Ceramic Coating Lycoming Exhaust

I decided to try ceramic coating the exhaust for the Lyc IO-360, mainly to try and reduce under cowl temps a bit, but also because I got the plane painted and now want an exhaust that looks as good as the plane!

I removed and sent off the exhaust to Jet-Hot (www.Jet-Hot.com) for their "classic coating" and polishing. There are 3 different levels of coating and they provide a lifetime warranty on all of them. Pipes were coated inside and out. Wow, am I impressed with the results, polished to near chrome luster. Total cost right around $500.

I got a $40 off coupon you are welcome to use:
https://sh2028.ositracker.com/coupons/index/oid:123421_7304

I had heard stories from others that had their exhaust coated including the heater muff area, and lost most of their cabin heat temperature. I provided explicit instructions to avoid the heat muff area inside and outside, they followed my coating instructions perfectly.

Here's a picture of the final product:

How did they avoid coating the internal side in the heat muff area? I would be worried that internal ceramic coating in that area would reduce heat transfer.

Larry

lr172 said:

How did they avoid coating the internal side in the heat muff area? I would be worried that internal ceramic coating in that area would reduce heat transfer.

Larry

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It is spray on coating not a dip, external only. And the lifetime warranty means once in your lifetime recoat and you pay shipping. It is pretty.

Vetterman claims coating these exhaust will cause them to crack on short order. I have no idea if he is correct or not but he is the expert.

I had Jet Hot do the exhaust for my Hiperbipe 12 or so years ago but they talked me out of the classic finish- they said it wouldn't take the heat. I went with the 2000 degree product which held up fine, but looks nothing like yours.

Interested to see how yours holds up in service

Brantel said:

Vetterman claims coating these exhaust will cause them to crack on short order. I have no idea if he is correct or not but he is the expert.

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I believe this refers to external coating. If only external coating is done, like a fiberglass wrap or ceramic coating, it helps hold the heat inside of the coating / wrap and the SS pipe reaches higher temps, in addition to the exhaust gasses, and therefore the potential for cracking. An interior ceramic coating keeps the heat in the exhaust gas and insulate the tube. The metal should actually be cooler than a normal installation and therefore a reduced risk of cracking. All that said, the double layer insulation may keep the tube hotter than normal, as the insulation is not 100% effective. I just don't know enough about heat transfer to speculate.

It is likely for the OP that the gas passing by the untreated area will be hotter and therefore a potential risk for overheating the SS. However, the constant flow of air through the muff, should keep it in check, by pulling the excess heat off the pipe.

Larry

All good discussion, it will be interesting to see how the coating holds up and what the resulting temp changes will be. The company advertises a 65% reduction in surrounding temps with the Classic Coating. The higher temp coats are 2000F and 2500F respectively and are more rough in appearance than the Classic Coat and cannot be polished out.

The warranty that was given to me with the product was lifetime recoat. If the product ever fails, on initial or subsequent coating, they will strip it and recoat again. In addition, if the Classic Coat should fail, and I decide to go with the 2000F or 2500F coating, that will also be covered under warranty and I only have to pay the difference for the higher temp coating.

Interesting to note that the previous owner of my aircraft used the fiberglass wrap to control temps. I hated the fiberglass stuff! There were no cracks or damage found in the exhaust when Jet-Hot did the inspection.

Reggie,
I used ceramic coating on my last aircraft exhaust and now on the new one with great success. I did not use Jet Hot for the coating and was told that the darker color, black, provides a greater heat control hence I used that color instead of chrome, though chrome looks much nicer.

My bottom cowl stays very cool to touch and I can touch the exhaust right after shut down without any issues at all.

On my last plane, I had nearly 700 hours on it before sold it and as far as I know it is going strong and without any issues for the new owner.