Sooooo....I got myself a set of headers and had them ceramic coated. They were an offer up find and what I’d call lower middle class grade. Not $80 ebays but not +$300 branded units...spent $100. Was all excited as they came back today and while showing them to the wife my heart suddenly sank. One of the welds around a pipe up at the block mounting flange has a pinhole in it that I did not notice before. With these things now treated I am guessing my only option is to grind the coating off around the hole and have it welded up. I plan on doing it from the inside so as not to muck up the external cosmetics too much, though I’m betting the heat from the weld will create at least some discoloring. Does this sound like an appropriate fix or do you guys have any better ideas?

 

Did you get it welded yet?

 

Yep. Found a guy nearby that could weld stainless. The spot was a bit of a pain to get to and the coating made it more fun although it is conductive so he didn't have to grind off anymore. He did tell me not to try to polish it as it might be a bit tenuous but I did grind it off right where the hole was so it should have bonded. They are in the car and there is no indication of a leak so I'm happy with it for now.