Gas-N Exhaust Color

[rt.collinsjr]

Hi all,

Thinking of Gas-N's polished SS headers and pipes. Can anyone share photos of how much they turn color from the heat?

Also, if anyone has the silver polished ceramic exhaust, if you could post a photo.

This would be very helpful.. Thank you...Ford 331 CU

R.

[edwardb]

Headers are going to turn color no matter what you do. Side pipes, on the other hand, depend on your engine. I have Gas-N side pipes on my Coyote powered Coupe. 8,000+ miles and they're still the same SS color as when new. The computer controlled combustion, timing, etc. on that engine apparently controls the exhaust temperature well enough that no discoloration occurs. My Coyote powered Roadster I had previously was the same. If you do get discoloration with the SS side pipes, it's kind of a brown/straw color. It can be restored with a product called Compound 302. I've used it and it works well. Note it doesn't polish out the color, which isn't possible. It's a chemical reaction. https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?40856-Golden-Side-Pipes-Be-Gone!

[Mike.Bray]

I started with polished stainless headers and sidepipes, they were absolutely gorgeous. The headers turned pretty bad, mostly due to the initial tune not being dialed in and a cam with a lot of overlap. The sidepipes turned kind of a straw color up to where the four pipes converge into one.

Stainless headers and pipes run HOT even when the engine is properly tuned. I had my headers ceramic coated and they look exactly the same as when I installed them and they run measurably cooler. Later I acquired a set of black sidepipes and had them ceramic coated, same thing as with the headers. TBH, with the engine now being better tuned I could have polished the stainless sidepipes with Compound 302 and they would have probably been okay although they still run hotter than the ceramic coated ones.

Stainless sidepipes that have discolored.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20240425112316mediumrotated.jpg

Ceramic coated headers.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20241215173828.jpg

Ceramic coated sidepipes. Not as shiny as the polished stainless but they match my polished wheels.

https://www.imagecoast.com/images/MichaelBray1/20241217142436.jpg

[CDXXVII]

Ford Racing 427 with 15,000 miles and the pipes still look new. I clean them with Blue Magic Metal Polish twice a year. Minimal color change ever. These are what they look like after 1000 miles.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=210697&d=1740245842

[rt.collinsjr]

Thanks all for the responses. I really like the SS polished look but I am thinking about the Gas-N silver polished ceramic which Georgie is recommending. I wouldn't mind cleaning up the side pipes but I'm guessing the headers are another story getting hotter and harder to get to which probably gets old. This will be a carbureted 331 and wouldn't be as efficient as injected so may discolor even more.

[Jim1855]

If you ceramic coat the headers they'll stay good for a while. I started with shiny silver and after time they were dull grey. I wouldn't expect that raw stainless headers will ever stay nice w/o lots of work.
Jim

[rt.collinsjr]

CDXXVII (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/member.php?2155-CDXXVII) , do you have picture of your headers as well?




Ford Racing 427 with 15,000 miles and the pipes still look new. I clean them with Blue Magic Metal Polish twice a year. Minimal color change ever. These are what they look like after 1000 miles.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=210697&d=1740245842

[CDXXVII]

Here is a picture of my headers. The headers are ceramic coated stainless steel. They are definitely not as shiny as they were when they were coated. I am not a fan of ceramic coated side pipes but that just my personal opinion.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=210720&d=1725725715

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=210721&d=1740327780




CDXXVII (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/member.php?2155-CDXXVII) , do you have picture of your headers as well?

[rt.collinsjr]

Thank you! This is helpful.

I do prefer the high polish SS side pipes as well over coated and will most likely go with coated headers.


Here is a picture of my headers. The headers are ceramic coated stainless steel. They are definitely not as shiny as they were when they were coated. I am not a fan of ceramic coated side pipes but that just my personal opinion.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=210720&d=1725725715

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=210721&d=1740327780