So I ran out and picked up the blasted and then ceramic-coated exhaust components and damn if they don’t look amazing!
Restoring the original solid 1979 muffler instead of swapping on that cheap ass aftermarket one was one of the best things I could have done. I love all the little parts that say West Germany on them. I remember seeing the her original strut inserts from West Germany too. Stupid but exciting.
The muffler was done in a silver ceramic coating to try and match the original look of the metal.
Now of course, there was 41 years of corrosion to deal with so the metal is pitted. The coating magnified that to some degree since there’s not dirt to hide it.
Now the heat exchangers were a gray color anyway, so I went with the tungsten gray for them and then, to make things easier (and cheaper) I just did the exhaust manifold piping in the same dark gray ceramic coating.
To have tried to find something yellowish, as what VW did originally, would have been a special color and higher cost and I needed to spent that money elsewhere.
The pitting is there same here as on the muffler.
I had the flanges fully coated as well as partially inside to ensure these stay protected as long as possible. Of course, this will eventually get soot all over them.
Other than having to change the color due to costs, I don’t think I could have asked for a better restoration other than an actual never seen moisture NOS set of components.
I mean, it sure as hell beats the before pic! Look at that muffler then and now! You’d never know it was the same piece.
Vendor: http://www.performancepowdercoatingohio.com/
Products used:
- Cerakote C-Series – C-111 Tungsten (up to 1200°F)
- Cerakote C-Series – C-7700 Glacier Silver (up to 1200°F)