Powdercoated my intake manifold today

[DeltaT]

I shot my manifld with low-gloss, ultra-durable clear today after a final media blasting with red garnet followed by a thorough cleaning with Simple Green.

I got the powder from Powder-by-the-Pound (.com) and also the silicon plugs in different sizes that you use to plug holes.

Powdercoating is a b*tch to get off so you really need to mask or plug anything you don't want coated. For small threaded holes, you can just stick a bolt in each to protect the holes. I trimmed some of the plugs where I had an odd-sized opening to plug up.

Powdercoating is interesting because the metal piece you are working with is grounded and the powder get electrically charged by the gun on the way out, so you can actually see the powder get attracted to the part.

Clear powder is white when it is applied, so you can see if you missed any spots.

All masked and plugged:

Here I am shooting the bottom (actually the front since it is hanging):

After you finish coating, you carry the part (carefully) to the big oven which has been warmed up to 380 degrees. Then the part gets baked at 380 for 15 minutes.

Here it is hot from the oven:

And a closeup of the coating after it cools partway:

I will post a picture tomorrow of it unmasked and unplugged, and sitting on top of the motor. It looks pretty cool.

Jim

 

[bawazir]

VERY NICE,
am thinking to ceramic coate mine to keep the heat away

 

[kuruption109]

how much u charge to PC intake manifolds?..

 

[DeltaT]

You should be able to get it done locally for about $140, if the manifold has been prepped (stripped, etc.) and is ready to plug and shoot. It probably wouldn't make sense to ship it to NorCal for me to do it, because manifolds are relatively heavy. I'd have to see it or some good pictures to be able to quote based on what it needs for prep and what you want done.

Jim

 

[G-Body_Vet]

Jim,
Out of curiosity, have you used clear on intake manifolds before? I wanted to do the same thing at one time but heard clear-powdercoated intakes eventually develop a yellow hue and don't hold up well against fuel either.

 

[DeltaT]

No, but I did some research and found some keywords that tell you yellowing and fuel resistance will not be a problem, specifically "designed to meet the stringent requirements of automotive... performance standards". Here's the description of the clear I got:

40% GLOSS SD CLEAR ~ POLYESTER TGIC SUPER DURABLE ~ EXCELLENT EXTERIOR DURABILITY AND CORROSION RESISTANCE ~ DESIGNED TO MEET THE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS OF AUTOMOTIVE AND ARCHITECTURAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
•CURE SCHEDULE = 400F/10 MIN @ PART METAL TEMPERATURE
•GLOSS LEVEL = 40% ON 60 DEGREE METER
•RECOMMENDED MIL THICKNESS = 2.0 - 3.0 MILS
•SPECIFIC GRAVITY = 1.2
•THEORETICAL COVERAGE = 64.1 SQ. FT.
•SALT SPRAY RESULTS = 3,000+ HOURS
•HUMIDITY RESISTANCE = 1,000+ HOURS

The auto industry uses PC a lot, and they demand fuel resistance and color stability. Underhood, UV light isn't a problem but other corrosion could be - this clear has excellent anti-corrosion durability.

Jim

 

[mebe007]

It's funny this topic came up. A shop next to mine is a metal fab shop (Railing) with an oven and booth big enough to powder an entire car. I keep their small engines going (diesel welders, augers etc) and they do powder for me. So long story short i am tired of how my bare aluminum intake stains and quite honestly it gets old polishing aluminum valve covers, timing chain cover etc on the motor. So today I am dropping off all my polished aluminum and my intake for clear powder. Should be nice when finished.

What they told me was that under extremely high heat like headers it would gel. and if it got too hot without gelling that it would yellow, but I'm not worried, they powdered an entire VW Bug motor for a guy a couple years ago and it still looks new, and they are air cooled.

All in all I am excited to be able to wipe everything down under the hood with a rag to keep it clean instead of constantly polishing. BTW great work.