I love multiple choice. Is there more than one correct answer? I choose 2 and 4.

Unpolished stainless is sorta close to natural steel f you want to maintain the "new " look. Otherwise you need choice 5, orangish red.

:D

[Plymouthy Adams]

go stainless...don't sweat coatings or replacing components again...stock up on high heat aluminum paint for the exhaust manifold and touch it up as needed..sit back..enjoy a mint julip...convince momma its fun to brush on silver paint..

[ggdad1951]

I've already got my exhaust system parts, and they aren't SS. So paint/coating is my only choice really. Black and gray pretty much are all I've found locally, unless I go SHINEY, which is totally wrong.

[52b3b Joe]

I would go with a high temp silver paint from somewhere like eastwood.

[Young Ed]

Mark I did a little research in my library. Found a few factory shots of trucks with no bed. Being black and white its hard to tell in most of them. One is a close up of a route van chassis with the box van part not installed yet. It clearly shows a black muffler.

[Don Coatney]

Most exhaust systems rust from the inside out. Are you going to coat the inside of your pipes and mufflers to make them last longer?

[chopt50wgn]

What Don says is really what you want to listen to. Whats the sense in coating the outside if the inside is what is subjected to the moisture and the other gases from the exhaust.

Only way to get both coated is to have then ceramic coated inside and out or go with stainless.

[Plymouthy Adams]

why I said stainless...the optomist says if it looks good on the outside it has to be soild through and through..its like the flash bang paint job..anything that shiny has to be over solid steel, I mean nobody would pack a hole with newspaper/screenwire and smooth it with bondo and then have it painted...!!!! a realist sees Mr. Murphy writing a reality check..no repair part or body work is going to last forever...think about it, the maker starts with all new material and look what happens to it in short order..

[ggdad1951]

Mark I did a little research in my library. Found a few factory shots of trucks with no bed. Being black and white its hard to tell in most of them. One is a close up of a route van chassis with the box van part not installed yet. It clearly shows a black muffler.

yah, I looked thru my books last night and it seems to be black.

[ggdad1951]

What Don says is really what you want to listen to. Whats the sense in coating the outside if the inside is what is subjected to the moisture and the other gases from the exhaust.

Only way to get both coated is to have then ceramic coated inside and out or go with stainless.

yah looking at ceramic coatings, at least for the pipes they do inside and out.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I would think for the cost of coating including time lost to and from socating shop..that stainless would still be the better product and at a better price and no fear of chipping or cracking when clamping that would lead to an eventful early failure anyway..

given the average life of the stock pipes..put them on and run them till they fail, should be a number of years..then shell out the money for the proper product..

[Plymouthy Adams]

for consideration, maybe an answer for you dilema:

by reading your post I gather you now think you bought a product you now consider inferior to attain your desired end product/look...

I think, that in doing the math calculating the cost of coating and original cost of material to be coated and keeping in mind the fraility of cermaic should it get handle wrong...plus the shipping/handling including down time to and fro the coating facility this would be a tidy amount of change

I would like to suggest the following:

take this set up..go to the local muffler shop..let the man use it as a pattern and duplicate it in stainless..sell the plain steel system online to someone who needs it and recover as much of the cost as possible..I am of the opinion you will come out better in cost and realibility in the long run.....

[ggdad1951]

for consideration, maybe an answer for you dilema:

by reading your post I gather you now think you bought a product you now consider inferior to attain your desired end product/look...

I think, that in doing the math calculating the cost of coating and original cost of material to be coated and keeping in mind the fraility of cermaic should it get handle wrong...plus the shipping/handling including down time to and fro the coating facility this would be a tidy amount of change

I would like to suggest the following:

take this set up..go to the local muffler shop..let the man use it as a pattern and duplicate it in stainless..sell the plain steel system online to someone who needs it and recover as much of the cost as possible..I am of the opinion you will come out better in cost and realibility in the long run.....

that HAS crossed my mind...the muffler will never be stainless tho....

I've got a local shop I can drop my parts off to that will do the coating.

[Dave72dt]

Getting a little off the track of duplicating the way the factory had it? Coated exhaust system, SS springs, rerouted fuel line, aluminum heat shield- what's next? Radial tires? BC/CC paint? Polished oak bed wood? Power windows? I hope you're finding the humor in this.

Band clamps will look totally out of place but may help preseve the coating you put on the exhaust. Definitely not paint on the exhaust. That stuff will stink forever until it all burns off. It might stay on at the back of the system as the heat dissipates ahead of it.

A cowl and chassis might have had the exhaust painted because it would have remained exposed to the elements during transport to the body builders. Specialty bodies were most likely done at seperate factories and completed chassis would be sent there for completion.

[Plymouthy Adams]

well..if you think restoration as the main theme, preservation as the better part of the restoration effort..then items like stainless steel exhaust is of no consequence..and unless you bought mirror polished stianless...it will have a patina on the stock pipes that will not be any more conspicious than say aluminized or new steel pipe..

I am waiting for the cost of the ceramic coating in and out for final cost analyses

[ggdad1951]

alright, wth happened to my reply I had here? Will redo I guess!

well..if you think restoration as the main theme, preservation as the better part of the restoration effort..then items like stainless steel exhaust is of no consequence..and unless you bought mirror polished stianless...it will have a patina on the stock pipes that will not be any more conspicious than say aluminized or new steel pipe..

I am waiting for the cost of the ceramic coating in and out for final cost analyses

I was quotes $175-$200 for the ceramic.

Getting a little off the track of duplicating the way the factory had it? Coated exhaust system, SS springs, rerouted fuel line, aluminum heat shield- what's next? Radial tires? BC/CC paint? Polished oak bed wood? Power windows? I hope you're finding the humor in this.

Band clamps will look totally out of place but may help preseve the coating you put on the exhaust. Definitely not paint on the exhaust. That stuff will stink forever until it all burns off. It might stay on at the back of the system as the heat dissipates ahead of it.

A cowl and chassis might have had the exhaust painted because it would have remained exposed to the elements during transport to the body builders. Specialty bodies were most likely done at seperate factories and completed chassis would be sent there for completion.

I am TRYING to stay as close to factory as possible w/o going to afar afield.

I'm going to cost out having the exhaust redone in SS when I get the spacer pipe made (126" WB for the 1 ton) since it is longer then the ones for the shorter bedded trucks.

I've got some SS in there as well now, just so I don't have to worry about corrosion over the next how many odd years and it'll look close enough to the plain steel parts they replaced after a while.

My heat shield is CRS, just new CRS and not aluminum, the patteren I made would work for those that wan to use aluminum.

As for the rest, I've had radials put on just for safety and ride (and no flat spots from over winters). And I'll have lap belts made up for the unthinkable. As for the gas line, it just seems really silly to route it the way they did, way to prone to damage, so for safety sake I'm gonna switch that up a little. I've also had several parts on the engine CAD plated as that makes more sense to me than painting everything. But all that is just me and my thoughts. I have about a year to think about my bed situation...

[Young Ed]

Mark when you have your new SS exhaust made up you can drop the plain one off at my house

[ggdad1951]

Mark when you have your new SS exhaust made up you can drop the plain one off at my house

sure....for a price! BTW way you see I'm trying to practially give away my old front springs? I've also go the breathers all done. Gonna MAYBE turn her over Sat, if you wanna stop by later in the afternoon?

[Young Ed]

We'd have to compare it to my 46 to make sure it'd fit but if it does I'd consider it. I was planning on duals but would consider going duals at a later point. Not sure 1ton front springs are the same as 1/2 ton and the 39-47 trucks are different anyways I think. Send me a PM about saturday. My dakota is having issues so I might be wrenching on that.

[Dave72dt]

Just poking some fun. The changes you've made are perfectly sensible. Some of the old original style pieces simply aren't availble anymore and common sense tells you some things really needed to be changed for any number of reasons. I commend you for following as close to original as you have and preserving a part of history.

As much as I like customizing, I struggle with the idea more all the time knowing there are fewer examples of the original designs surviving and that part of history is disappearing. I have car that is 20 years newer than my truck that will be restored close to factory orignal for that very reason.

[ggdad1951]

Just poking some fun. The changes you've made are perfectly sensible. Some of the old original style pieces simply aren't availble anymore and common sense tells you some things really needed to be changed for any number of reasons. I commend you for following as close to original as you have and preserving a part of history.

As much as I like customizing, I struggle with the idea more all the time knowing there are fewer examples of the original designs surviving and that part of history is disappearing. I have car that is 20 years newer than my truck that will be restored close to factory orignal for that very reason.

I know you were, I REALLY want to totally RESTORE her, but reality gets in the way as well as safety.

[John-T-53]

Aluminized exhaust is the best for your buck. Had this done on my Chevy 16 years ago (and driven about 10k miles since) and still looks great...and no holes. A local shop did my truck a year ago for about $150, single pipe.

[Desotodav]

I went stainless with mine Mark. The whole system cost me about $1500. They hand-made me a stainless muffler while they were at it. The guys that I had make up the system specialised in custom race car exhausts. I could have had a steel system made up for a few hundred dollars less, but they suggested that moisture might build up and rust the system out over time if I don't drive the truck too often. At least now I have the peace of mind knowing that I'll probably not need to replace it again in my lifetime.

Desotodav