[4DoorSS]

I have a 2.5" Aluminized Kit from Dan @ CIA arriving shortly. I upgraded the tails to polished stainless but could not afford the entire kit in stainless.

So, I was thinking of getting some Silver Hi-Temp Exhaust Paint, clean the new pipes real well and then (Rattle can) paint them. I think this will at least keep them looking good for a while even though the rust probably starts from the inside. I will also be using 4" wide band Clamps at all the joints.

So what do you guys think....is it worth the effort to rattle can these or just bolt the system on and call it a day? I would be painting the Pipes and the Mufflers.

 

[broderick]

I'd get the 1200 degree rustoleum and go to town on it, especially any welds. maybe two coats and stay on it over the years. gotta help.

look at the stockers and note the drain hole on the back end of the muffler body - probably a good idea to duplicate.

 

[juniorwatson]

Well if it were me, I'd leave it along, but hey if you want to have something other than the dull aluminized look after a few years you could try the rattle can after scuffing the surface well.

I remember Eastwood selling a silver High temp paint in a can that I used on an exhaust manifold many moons ago. It would prob work well on anything after the cats, but who's to say.

If you like, I can take pix of the tailpipes I still have from Dan's system I bought and installed in 01/2009, so you can have an idea of what the color of the pipe will be in 8 years.

For me, really, it would depend on how well the X-Pipe is tucked up under the car, as you won't see the over-the-axle pipes unless you pull a rear wheel.

My new custom bent system is tucked up even closer to the body than Dan's system sat. For reference I could also take you a low to the ground picture of my car from the side, as well as a waist high picture.

Let me go look thru my phone for anything I currently may have. As an FYI the picture in my SIG is of Dan's system, and not the current one. I need to wash and wax her and take some new pix.

LMK....

Here's a current pix. Ugly background, no great light, but you get the picture, literally :grin2: This was right after I finished fixing the transmission pan leak, hence the pan under the car in case I had over filled it.

 

[gbhs72]

4Door, I can understand your concern. Living where salted roads are the flavorite in winter. I'm doing my headers in this. Hot Jet High Heat For Exhausts - Ceramic Paints I"m thinking that you wouldn't need to hit the pipes with an abrasive blaster. Just scuff it up and wipe it down with something good to remove the oil. Wear some nitrile gloves while you're doing it then have at it either spray or maybe brush it on.

Mark: Snowman33

 

[Fred Kiehl]

FWIW, if the steel parts touch the stainless steel, it will contaminate the stainless where they touch, and the stainless will get some rust on it.

 

[4x4high]

Aluminizing keeps the pipes from rusting. There should be no reason to do anything to them.

 

[4DoorSS]

I'm really on the fence as to whether I paint the pipes/mufflers at all or just leave them alone. Really appreciate all the input.

My first concern is how best to paint these individual pipes and then get them on the car so I can bake the product. Some paints I've seen recommend you bake inbetween coats. I was looking at Por 15's high temp paint would could just be brushed on.

At this point, I'm not dealing with a show car either when it comes to the underside of the car. Just thought this may be worth doing if I had the time to get these all painted and also an area to do it in. Right now with the weather and the colder temps does not make this an ideal time to be painting.

I'll check with POR tech support to see what I may be up against to do this off the car using their hi temp stuff. If it looks to be too much of a pita I may just bolt it on and just listen to the exhaust and not worry so much how it looks. :grin2:

 

[4DoorSS]

Well if it were me, I'd leave it along, but hey if you want to have something other than the dull aluminized look after a few years you could try the rattle can after scuffing the surface well.

I remember Eastwood selling a silver High temp paint in a can that I used on an exhaust manifold many moons ago. It would prob work well on anything after the cats, but who's to say.

If you like, I can take pix of the tailpipes I still have from Dan's system I bought and installed in 01/2009, so you can have an idea of what the color of the pipe will be in 8 years.

For me, really, it would depend on how well the X-Pipe is tucked up under the car, as you won't see the over-the-axle pipes unless you pull a rear wheel.

My new custom bent system is tucked up even closer to the body than Dan's system sat. For reference I could also take you a low to the ground picture of my car from the side, as well as a waist high picture.

Let me go look thru my phone for anything I currently may have. As an FYI the picture in my SIG is of Dan's system, and not the current one. I need to wash and wax her and take some new pix.

LMK....

Here's a current pix. Ugly background, no great light, but you get the picture, literally :grin2: This was right after I finished fixing the transmission pan leak, hence the pan under the car in case I had over filled it.

Yeah, I was looking at some eastwood stuff too.

Any Pics you have would love to see of how Dan's System in aluminized looks years later. My old Flowmaster American Thunder System is still Solid but the aluminized metal looks like crap now but is still solid. Turns out I have a buyer for that system once I remove it so it's a win/win (recycling at its best) since you cant get the FM kit for the Impala/Caprice anymore.

As for the Xpipe and how it sits. I have heard that the kit from Pypes has an issue where it sort of hangs down a little. Have not heard of this issue with the kit from Dan. It's worth mentioning that while working with Dan who is a GREAT guy to bounce ideas off of, asked me about the Tubular Cross member I have on my car.

I bought this used from another Member years ago and it is the bar he sells. Now whether he makes them himself or not, he asked me which xmember I had....his older or new style? Turns out I have the older style xmember and he may have redesigned his somewhat from what I understand. The disappointing part for me is had I had the older style xmember, he has and as he put it (I may not have this verbatim) "a newer way to bend up the system and route it better" but need the newer style xmember. Needless to say, I just have to go with the system he has put out before which I'm sure will be fine.

I only wanted to mention this cause if anyone is considering a system from Dan (CIA Exhaust), be sure to ask him about this new Xmember design. It may be something you want to incorporate into your exhaust build and Dan can make the proper recommendations. Besides going to a Tubular bar is a better option for Weight, appearance and ease of working under the car.

 

[juniorwatson]

As an FYI Here's a pic of the tails I installed on 01/2009. As you can see the aluminizing holds up well, with the only thing getting ugly is the hangers, which I assume were made from mild steel, and rusted along with the welds.

Also as a note the ends facing the ground were the output that used to scrape on driveways and whatnot because the system hung below the quarter panels, and I used to have the Hotchkis springs in the back. Both of which have been replaced in my current setup.

Also remember the tail pipes are going to be part of the system that gets the most debris, and road junk sprayed on them. The aluminizing has held up well.

Try your best to ignore the rest of the junk that needs to make a trip to the recycler.

 

[4DoorSS]

"ignore the rest of the junk"?....that's not Junk, its Lawn Art. :wink2: working on my own Lawn art and a trip to the recycler is coming up once I get rid of the 96 I'm parting.


Appreciate the Pic of those Pipes and they don't look bad at all. I may just leave them alone but as I usually do with this kind of stuff, I'll change my mind at least 6 or 7 times on whether to paint or not. :grin2:

 

[Stingroo]

If you do paint them, use this:

Painted a set of stock LT1 manifolds almost a year ago with a buddy and they still look like they day they were sprayed.

It's grill paint, but it'll take the heat, and it's available at Home Depot.

I also sprayed my calipers with it.

 

[j cat]

my 1983 GM sedan had Aluminizing steel pipes aftermarket after the OEM pipes rusted off after 3 yrs..well I purchased these with a lifetime warranty . I ended up getting 7 exhaust systems for the price of one .... also ya rusted not on outside , rusted on the inside..

3 pieces intermediate/muffler/tail pipes 7 sets for the price of one..

s/steel is IMO the only pipes/mufflers I will use. Impala OEM pipes/muffler/cat still good ..

 

[4DoorSS]

If you do paint them, use this:

Painted a set of stock LT1 manifolds almost a year ago with a buddy and they still look like they day they were sprayed.

It's grill paint, but it'll take the heat, and it's available at Home Depot.

I also sprayed my calipers with it.

Heard good things from others on the BBQ Grill paint as well. thx.

 

[j cat]

Heard good things from others on the BBQ Grill paint as well. thx.

on my 1978 boat engine I use 1200 F black paint ... works good on the manifold no rust .takes the heat hold good but not exposed to under body road crap .................I have owned this boat since 1986 ...all original ..

 

[Clear Image Auto (Dan)]

As others have mentioned above, the aluminized coating holds up well. It is not paint it is bonded to the steel tubing at the mill. The ends of the tubes and welds are the areas which will rust because of the exposed steel. We do paint the joint between the two sides of the balance pipe to help prevent rust there. I personally wouldn't take the time to prep and paint everything.

 

[j cat]

As others have mentioned above, the aluminized coating holds up well. It is not paint it is bonded to the steel tubing at the mill. The ends of the tubes and welds are the areas which will rust because of the exposed steel. We do paint the joint between the two sides of the balance pipe to help prevent rust there. I personally wouldn't take the time to prep and paint everything.

the coating is for shipping and storage.. the snow/rust belt will blast that off in one winter and in a few months the insides of the pipes will be rusting .. my pipes back in the day of using these failing pipes , I learned all about how these fail ..

my 17 yr old truck has s/steel exhaust 17 yrs old ... that did not happen with the pipes made of steel with a coating on them.. waste of time $$$ to do this ,,,.
I would have an exhaust shop fabricate new s/steel pipes with a stainless muffler .cost more but never again ..

 

[jasonlachapelle]

the snow/rust belt will blast that off in one winter and in a few months the insides of the pipes will be rusting .

agreed. Don't know how many sets of dynomax super turbo's I've gone through. Can't believe they'd offer a lifetime warranty on an aluminized muffler! Spraying it with BBQ paint does help them last 2 winters.

 

[j cat]

agreed. Don't know how many sets of dynomax super turbo's I've gone through. Can't believe they'd offer a lifetime warranty on an aluminized muffler! Spraying it with BBQ paint does help them last 2 winters.

sometimes the baffles would break up from muffler .since I did the work the inside of muffler was like I said corroded away ..so muffler would make ticking sounds ..after that sound , under the vehicle ya time for another free muffler system ..

 

[4DoorSS]

As others have mentioned above, the aluminized coating holds up well. It is not paint it is bonded to the steel tubing at the mill. The ends of the tubes and welds are the areas which will rust because of the exposed steel. We do paint the joint between the two sides of the balance pipe to help prevent rust there. I personally wouldn't take the time to prep and paint everything.

Dan - The Box showed up Friday and the Pipes, Mufflers and Cats look like they survived the trip. Just gotta say this sure looks to be well put together system and can't wait to get it on the car. :smile2::smile2:


Guys - If your looking to replace, repair or upgrade your exhaust system, consider a kit from Dan at Clear Image. This stuff looks really nice for a ready to install setup.

On topic of this thread regarding paint, as Dan mentioned he paints certain areas of the system. I'm guessing the SpinTech 3334XL Mufflers have the Brackets welded on by Dan's shop. He took the time to paint these areas and even the Crossover Pipe (Y section) as you might see in the Pics. It even looks like he or someone took the time to paint the Seams of the Mufflers too. Not many muffler Shops that might do this in an area sure to rust. I think I will try to degrease everything and shoot some hight temp paint on everything when ready to install....Cant hurt.

I'll document the replacement of the system at some point in another thread. For now here are pics of what I got and a couple of the Y-Section that shows the inside of the crossover too.

 

[juniorwatson]

Pix of SpinTech Mufflers

Bob,
Since it's a nice sunny day in Central TX, and I got the follow-up to the thread you posted a little while ago, I decided to brave the elements and go outside :surprise:and take a few pictures to add to the thread as an FYI.

Here's three pix of the mufflers from both sides, and one end. As you can see they've held up excellent from being installed on 01/2009. As I was moving the mufflers for the photo shoot, I shook them around, and only heard a little debris which fell out. I assume this to be old Cat-Converter Space Age Material (my old boss from my teenage years @ Meineke would call the semi-precious metals this to customers).

As an FYI, I'm holding onto the mufflers (1) because there's nothing wrong with them at all and (2) I'll install them on my Tahoe when I'm ready to to do a full dual setup after the engine rebuild. (They were replaced because I wanted my Caprice to be a bit louder than what these provided)