Header coatings, how necessary?

Yes, Jet Hot has a lifetime coating warranty and they stand by their warranty, as I said they recoated mine for free. But in my case (and maybe some other folks) it's not worth it to go through the trouble of removing the exhaust pipes and headers, packing them up and shipping them off for weeks. All the time not being able to drive your car. Then every 12/18 months you do it again.
For some people it's not a problem, for me it is.

Then again, if you live in a dry climate it may well be another story. No one else has yet to tell you how long their Jet Hot coating lasted. One important thing to remember....The longevity of coatings used on headers is greatly determined by how often you actually start your engine and drive your car. A race car doesn't go through thousands of heat cycles like a daily driver. Drag cars just don't run their engines very often. Every time you start the engine and bring it up to temperature the metal (in the header/manifold) expands. Every time it expands moisture can penetrate microscopic pores in the coating. Once the moisture gets to the metal the header begins to rust. The more heat cycles the most moisture penetration. The coating doesn't rust but the metal underneath does. That's why headers (coated or not) don't rust as fast in dry climates and that's why they only last a year or two where I live. We have 95-100 percent humidity 9-10 months out of the year with a hint of salt air if you live near the ocean. We all know what salt and moisture do to metal.
So if you have a race car and live in a dry climate or garage you car every night coated headers should last a very long time. Conversely, if you live in a wet climate (especially close to salt water) or any body of water coatings are almost worthless especially if you own a daily driver that doesn't sleep in an enclosed garage.

So the questions are:

Do you have a daily driver?
Do you live in a dry climate?
Do you live close to a body of water?
Does your car sleep in an enclosed garage at night?

If I lived in a dry climate I wouldn't spend my money on any special coating unless I took my car to car shows or if I liked showing off my engine. The "Eastwood's Factory Gray High Temp Coating Spray" works just fine and I reapply it every year or so. My Cuda is a daily driver and sleeps in a carport (not enclosed).


Hope this helps....

Treblig