Exhaust wrap... any thaughts

[gas mart 1]

Its looking unlikely that the engine will be going back in this weekend. So now thinking of other jobs that could be done while its out . The area of fibre glass in the engine bay either side of the chassis ,(outer surface of the footwells). looks a bit grotty can this be paint with a standard paint or does it need to withstand heat or reflect heat. And any thoughts on exhaust wrap.

Cheers
martin

[mk1fan]

You can get heat reflective matting off evilbay relatively cheaply. Alternatively, there are more expensive - and durable looking - alternatives available from specialists.

As for exhaust wrap. Personally I wouldn't use it again. Ceramic coating is a better solution - Performance 1 Coatings in Didcot have done a lot of work for me.

[Number 7]

Agree with Mk1fan, I've tried wrapping manifolds, and although it seems to work in terms of heat retention, it does seem to cause a deterioration in the steel of the manifold itself - although I've only used it on mild, not stainless.To be honest, it's only a couple of the vertical tubes that seem to suffer anyway.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi mate...Do not wrap your exhaust or the chassis tubes..Both are not good...People think that you can just wrap an exhaust with the bandage but to make it effective it has to be treated with a high temp paint once wrapped...However as said moisture will build up and start to eat the steel..You are better off letting the air circulate and use heat shields where possible..

As for the fibreglass then originally it was painted with a heat resistant ...Of sorts type paint...You could glue heat proof matting like Dyna-mat onto the sides or use a HT paint.

Screw fix sell a HT plasti-Kote paint...
http://www.screwfix.com/p/plasti-kote-heat-resista...

You could try POR but make sure you use the right paint..There are certain mixes for what you need.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...

Personally i would use a VHT paint.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...

I have dealt with these guys a few times and are very helpful if you need to contact them...

Hope this helps


Ziga

[adam quantrill]

-1 for wrapping too - certainly never on mild steel for road use. Maybe on stainless but it will hide any cracks that appear over time, and make them a pain to repair.

[gas mart 1]

Many thanks for the replies, have now painted the fibreglass with some stainless effect VHT paint , And I will be taking the advice regarding the exhaust wrap , and leave as is.
Cheers
martin

[SLB]

I used wrap on a brand new pair of mild manifolds for my old SEAC. A few thousand miles later (5k? ) and they were toast. I remember after a run I opened the bonnet with engine on idle and you could see them glowing red underneath. The steel just flaked and distorted. Complete waste of time and money.