Budgert Header Restoration

[Will]

So my headers have been looking aweful for about 12 of the 13 years they have been on the car. And ceramic headers just arent in the budget right now. So I took a shot at a budget clean-up with some stuff I got at Lowes. It only cost $9 for the bottle so I figured what the heck....

 

 

That white powder on the driver side header is from the fire extinguisher I used to put out a small fire that started during motor break in and my vinyl oil pressure line was resting on the headers.

 

 

 

And the dents are from love taps with a BFH to clear the steering shaft.

 

I started by taking some time with some sand paper and a wire bruch to knock the bulk of the rust off. After spraying them down in the driveway with the Jasco I was left with this

 

 

Another round with the sand paper and a rinse and I was ready to spray them.

 

 

 

 

I used some basic VHT flat black from the advance auto. Two cans of paint later, heres the result.

 

 

 

 

 

All together I'm only into the project for about 20 bucks. So if they can keep me going for a year or two I'm a happy camper.

[gprimm]

They look fine. Thanks for sharing, for that price it was worth it. May try that myself. Colorado Springs, eh? Spent 4 years travelling there visiting my son. He graduated from the Academy in 2011. Love The Springs.

[7tonemonte]

Let us know how it holds up, I did something like that once on a previous car, lasted about an hour before it turned back to crap!

I hope that product works well for you, I'd love to do that with mine, I'm waiting to do the ceramic coated as well

[Murphy]

Hope it works and doesn't blister......I did pretty much the same thing to a used set of headers I got for $60 but I used the Eastwood High-Temp silver........2coats were brushed on prior in install with great results. Have 5-600 miles on without any problems.

[Philthy1969]

Hope it works and doesn't blister......I did pretty much the same thing to a used set of headers I got for $60 but I used the Eastwood High-Temp silver........2coats were brushed on prior in install with great results. Have 5-600 miles on without any problems.

 

+1 on the Eastwood product. I used the grey for some headers on my 69 Chevelle and it held up well over several years. Just avoid touching the finish with greasy hands because it wont come off. Periodic touchups blended in well and a little goes a long way. Follow the instructions and do the proper break in procedure to cure the paint.

[eMrock32]

Ill have to take some pics of the stuff I use at work. Its a header coating that you can put on pretty much straight rust. I use aircraft stripper beforehand and then coat stock manifolds with a foam brush for 3-4 coats. Its been over a year on one of the cars I did and they still look brand new from the factory.

 

I hope your method looks purdy for a while too. It does look awesome in black.