Ceramic Coating
Autoflock Motorsport - 23/9/20 at 06:47 AM
Hello everyone, been a long time since I last posted on here, thought I would share a link to my latest video on my youtube channel. It shows how I
prep and apply a ceramic coating to a tubular exhaust manifold. If you get a chance please check it out,there are also a few other vids in regards to
what im up to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAE9lLjUPPE&t=108s
Thanks
Raj
Mr Whippy - 23/9/20 at 07:23 AM
Looks good 
Personally I prefer vids without music and more explanation of what's going on. Amazing that masking tape was any use at all seeing
the flames coming out your "fireball gun"...
How hard wearing is that stuff, is it scratch resistant? kind of looked like it would get mucky quickly. An idea of costs would be helpful too.
Autoflock Motorsport - 23/9/20 at 07:27 AM
Totally agree, sadly the youtube community of today seem to want a more upbeat type of vid, im trying to build the channel and hopefully when people
ask about the process and whats involved I can then create more vids which address the what and why ect as i know there will be a demand for it. So
cringy though listening to yourself on the bloody video's lol
Thanks for watching mate and yes the tape is pretty good. Dam expensive though
Autoflock Motorsport - 23/9/20 at 07:31 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Looks good Personally I prefer vids without music and more explanation of what's going on. Amazing that masking tape was any use at all seeing
the flames coming out your "fireball gun"...
How hard wearing is that stuff, is it scratch resistant? kind of looked like it would get mucky quickly. An idea of costs would be helpful too.
This type of manifold is £310 for the 2 coatings. Yes its pretty resilient, dont get me wrong you clack it hard enough it will chip or scratch but as
long as you dont penetrate the aluminium bond coat it can be re coated easily and fairly cheap. as for cleaning these manifolds self clean once they
get up to temp in regards to oily residue, they look their worst when they are first installed but after a few good heat cycles they begin to look
fresh again.
Hope this helps mate
fyi, this vid may be a bit more to your liking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ14-P5eyAw
The composite vids also have a fair bit of explanation in them too :-)
theduck - 23/9/20 at 08:15 AM
Been thinking about having my new downpipe ceramic coated when its made. What kind of cost would it be for a 3" roughly 1m long and mostly
straight downpipe?
Autoflock Motorsport - 23/9/20 at 08:26 AM
quote:
Originally posted by theduck
Been thinking about having my new downpipe ceramic coated when its made. What kind of cost would it be for a 3" roughly 1m long and mostly
straight downpipe?
Hi mate, would really need to see a pic to be able to send an accurate quotation. If you could email one to raj@autoflock.co.uk along with your name
I can reply with a formal quotation mate.
CosKev3 - 23/9/20 at 08:05 PM
Will watch the video now.
I take my stuff to Camcoat in Warrington,is the coating you are doing the same as they do?
But you are much closer to home so interested
Autoflock Motorsport - 24/9/20 at 07:07 AM
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Will watch the video now.
I take my stuff to Camcoat in Warrington,is the coating you are doing the same as they do?
But you are much closer to home so interested
Morning mate
from what I can see they use the wet application coatings which are a world apart from the materials and application I use, both are for different
purposes and have different advantages.
For example the wet application coating can be applied internally die to them being sprayed similar to an aereosol. My process is high temp flame
spray and the ceramic being used is magnesium zirconia which is the best ceramic coating you can get for providing a thermal barrier. But its a rare
process due to the expense required to set up. I see that ideally the wet application method requires a curing temp of 500F, the flame spray I use is
circa 3000 - 3300 degrees c upon application and once it has hit the substrate it is cured all be it still bloody hot for a good hour.
The flame spray ceramic would not be suitable for coating pistons, engine internal as there is no natural adhesion, this means that the surface needs
to be abrasively blast cleaned to create a textured surface to allow the aluminium bond coat to adhere to with a strong mechanical bond, after this
the zirconia can then bond to the aluminium.
Hope all this makes sense. Not sure of the thermal properties of wet ceramic but the zirconia is a working tolerance of 1450 deg c on top of the
aluminium which has a working temp of 165 deg c. Depending on the application setup working temps external to the coated parts have seen over 30%
reduction
Sorry for the long winded post, but if you have an question dont hesitate to give me a call on 07894 636 707
really glad people have took an interest in this :-)
CosKev3 - 24/9/20 at 07:29 AM
Thanks
So is yours more like the process Zircotec do?
Can you do different colours?
Cheers
Autoflock Motorsport - 24/9/20 at 07:39 AM
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Thanks
So is yours more like the process Zircotec do?
Can you do different colours?
Cheers
Thats correct mate
there is a large misconception about colours, I only do the white, as this is the colour of mag/zirc which as ive said has the best thermal barrier
properties, when you go for pigmented/coloured powders they are usually made from a different ceramic composition which in turn has less'r
thermal properties. The powder I buy is £720 per 5kg, so I cannot afford to stock multiple colours but I also have gone with the idea of only
offering the best. The customer can however spray the coated item with any colour VHT paint they want, but the main thing is the ceramic coating is
doing the best job it can which is available on the market.
A lot of people are all about the look and colour, this is the part of the market im trying to stay away from, im more for the problem solving and
performance gains side if that makes sense. I had a customer asking for a blue colour with a glossy smooth finish, I had to explain the whole process
of the application but they couldnt get there head around it as they had previously spoken to a company who just spray a wet ceramic paint onto the
manifold.
Tha was a long conversation where I died a little inside by the end
pigeondave - 24/9/20 at 04:59 PM
Is there an ideal material to use this on?
What I mean is, if I were to have an exhaust made, would it be better to have stainless over mild steel ?
What works best ?
[Edited on 24/9/20 by pigeondave]
Autoflock Motorsport - 24/9/20 at 05:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by pigeondave
Is there an ideal material to use this on?
What I mean is, if I were to have an exhaust made, would it be better to have stainless over mild steel ?
What works best ?
[Edited on 24/9/20 by pigeondave]
im not too sure what you mean,
mild or stainless the thermal barrier will still perform the same. The only real issue is corrosion, this can only occur from either a crack or
existing corrosion on the inside of the manifold. If your making an exhaust from stainless then that a great start but remember that once the metal
has reach a certain temp the stainless begins to loose its non corrosion properties, especially around the welded areas. But they are usually fine
pigeondave - 24/9/20 at 06:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Autoflock Motorsport
im not too sure what you mean,
Does the thermal barrier stick better to one metal over another? Is there a preferred/recommended material.
Autoflock Motorsport - 24/9/20 at 06:26 PM
quote:
Originally posted by pigeondave
quote:
Originally posted by Autoflock Motorsport
im not too sure what you mean,
Does the thermal barrier stick better to one metal over another? Is there a preferred/recommended material.
not really no, as the main thermal ceramic is applied after the zinc alu has been applied, and that really does bond well to the freshly blasted
surface. The issues occur when you have very thin wall parts which expand and contract during thermal activity. Ceramic dont like to do this so that
when they break up/crack
Autoflock Motorsport - 24/9/20 at 06:31 PM
quote:
Originally posted by pigeondave
quote:
Originally posted by Autoflock Motorsport
im not too sure what you mean,
Does the thermal barrier stick better to one metal over another? Is there a preferred/recommended material.
sorry i didnt really answer your question,
the thicker the wall the better as they tend to not move as much.
Please also dont take my word for gospel as it is only my opinion from my experience, other ceramic coaters may have different views and opinions.