Just got off the phone with Dan Swain CEO of Swain Technology Inc and talked
to him about having my Thorley headers coated with his proprietory white
lightning coating. The price is approximately $225.
I looked at the other industry coatings, Jethot, HPC etc and thought after
much reading that they were inferior to the Swain process for drastically
cutting down exhaust header heat inside the engine compartment. Dan
confirmed this. His process cuts down over 60% of the heat we are now
experiencing. REally hope it works.
I have suggested to him that he consider a discount to other members of the
net and he will be getting back to me shortly. Here is some of the details
of the process.
http://swaintech.com/sindex.html
Mention coatings to racers, and responses are likely to be mixed. Some
believe the technology is just for well financed Winston Cup and Grand
National teams. Others compare coatings to snake oil, and still others think
they can solve every racer's performance and reliability problems. Here's
the truth of the matter. Coatings have come of age. They've evolved through
five generations, and a sixth is almost upon us. Coatings now offer improved
durability at every level, from Saturday night racers to the Daytona 500.
In the 1970's, while working for a company that made ceramic industrial
coatings, I applied my ceramic engineering background to developing a
coating for piston domes. My three brothers and I also owned a NASCAR
modified that we ran at local tracks. Our ceramic coating was plasma-sprayed
onto piston domes .015" thick. We tested it extensively in our own race car
before offering to sell it to anyone. Not surprisingly, weekend racers were
reluctant to invest in our unproved product. But Winston Cup engine builders
began asking us to coat their pistons. One of the first to use our new
coatings was the Junior Johnson team, with Harold Elliott as engine builder.
Elliott must have liked what he saw because he is now in the coating
business himself. The second generation of coatings appeared in the early
'80's. While some were professionally formulated and applied by either
plasma spray or flame spray, others were nothing more than self-applied high
temperature paint. Some of this stuff didn't work well at all and hurt the
whole industry. Despite this black eye, the major companies continued their
research, and technology progressed. As the fly-by-nights and garage
operators faded away, the third generation of coatings emerged with three
major players--Swain Tech Coatings, High Performance Coatings (HPC) and
Polymer Dynamics, also known as Poly Dyn. This generation of coatings was
engineered to provide added durability and increased horsepower. As each
company went its own way, differences evolved. Improved formulations could
be applied just .002" thick, eliminating the clearance problems created by
the earlier, thicker coatings. Bonding was also improved, so there was no
chipping, cracking or crazing. The fourth generation began with header
coatings. HPC and Jet Hot developed inexpensive "wet" processes aimed at
street rods and show cars. Improved appearance was the primary goal;
enhanced performance was secondary. We offered a header coating in which
form--specifically thermal insulation --followed function. Our three-layer
header coating may not have looked as nice as the others, but it held the
heat in. Then, as header coatings became a specialty all their own, ceramic
and fiberglass header wraps began competing with them. While the three
leading companies continued to improve the technology and variety of high
tech coatings, a fifth generation of coatings appeared, characterized by a
new crop of do-it-yourself coatings that showed up in the early '90's. This
has caused some concern among major coating companies because some of the
new companies claim that their products are professional quality. I don't
think they are telling you the straight story. As coatings have matured, so
have racers' reasons for using them. The emphasis has changed from
performance to durability.Maintenance-cost savings have prompted some
sanctioning bodies, that had prohibited coatings, to change their rules to
allow them. Coatings are currently used in 9:1 motors, street stocks,
go-karts and other economy divisions.
Today, there are coatings to protect every part or component that is
subject to heat, wear, corrosion or friction. While pistons, combustion
chambers and headers remain the most popular parts to coat, an increasing
number of engine builders are having engine bearings and valve springs
coated. Brake coatings are increasingly popular on heavy cars that need a
lot of stopping power. Transmission and ring-and-pinion gears now get coated
as well. The coatings evolution is now approaching the sixth generation.
Products currently under development include diamond coatings for wear and
lubricity, self-lubricating coatings, laser-applied surface coatings and
catalyzed coatings. Catalyzed coatings, which have precious metals in
sus-trol combustion rates, could be the next generation of piston coating.
Many weekend racers now look upon coatings as an investment rather than an
expense. JBR Racing of Rochester, New York, runs both a Grand American IMCA
modified and a super stock. Says Jon Burroughs, the team captain and a
ten-year veteran of both dirt and asphalt tracks, "Coatings are the
affordable thing to do, and we're a small budget team. We've coated their
pistons, valve springs, intake manifold, rocker arms and balls, bearing
races and their exhaust systems. The stock manifold on the Grand American
car is also coated. This team and others report good reliability, which they
attribute to coatings. "Last season," Burroughs relates, "the oil pump
pickup broke in the Grand American car. We were in the championship race at
Apple Valley [NY] Raceway. Oil pressure dropped and fluctuated between 0 and
60 PSI, depending on whether we were in a straightaway or turn. We just kept
running and took the championship. When we tore down the engine, the
bearings, pistons and cylinder walls had no damage, so we just put the
engine back together and we're running it again this season. We do not
recommend running your race engine on limited oil pressure, no matter whose
coatings or additives you use. We can sometimes get you through an otherwise
impossible night, but running with fluctuating oil pressure or other serious
problems should not become a way of life.
I can tell you with confidence, however, that coatings can save parts and
entire mo-tors. All of us in the aftermarket business hear on Monday
mornings when our stuff works, and we really hear when somebody thinks it
fails. We've been around for a long time, and we just couldn't keep doing
this if those Monday morning calls were mostly angry ones. Don't get the
idea you need to rely on the phone to reach us. UPS and FedEx have shrunk
the world, and coating companies regularly service teams far from their home
base. In fact, we've been told that our Winston Cup work has helped several
teams save engines after terrible punishment. We know the other coating
companies have some similar stories to tell, too. When it comes to the high
dollar teams, well, they could probably afford to run without coatings. But
the added reliability makes coated parts an important element in their
plans. Same thing with teams that operate on a limited budget. It would be
nice if you could avoid it, but to get the job done you've just got to pay
the extra money for professional application. Some do-it-yourself coatings
are advertised as performing the same as professionally applied coatings,
but it is technically impossible for a coating that is painted on and cured
in your kitchen oven to provide the same quality and performance as those
formulated and applied by trained professionals using sophisticated
equipment. The big three coating companies all agree that it takes more than
a spray can or air brush and kitchen stove. Professionally applied coatings
don't cost as much as you might think. In fact, coated parts represent a
modest insurance investment. Our company has never raised its price for
piston coatings. This means that piston prices have been the same for
sixteen years. We haven't even had to adjust for inflation because volume
has increased dramatically. As a result, coated pistons actually cost less
today than when we first opened in 1981. Each company publishes a price
list. Terms and shipment policies vary by company as well. When shopping for
coatings, as with other racing investments, it's smart to not shop on price
alone. Coatings are not commodity items. Each company's formulation and
application method is different, so be sure the coating will perform as you
want it to. Check out the company's reputation in th marketplace. In short,
shop for value, not just price.
Swain Technology, Inc. 35 Main Street, Scottsville, New York 14546 Phone -
(716) 889-2786 Fax - (716) 889-5218
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
to him about having my Thorley headers coated with his proprietory white
lightning coating. The price is approximately $225.
I looked at the other industry coatings, Jethot, HPC etc and thought after
much reading that they were inferior to the Swain process for drastically
cutting down exhaust header heat inside the engine compartment. Dan
confirmed this. His process cuts down over 60% of the heat we are now
experiencing. REally hope it works.
I have suggested to him that he consider a discount to other members of the
net and he will be getting back to me shortly. Here is some of the details
of the process.
http://swaintech.com/sindex.html
Mention coatings to racers, and responses are likely to be mixed. Some
believe the technology is just for well financed Winston Cup and Grand
National teams. Others compare coatings to snake oil, and still others think
they can solve every racer's performance and reliability problems. Here's
the truth of the matter. Coatings have come of age. They've evolved through
five generations, and a sixth is almost upon us. Coatings now offer improved
durability at every level, from Saturday night racers to the Daytona 500.
In the 1970's, while working for a company that made ceramic industrial
coatings, I applied my ceramic engineering background to developing a
coating for piston domes. My three brothers and I also owned a NASCAR
modified that we ran at local tracks. Our ceramic coating was plasma-sprayed
onto piston domes .015" thick. We tested it extensively in our own race car
before offering to sell it to anyone. Not surprisingly, weekend racers were
reluctant to invest in our unproved product. But Winston Cup engine builders
began asking us to coat their pistons. One of the first to use our new
coatings was the Junior Johnson team, with Harold Elliott as engine builder.
Elliott must have liked what he saw because he is now in the coating
business himself. The second generation of coatings appeared in the early
'80's. While some were professionally formulated and applied by either
plasma spray or flame spray, others were nothing more than self-applied high
temperature paint. Some of this stuff didn't work well at all and hurt the
whole industry. Despite this black eye, the major companies continued their
research, and technology progressed. As the fly-by-nights and garage
operators faded away, the third generation of coatings emerged with three
major players--Swain Tech Coatings, High Performance Coatings (HPC) and
Polymer Dynamics, also known as Poly Dyn. This generation of coatings was
engineered to provide added durability and increased horsepower. As each
company went its own way, differences evolved. Improved formulations could
be applied just .002" thick, eliminating the clearance problems created by
the earlier, thicker coatings. Bonding was also improved, so there was no
chipping, cracking or crazing. The fourth generation began with header
coatings. HPC and Jet Hot developed inexpensive "wet" processes aimed at
street rods and show cars. Improved appearance was the primary goal;
enhanced performance was secondary. We offered a header coating in which
form--specifically thermal insulation --followed function. Our three-layer
header coating may not have looked as nice as the others, but it held the
heat in. Then, as header coatings became a specialty all their own, ceramic
and fiberglass header wraps began competing with them. While the three
leading companies continued to improve the technology and variety of high
tech coatings, a fifth generation of coatings appeared, characterized by a
new crop of do-it-yourself coatings that showed up in the early '90's. This
has caused some concern among major coating companies because some of the
new companies claim that their products are professional quality. I don't
think they are telling you the straight story. As coatings have matured, so
have racers' reasons for using them. The emphasis has changed from
performance to durability.Maintenance-cost savings have prompted some
sanctioning bodies, that had prohibited coatings, to change their rules to
allow them. Coatings are currently used in 9:1 motors, street stocks,
go-karts and other economy divisions.
Today, there are coatings to protect every part or component that is
subject to heat, wear, corrosion or friction. While pistons, combustion
chambers and headers remain the most popular parts to coat, an increasing
number of engine builders are having engine bearings and valve springs
coated. Brake coatings are increasingly popular on heavy cars that need a
lot of stopping power. Transmission and ring-and-pinion gears now get coated
as well. The coatings evolution is now approaching the sixth generation.
Products currently under development include diamond coatings for wear and
lubricity, self-lubricating coatings, laser-applied surface coatings and
catalyzed coatings. Catalyzed coatings, which have precious metals in
sus-trol combustion rates, could be the next generation of piston coating.
Many weekend racers now look upon coatings as an investment rather than an
expense. JBR Racing of Rochester, New York, runs both a Grand American IMCA
modified and a super stock. Says Jon Burroughs, the team captain and a
ten-year veteran of both dirt and asphalt tracks, "Coatings are the
affordable thing to do, and we're a small budget team. We've coated their
pistons, valve springs, intake manifold, rocker arms and balls, bearing
races and their exhaust systems. The stock manifold on the Grand American
car is also coated. This team and others report good reliability, which they
attribute to coatings. "Last season," Burroughs relates, "the oil pump
pickup broke in the Grand American car. We were in the championship race at
Apple Valley [NY] Raceway. Oil pressure dropped and fluctuated between 0 and
60 PSI, depending on whether we were in a straightaway or turn. We just kept
running and took the championship. When we tore down the engine, the
bearings, pistons and cylinder walls had no damage, so we just put the
engine back together and we're running it again this season. We do not
recommend running your race engine on limited oil pressure, no matter whose
coatings or additives you use. We can sometimes get you through an otherwise
impossible night, but running with fluctuating oil pressure or other serious
problems should not become a way of life.
I can tell you with confidence, however, that coatings can save parts and
entire mo-tors. All of us in the aftermarket business hear on Monday
mornings when our stuff works, and we really hear when somebody thinks it
fails. We've been around for a long time, and we just couldn't keep doing
this if those Monday morning calls were mostly angry ones. Don't get the
idea you need to rely on the phone to reach us. UPS and FedEx have shrunk
the world, and coating companies regularly service teams far from their home
base. In fact, we've been told that our Winston Cup work has helped several
teams save engines after terrible punishment. We know the other coating
companies have some similar stories to tell, too. When it comes to the high
dollar teams, well, they could probably afford to run without coatings. But
the added reliability makes coated parts an important element in their
plans. Same thing with teams that operate on a limited budget. It would be
nice if you could avoid it, but to get the job done you've just got to pay
the extra money for professional application. Some do-it-yourself coatings
are advertised as performing the same as professionally applied coatings,
but it is technically impossible for a coating that is painted on and cured
in your kitchen oven to provide the same quality and performance as those
formulated and applied by trained professionals using sophisticated
equipment. The big three coating companies all agree that it takes more than
a spray can or air brush and kitchen stove. Professionally applied coatings
don't cost as much as you might think. In fact, coated parts represent a
modest insurance investment. Our company has never raised its price for
piston coatings. This means that piston prices have been the same for
sixteen years. We haven't even had to adjust for inflation because volume
has increased dramatically. As a result, coated pistons actually cost less
today than when we first opened in 1981. Each company publishes a price
list. Terms and shipment policies vary by company as well. When shopping for
coatings, as with other racing investments, it's smart to not shop on price
alone. Coatings are not commodity items. Each company's formulation and
application method is different, so be sure the coating will perform as you
want it to. Check out the company's reputation in th marketplace. In short,
shop for value, not just price.
Swain Technology, Inc. 35 Main Street, Scottsville, New York 14546 Phone -
(716) 889-2786 Fax - (716) 889-5218
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
