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Porcelain services...who?


Highlander160

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Who's the top recommended porcelain service these days. Years ago I used Porcelain Industries in TN so I'll try to look em up in my old files. Failing that, who's the best these days? Also, any truth to the idea of doing ceramic inside 1st to limit the heat that reaches the outside surfaces? Thanks in advance...

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We used ceramic coating on our Packard Speedster exhaust manifold, inside and out. I believe there's less chance of it chipping or cracking off than porcelain. The inside is much smoother if done, increasing the ability of exhaust to escape. How much???? I dunno if it makes a big difference or not. Possibly.

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West

FUnny you mention ceramic coating, there a block liner material that you put in the engine block to stop block leaks, run a few days the drain it, and refill with proper antifreeze. see to work well on cracked engine blocks. not sure how it effect the long term cool capacity of the system, but seem to only stick in the cracks where it leaks through.

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Thanks for the input West, but the black ceramic? No thanks. It just doesn't look like they did back in the day. "Semi-Gloss" black ceramic seems to be a settled for finish. I agree that it's becoming a popular choice and know of the durability from my racing and hot rod exploits. This for a 34 Packard (go figure, huh?) and nothing but that shiney black glass look will do. I've heard of the MN loaction and they did a 34 Packard 12 for us about 6yrs ago. It did come out very nice and of course the right OEM look. I've not had the opportunity to seek out my old source yet. If I do I'll show a progres post from start to finish. I did meet with my local powder coat guy a couple days ago. Unless the inside is perfectly clean then the ceramic will burn off in no time. I'm thinking of soaking this old rusty 1101 manifold in a molasses bath for a couple weeks to clean the inside. If it works (carbon and all) I'll do the inside coating before it goes out. If not we'll just restore as usual and hope for the best.

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West

FUnny you mention ceramic coating, there a block liner material that you put in the engine block to stop block leaks, run a few days the drain it, and refill with proper antifreeze. see to work well on cracked engine blocks. not sure how it effect the long term cool capacity of the system, but seem to only stick in the cracks where it leaks through.

you are talking about what's known as "water glass"

charles l. coker

1953 pontiac tech advisor

tech advisor coordinator

poci

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Porcelain, ceramic coatings, and water-soluble sodium silicate and its usefulness are separate topics.

The glossy black porcelain on such as 20s Cadillac, Pierce, Lincoln, and Packard seemed to give excellent service and appearance originally. A couple of friends had these re-coated in the 1960s by manufacturers of stoves or baths, but were a bit non-committal about the results later. Maybe this had something to do with absorption of lead from the combustion of tetraethyl lead from fuel. I have had difficulty sometimes with oxy-acetylene fusion welding repair of some more modern exhaust manifolds; but if lead contamination caused a problem, I could not know that or do anything about it. I had a large pile of unused new truck brake drums, mostly Blitz and Dodge. When I needed the floor space I took samples to a very good iron foundry who had done excellent and reasonable work for many years. They would have been premium casting stock, except for what may have been in the paint; and paint removal would neither have been economical, nor certainty of zero contamination.

Enamel pigments for badge repair are similar materials, but vastly more expense. Difficulty with both is probably getting the cover you want, were you want it; and the coating is a viscous liquid at the temperature it should fuse to your job. Just like soldering, cleanliness is an absolute pre-requisite for success. and nobody wants to use Hydrofluoric acid, because mistakes will be painful and fatal.

For heat barrier coatings, this is usually done with plasma- sprayed ceramic coatings of aluminium oxide or zirconium oxide, or mixture of one of these with the metal powder, particularly at the interface with the base metal. ( Mixed coatings are known as "cermet". ) Zirconium and Titanium were extracted from mineral sands mined along certain areas of the eastern Australian coast; exported by the ship-load, and returned as microfine powder in 5 pound screw-top jars. Main use was for military and aerospace purposes, and I doubt the service life of critical components of jet and rocket engines would be practical without zirconia heat barrier coatings. Piston crowns of heavy-duty railway locomotive engines were protected with aluminium oxide or cermet heat barrier coatings many decades ago. I have a print-out somewhere of the service offered by Heany Industries of Scottsville NY. The greater the air mass an engine will ingest because it is cooler, and the less heat of combustion is absorbed and radiated by the engine structure and the cooling medium, the greater will be the useful power output at the flywheel, if mechanical losses do not increase. If my memory is correct since I last read their information, full treatment of an engine could have delivered about a 30% increase, which would be useful performance and/or economy. I had a play once when I prepared an engine for my 1961 Holden ute. Thermospray coatings ( with oxy-acetylene equipment) are supposed to be marginally better heat barrier performance than the same material plasma sprayed. My effort was not an amazing success. Heany may be the best people to consult for an internal coating of your exhaust manifold to enhance gas flow velocity. Google shows they are still in business.

A solution of sodium silicate mixed with suitable sand bridges and bonds the particles very strongly to make cores for foundry work, which would otherwise be unworkably fragile. Aeration with carbon dioxide removes the sodium from the waterglass.

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