Letter 23011

Q's about Boron Nitride and its use as thermal and abrasive protection in off-road application  

+++

I run a small ATV and offroad business. I am looking for a thermally stable and very durable product to coat the entire bottoms of vehicles with, which would include any and all exhaust parts. I came across Boron Nitride. I like the option of being able to brush it on without any additional equipment {at least that's the way I read it}. I'd like any comments on this product or other products that might work in my situation. Any replies are deeply appreciated.

Dave Kaucnik
- Beach Park, Illinois, USA

I don't believe this would do much good, except posssibly on exhaust manifolds. BN (white, hexagonal form) coatings are rather thin for thermal shielding and have very little abrasion resistance. Adhesion is best when baked onto ceramic substrates, which is hardly your case. To protect your vehicle from exhaust system heat, consider using high-temperature paint (up to 1200 F from Rustoleum and others) on the exhaust system or switching to 316 SS tubing, which has a thermal conductivity less than 1/3 that of mild steel.

Ken Vlach - Goleta, California