Techline Coatings, Inc.: November 2009 Newsletter

From Automotive Machine & Supply

Ft. Worth, TX

Since 1999 when Harley-Davidson first introduced the Twin-Cam engine, a common complaint was the rear cylinder head's heat burned the rider's right inner thigh. While flow testing and creating our 5-axis CNC ported AMS Hi-Torque Pork cylinder heads, we applied Techline's Hot-Stop TLHB coating to the exhaust ports. We saw improved dyno figures, so Techline's TLHB coating has been applied to every pair of our AMS performance heads for Harley's since 1999, and will continue to be part of our performance head work, as it is a proven power enhancement... And our customers love their "cooler" running engines. For more information please feel free to contact Eric at Automotive Machine & Supply, Inc, 212 Carroll St, Ft Worth, Texas 1-800-210-8675.

WHICH BLACK

for Exhaust?

Tech Line makes four black coatings for Exhaust Systems. Which is best or which should be used for a specific application? Below we will briefly review each and identify the main characteristic of each.

CilGen Satin Blackis the best overall coating when you are applying a coating directly to the bare metal. It is air curing, very hard, has excellent chemical resistance, corrosion resistance and is a good thermal barrier. Use in any application. CilGen Satin Black may be applied over *Prevcor, MCX or MCS but should not be applied over HHBK.

Black Satin was originally developed for the X-30 Space Plane and as is a very effective thermal barrier. It is not recommended as a coating over bare metal on motorcycles, rather use CilGen Satin Black. It is the most effective when used over *Prevcor, MCX, MCS or HHBK; with the HHBK combination giving extremely good thermal barrier characteristics. Multiple coats of Black Satin are possible to increase the thermal barrier characteristics. The coating will air dry and cure with exhaust heat. Full cure requires 750F.

Turbo X Black is similar to Black Satin but uses a different pigment that is color stable to higher temperatures and was developed for Turbo applications where high temperatures are common. Turbo X, like BHK, is not recommended over bare metal on Motorcycles, rather use CilGen Satin Black. Turbo X may be applied over *Prevcor, MCX, MCS and HHBK; with the HHBK combination giving the best thermal Barrier. Multiple coats of Turbo X are possible to increase the thermal barrier characteristics. The coating will air dry and cure with exhaust heat. Full cure requires 750F.

ColorGard Black is a very hard coating and is a good thermal barrier. It is similar to Black Satin and Turbo X though it has a harder surface. ColorGard Black should not be used on Motorcycles over bare metal. ColorGard Black may be applied over *Prevcor, MCX, MCS and HHBK; with the HHBK combination giving the best thermal barrier characteristics. The coating will air dry and cure with exhaust heat. Full cure requires 500F, which is lower than Black Satin and Turbo X.

* Base coats increase corrosion resistance and the thermal barrier effect.

** CilGen Satin Black is recommended over the other Black coatings for use on Motorcycles, when applied to bare metal. The primary reason for this is due to cleaning agents used in these applications, by the owners of the motorcycles, after the parts are installed. Certain of the cleaners used for cleaning the motorcycle contain alkaline ingredients. These ingredients can attack the coatings, creating pin holes and mild discoloration. This damage can lead to rust formation and failure of the coating. CilGen Satin Black is unaffected by these chemicals. When the other black coatings are applied over base coats, the damage is less likely to occur and the benefits of greater thermal barrier are gained. While the vast majority of applications do not show this damage, we have seen a slowly rising frequency of reports of damage and feel it is wise to pass this information on to the market.

November 2009

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