Corellian Corvette

I'm really excited about this so I had to share!

Two weekends ago I went to a local hotrod show and was checking out vendors hoping to find someplace local to have my bumpers and maybe some accessory parts chromed.

I couldn't find a chroming place, but I did come across a local (Washington state) place called Performance Coatings (http://www.performancecoatings.com) that offers basically the same service as Jet Hot on headers, etc. (cermaic baked coatings), but also does other metal parts. I was really impressed with the quality of the products they were showing, and their prices seemed really cheap based on what I'd seen (they charge about 1/2 what Jet Hot does on headers).

The guy running the booth was really nice and talked with me at length about what they do, prices, etc. so I decided to send off some small parts and give them a try. We talked about Jet Hot and he said they do the exact same thing, but because they're a smaller operation they spend more time prepping and polishing their work.

I sent them my Water Pump pulley, hood support, and both upper and lower alternator brackets. Here's what I got back:

Water Pump Pulley

click here for bigger image http://www.albertpenello.com/vette/pulley.jpg

Hood Support

click here for bigger image http://www.albertpenello.com/vette/support.jpg

Alternator Bracket

click here for bigger image http://www.albertpenello.com/vette/altadj.jpg

Overall I'm REALLY pleased with the quality of the work. What's more amazing is the price -- for all three of these (plus the lower bracket I forgot to take a picture of) the total was $60!!!. And even better, from the day I shipped them the parts, to the day I got them back on my doorstep was exactly 10 days.

Anyway, I suggest if you're thinking about chroming or plating you give these guys a look. I like the way the look in the car because I have the polished L82 valve covers and these match the look perfectly. If you're interested in other things you can call them and ask for Brad - very nice and helpful.

ZORA_RULES

Man that is a great price for quality work! I got a AC Compressor chromed for 50, but I knew the guy...kinda thing. $60 for that is a great price.

Alwyn678

Sounds like a great deal..LOOKS NICE...Ya know you can run down to pep boys and buy a chrome alternator bracket for 10 bucks though

Smokehouse69

I did an old set of rocker covers with the stuff, you can buy the ceramic coating stuff from Techline Products and do it yourself at home. I just requires a touch-up gun to spray it on and an oven to bake the stuff in. Then you polish it with fine steel wool.
Your stuff looks just like the rocker covers I did, looking at how your stuff turned out, I'm going to clean my hood support up and try coating it too!

Corellian Corvette

Alwyn68 - Funny you should mention that -- have you tried those? They don't fit - at least not in my car! Getting this coated also cost $10, and I went through three of those pep boys brackets and none of them worked -- the angle wasn't right. Plus, I know this won't discolor or flake because of the heat of the engine.

Smokehouse69 - I saw your post after I sent this stuff in. Looks like a similar alternative. I think one advantage for the average person might be the prep work. These guys media blast everything to get paint, rust, grime, etc. off before coating. I don't have all the materials here to get my parts that clean. I did wire wheel the big stuff of, but there were cracks and crevices that I never could have cleaned out.




[Modified by Corellian Corvette, 3:29 PM 3/21/2002]

Alwyn678

[QUOTE]Alwyn68 - Funny you should mention that -- have you tried those? They don't fit - at least not in my car! Getting this coated also cost $10, and I went through three of those pep boys brackets and none of them worked -- the angle wasn't right. Plus, I know this won't discolor or flake because of the heat of the engine.


Actually I do have one I think I have some pics of it on my site......It fits perfect and no problems so far :cheers:

joeveto

That's really cool. How much do you think they'd charge for a pair of headers?

joeveto

I just found my answer. Their price list in extensive and reasonable.

Pretty cool stuff. I like the satin coatings as much as the chrome.

427_Roadster

:cheers: :cheers: Came out beautiful, great price too! Thanks for the heads-up. I definitely have some work to throw their way.
Tom

adam

Looking at their pricing list, they show engine components.

Why would you want to coat the pistons, pins, valves, springs, etc?
Won't this change the size of the part? Is this surface of an exacting
thickness to actually do this?

Does oil run off this easier? I guess that is why one would do the
underside of the intake manifold...

groovyjay

This is just what I've been looking for, thanks for the tip! :cheers:

PrarieShark

I think the reason you would coat the underside of the intake is to deflect some heat from it maby keeping the fuel air mix slightly cooler

PROSOUTH

Corellian Corvette "I did come across a local (Washington state) place called Performance Coatings (http://www.performancecoatings.com) that offers basically the same service as Jet Hot on headers, etc. (cermaic baked coatings), but also does other metal parts. I was really impressed with the quality of the products they were showing, and their prices seemed really cheap based on what I'd seen (they charge about 1/2 what Jet Hot does on headers)."
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I looked at Performance Coatings on their web-site and priced coating a set of shorty headers I wanted done, $160 Satin & $210 Cermachrome.

from:Jet Hot Coatings

Jim,

"It would run $179 to coat your manifolds inside & out with our Sterling
finish. The additional tubing is $10 per foot. That price includes all
necessary cleaning as well, unless they are chrome or nickel plated. We'll
need them here for 3-5 days plus shipping time. Return shipping would be
$22.

"All parts receive a 3 year unlimited guarantee that covers chipping,
peeling, cracking, discoloration, rusting - anything. New parts also get a
lifetime rust through warranty as well."
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Not to argue or dispute your statement, but I received a quote this morning from Jet-Coat. I see very little difference in price. However service from yours may well be better than Jet Hot Coatings. In either case I'm going to look at some of the home do it yourself coatings and give them a try first. For my application I can't see it being worth that much money for a coating that apparently needs to be warranteed because it comes off so often.

The reference in JHCs reply of "additional tubing is $10 per foot" is an answer to my question about doing my front pipes from the shortys to the Cats.

JIM

Corellian Corvette

Fair point. Are you sure it's not $179 *each*? When I was going to have my original headers coated from Jet Hot, they wanted approx $350 to do both.

BTW -- this is NOT meant to be a slam on Jet Hot. I've heard nothing but good things about the quality of their work, and they were very nice when I talked with them on the phone. I'm just offering a potential alternative.

Also, FWIW, Performance Coatings actually charged me less than their quoted prices on the web. Dunno why.

Your mileage may vary :D

:cheers:

Corellian Corvette

Alwyn678 - Checked out your site -- nice engine!

I see that your Alt hangs off at a different angle than mine, which would probably explain the reason why they wouldn't fit on mine.

Rockn-Roll

Excellent timing! I'm thinking about headers for my sidepipes and with an inexpensive ceramic coating shop I could buy the uncoated ones for like $100, then have them coated for maybe $200 more...dang, that would save me about $400 from what I originally planned.