High temp tape
Discussion
I used a product exactly like this stuff in my Fury - to protect the closest faces where the exhaust runs inside the lower (glassfibre) side pod - and it works better than the low-ish price suggests it might. Easy to use, very thin & light.
With such a small area using two layers may be worth a go.
Frankly kitchen foil will provide a very effective radiant barrier, esp if in more than one layer with something (ideally, an air gap) that will take the temps between - but by the time you've messed around with homebrew it's easier to buy such a thing.
With such a small area using two layers may be worth a go.
Frankly kitchen foil will provide a very effective radiant barrier, esp if in more than one layer with something (ideally, an air gap) that will take the temps between - but by the time you've messed around with homebrew it's easier to buy such a thing.
Edited by Huff on Tuesday 12th February 19:15
I've successfully used this sort of stuff before, to protect fibreglass bodywork from exhaust manifold heat.
Not especially cheap, but if you cut it to size it looks neater than multiple strips of reflective tape, I think.
Alternatively, have you considered ceramic coating of the exhaust manifold itself? A friend had this done on his TVR and the effect was quite remarkable - if you lift the bonnet on a 5 litre TVR after a run it's normally like opening the door to a blast furnace, but with Zircotec ceramic coated manifolds the temperature fell to what you'd expect from the engine bay of a 'normal' car (ie. mild warmth being radiated).
Not especially cheap, but if you cut it to size it looks neater than multiple strips of reflective tape, I think.
Alternatively, have you considered ceramic coating of the exhaust manifold itself? A friend had this done on his TVR and the effect was quite remarkable - if you lift the bonnet on a 5 litre TVR after a run it's normally like opening the door to a blast furnace, but with Zircotec ceramic coated manifolds the temperature fell to what you'd expect from the engine bay of a 'normal' car (ie. mild warmth being radiated).
Huff said:
Frankly kitchen foil will provide a very effective radiant barrier, esp if in more than one layer with something (ideally, an air gap) that will take the temps between - but by the time you've messed around with homebrew it's easier to buy such a thing.
This is true - I've used heavy duty kitchen foil before, and it's worked just fine - just more of a faff finding suitable glue and trimming/gluing it in place neatly.I would be wary of using too much wrapping or coating on an exhaust, the heat has to go somewhere. My mini which I use for Sprints has a very nicely wrapped manifold which is great for the fibreglass front end, but it has made the tunnel really f***ing hot now and I have started having problems with the joints blowing,
it would not surprise me if the fecker glows red hot, in fact I know it goes orange when we run it on the dyno!
A necessary evil for that car, but it would not be my first choice! Reflective tape works well but would worry me where a failiure could result in direct contact of hot silencer and tape. If the fragile tape get scratched or rubbed off it could expose some nice fibreglass to burn... I would always advise some proper thick heat proof matting.
When we did my friends '67 Alfa Junior turbo, we bonded some neat squares of plumbers soldering mat to the underbonnet, works an absolute treat.
it would not surprise me if the fecker glows red hot, in fact I know it goes orange when we run it on the dyno!
A necessary evil for that car, but it would not be my first choice! Reflective tape works well but would worry me where a failiure could result in direct contact of hot silencer and tape. If the fragile tape get scratched or rubbed off it could expose some nice fibreglass to burn... I would always advise some proper thick heat proof matting.
When we did my friends '67 Alfa Junior turbo, we bonded some neat squares of plumbers soldering mat to the underbonnet, works an absolute treat.
Furyblade_Lee said:
I would be wary of using too much wrapping or coating on an exhaust, the heat has to go somewhere.
With ceramic coated manifolds, the idea is that it goes out of the hole at the end, with the exhaust gases. 
Silencers, of course, act as very good insulators in their own right, so if you coat the pipes as far as the silencer, you should be fine.
I've never been a fan of wrapped manifolds as:
a) You can't see if they crack and;
b) They look a dogs breakfast
Thicker insulation matting is nice, but it depends on what clearance you've got - it's swings and roundabouts with smaller clearances... thicker material means that the inner face is closer to the source of heat, so there's more chance of it touching or burning through.
Just out of interest, is the fairing on your Fireblade actually GRP? I thought most bikes were (unreinforced) ABS-type plastic these days?
Actually, Huff's source might be the cheapest, unless you have suitable adhesive to hand - the stuff he and I linked to has self-adhesive backing. The stuff in your link to Merlin needs separate adhesive, which they're listing at £5.95 a can.
Merlin do list self-adhesive backed Zircotec heat shield material, but it's even more pricey!
Do you not have any sources who would give you a trade discount?
Merlin do list self-adhesive backed Zircotec heat shield material, but it's even more pricey!
Do you not have any sources who would give you a trade discount?
TheLastPost said:
Actually, Huff's source might be the cheapest, unless you have suitable adhesive to hand - the stuff he and I linked to has self-adhesive backing. The stuff in your link to Merlin needs separate adhesive, which they're listing at £5.95 a can.
Merlin do list self-adhesive backed Zircotec heat shield material, but it's even more pricey!
Do you not have any sources who would give you a trade discount?
I've used the self adhesive type before but have had poor results when applied to the back of GF mouldings which is what the OP is doing.Merlin do list self-adhesive backed Zircotec heat shield material, but it's even more pricey!
Do you not have any sources who would give you a trade discount?
Trade discount often only comes with buying large quantity. As a small business we don't use enough of any given product. I've looked at buying it direct from China but you have to buy about a ton per order which I don't have spare cash for.
Steve
Steve_D said:
I've used the self adhesive type before but have had poor results when applied to the back of GF mouldings which is what the OP is doing.
Or ABS plastic, more likely (if it's a standard Japanese bike fairing), which is a rather better surface to take the adhesive than the 'rough' side of GRP?I've done fine with the self-adhesive stuff on GRP (last time I used it was to the underside of the bonnet on my Sylva, to stop the manifold heat blistering the paint, so it was hanging upside-down, too!), but fair point - being able to apply contact adhesive yourself is better!
Obviously, you need to thoroughly de-grease the material, whatever it is you're bonding to.
TheLastPost said:
Steve_D said:
I've used the self adhesive type before but have had poor results when applied to the back of GF mouldings which is what the OP is doing.
Or ABS plastic, more likely (if it's a standard Japanese bike fairing), which is a rather better surface to take the adhesive than the 'rough' side of GRP?I've done fine with the self-adhesive stuff on GRP (last time I used it was to the underside of the bonnet on my Sylva, to stop the manifold heat blistering the paint, so it was hanging upside-down, too!), but fair point - being able to apply contact adhesive yourself is better!
Obviously, you need to thoroughly de-grease the material, whatever it is you're bonding to.
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