Doug's Coated headers rusting already, WTF

[wedge5]

I have the Doug's 452 Ceramic Coated headers. I have had them for just over a year now. They are starting to rust. They have no street miles on them and only 6 passes at the track. The headers have never been wet. I even wiped them down after the install so no marks/finger prints were on them during the start up. Needless to say I am not happy with this. These are not the most expensive headers on the planet but they weren't cheap either.

I am going to get a hold of Doug's to see if they will do anything for me. I will let you know how their customer service is. I am big on customer service. I hate when a company is nice to you until they get your $$$ then they could care less about you.

 

[hemistix66]

I had them on my 63 Fury for 9yrs with 15k street miles summer months.I had no rust issues just had one bolt that was a bitch to get tight.After I got it tight,no problems.
Doug's sold out a few years back to Pertronix,wonder if QC went down hill?When did you get them Brian?Mine were 2 inch.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Are yours rusting right up by the top flanges where there is the most heat?
pics would be great. i probably know the answe after you post the pics. you might not like what i have to say though.

 

[Propwash]

Are yours rusting right up by the top flanges where there is the most heat?
pics would be great. i probably know the answe after you post the pics. you might not like what i have to say though.

LOL.........nice "you're probably gonna be pissed" legal disclaimer Chris..

 

[wedge5]

Are you kidding I always LOVE bad news!

 

[440clark]

Mine are starting to rust too, very, very light. Mine are about a year old too. Just little specks.

 

[wedge5]

This isn't to only spot this is happening. Down on the collectors,downtubes and other tubes. As you can see the rust is on the whole tube just worse in this spot.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

This isn't to only spot this is happening. Down on the collectors,downtubes and other tubes. As you can see the rust is on the whole tube just worse in this spot.

well, it is poor quality ceramic coating. if it was just on top, i'd say you were running lean. seen it many times running a lean condition and discoloring the header tubes. those are just poor quality and a cheap quick coating. you'd never see that when doug;s was running that company.

 

[Deleted member 214]

My ceramic coat Hookers are five years old but don't have a lot of use on them. Anybody know how to clean them up??? I paid extra just so this wouldn't happen.

 

[WileE]

My ceramic coat Hookers are five years old but don't have a lot of use on them. Anybody know how to clean them up??? I paid extra just so this wouldn't happen.

Some years ago, I sent a set of new headers to JetHot for ceramic coating (this was before you could buy them already coated)... not too long after , they looked exactly like yours ! Don't know if they're still in business, but that was the last time they got mine. Garbage.

 

[hemistix66]

WOW!I musta got lucky with mine,I'd been pissed if I'd had problems like you guys.What am I gonna do on next project-64 Polara?I was gonna get a set of Doug's again.Guess not.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

i use airborne coatings out of hartford, connecticut. best around. mine are 4 years old now.
Jethot is horrible imo.these are jethots crap. coming off over the winter and getting redone.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

these are airborne. look at the difference. 6 years old.

 

[moparstuart]

my jet hott headers still look pretty good up top after 12 years but down by the collector they are all rusty and peeling
all the spots are just oil

 

[wedge5]

I figured it was both issues. Running lean and quality. They should hold up better than that. I only have 6 runs on them. I can't be that lean! I am leaning towards quality.

My buddy has a set of long tube headers on his 04 GTO. He drives the car alot. I am not sure the name of the company that coated his headers but they are coated red. They don't have a spot on them. I will get the name if interested.

 

[wedge5]

OK, I have some header coating information. www.Pm-fl.com They do shorties for $199 and long tube for $259. 2000 degrees, colors are Blue,Satin Black,Titanium,Cherry Red. I have seen the Cherry Reds they have a satin finish also so I figure all the colors are satin.

 

[Deleted member 214]

I will guarantee my car was running rich, not lean. Ask anybody following me!

 

[65-440]

Wedge, thats exactly how my dougs look .... both sides, all the way down to the collector ...

 

[Jonnyuma]

A friend of mine had a Monte Carlo SS, not sure of the year but it was a fwd version (feh!). Regardless, he had JetHot coated headers and they looked great. Newer cars tend to run hotter, but I'm guessing they keep the heat in the block better, hence the '04 GTO and Monte Carlo anecdotes. If I was to shell-out that kind of scratch and end up with rusty headers ANYWAY, man, I'd be PISSED. You can buy a sandblaster, 100 lbs of sand,and 10 cans of header paint for that kind of dough.

 

[wedge5]

Well Doug's called and left a message that they would recoat the headers for free. I have to send them back and it would take 3 weeks. What do I do now? I can't take them off now and not be able to use the car for another month but they aren't going to redo them after I use them all race season. I need to call them back to see if they will recoat them after the season.