as you may already know, catalytic
converter theft is happening a lot and
it is because of the precious metals
inside that can be more valuable than
gold, per ounce. it only takes minutes for
a thief to slide under your vehicle and
cut out the catalytic converter with a
battery-powered reciprocating saw. as
recommended by police, painting and
etching your catalytic converter, also
known as a CAT, can make it a less
attractive target. this is because when
painted and etched with your license
plate number or vin number it is
supposed to make it known to scrap yards,
junkyards, auto shops and recyclers that
it was stolen. the idea is that they will
less likely buy the part if it is stolen.
plus, it can be used to trace back to you
and the thieves charged if caught in
possession of stolen property. i'm going
to show you how you can find your
catalytic converter and paint and
engrave it at home. after watching this,
if it is more than you're willing or
capable of doing then check out our
other video on several ways to protect
your CAT. if you had your CAT stolen you
can also watch our other video on what
to expect and do. i'll link to these
videos in the video description below
Frakking Creations. showing you the good
stuff on car security. before we get
started i have to say that no matter
what you do, if thieves want your stuff
badly enough they will find a way to
steal them. so all you can really do,
practically, is either slow them down
enough to maybe get caught or get them
to move on to the next target. if at any
time you park anywhere not secured or
monitored, drive your vehicle to the mall
or grocery stores or anywhere else
public, then you are vulnerable to a
catalytic converter theft.
using multiple layers of security is
often better than using less.
painting and engraving your catalytic
converter may not prevent theft 100% of
the time but it should complement other
security measures you take to protect
your CAT. what you will need. you can get
most of what you need from a local
hardware or auto parts store and in some
cases online. bright colored high
temperature engine or exhaust header
paint.
you need to use high temperature paint
because the exhaust components get very
hot and normal paint will not withstand
this.
here i am using high temperature engine
enamel paint with ceramic.
scouring pad or sandpaper to prep the
surface to help the paint adhere better.
painter's blanket and or foam mat for
you to lay on.
carbon filter mask. when sanding and
painting the dust, paint particles and
fumes are not something you want to
breathe in. a proper carbon mask will
filter those particles and fumes out. use
it as per instructions manual.
safety glasses are required to protect
you from the spray paint and any dirt
and liquids that may drop or leak down
on you as you are under the vehicle.
also, when engraving the CAT, metal and
dry paint particles can fly into your
eyes.
gloves, clean paper towel and some
rubbing alcohol.
dremel rotary tool with an engraving bit
to do the engraving.
safety. once you have your safety gear on
you can get started.
if you need to jack your car up you must
do so safely and use jack stands and
wheel chocks too.
alternatively, you can also use proper
ramps that raise the vehicle. also make
sure that the vehicle is in park and the
parking brakes applied. if you have
driven the car at all before you do this,
the CAT and the exhaust pipes can still
be hot. let the vehicle cool down and
check carefully before you start.
locating the CAT. a catalytic converter
will look different in different
vehicles and some will have more than
one. some can be in the engine bay and
not easily accessible but the ones that
are stolen are usually just hanging
underneath.
one way to tell is that some CATs have
oxygen sensors around it. this will look
like wires coming out of the exhaust
pipe before and after the CAT, as shown
here. though not all do.
most CATs are located between the engine
and the resonator or muffler.
lastly, sometimes catalytic converters
also have a heat shield around them.
this is a piece of thin metal shell that
covers it.
if you aren't able to recognize yours,
you can search online for pictures of
catalytic converters for your year, make
and model of vehicle. prep and paint. the
prep is optional if you want to keep
things simple and fast. otherwise, before
you paint you will need to clean the
surface of the CAT to help the paint
adhere better. watch out for sharp edges
when under the vehicle as you do the
following work. use the scarring pad or
sandpaper to sand or scuff it so the
surface is free of debris rust and dirt.
for us, this CAT is new so less work is
required here.
next, take a clean paper towel, put some
rubbing alcohol on and clean the surface.
follow the instructions of the spray
paint for applications.
we applied three coats as per
instructions.
afterwards let the paint dry and cure.
we were short on time and it was cold
out so we didn't let it fully cure
before etching.
we waited one hour which allowed the
paint to dry enough before etching.
engraving or etching.
we used the dremel with an engraving bit
on it to engrave our license plate
number on both sides of the CAT.
also including the province or state you
live in is a good idea.
take your time, use both hands to steady
yourself and make sure the engraving is
deep enough. it should be much deeper
than a small scratch on the surface but
not too deep to go all the way through
the surface.
that's all there is to doing this. let
the paint sit overnight to fully cure
before you drive the vehicle again.
additional measures. i'm also in the
process of experimenting with using
exhaust clamps and steel cables to
protect the CAT better. if i get enough
interest i'll look into doing another
video for it. for now this is what we
have.
the exhaust clamps and a steel cable are
used to better protect the front portion
of the CAT. this is where one of the
original cuts was made when it was
stolen.
this makes it more time consuming to cut
this section of the pipe.
a couple of notes on this. the thieves
need to cut or unbolt both sides to be
able to take the CAT.
in this case they would have to cut
further up front of the CAT to get
around these clamps. the idea is that it
may be harder to do since there's less
room to get the reciprocating saw up in
that space.
if i had more time i would run multiple
steel cables the entire length of the
exhaust pipe and multiple exhaust clamps
to secure integral parts along the pipe.
i would also use high temp bonding paste
to bond the cables to the exhaust pipe
and to bond the nuts to the exhaust
clamps so that it will be harder to
remove the cables or unbolt the clamps. i
didn't do any of this yet because we
were getting a local muffler shop to
weld some half-inch steel bars around
and on the CAT to protect it better, as
can be seen here.
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