The Rum was something my old roommate left around, free and goes good in coke. Scotch is more up my alley.
There are 4 coatings from
Techline:
The CBC-1 is a metallic/ceramic coating used to inhibit heat transfer. It will go on the piston tops, chamber surface, valve faces and likely the intake ports. If there is a fair bit left after this, I think I'll coat the intake manifold too. It should work to keep the intake charge cool (intake manifold, port/runner and face of intake valve), keep the heat/energy of combustion in the combustion gasses to increase cylinder pressure slightly and keep heat out of the piston (and cooling system). It's also supposed to help stave off detonation (surfaces stay cooler) and provide a some protection against damage in the event of detonation (as a barrier, and by maintaining the aluminum's strength through cooler temps). I think I'll keep it off the exhaust ports/runners as some heat transfer there will be welcome for keeping the engine at temp during winter driving.
Oddly enough, looking at the claims/evidence put forth by the companies pushing these coatings and presented in some of the "promotional" magazines leaves me skeptical (little increase in dyno power, often only at high rpm) but reading in some of the engine building books (like Vizard and Monroe) is more convincing on their performance and protection benefits. Vizard for example suggests a power gain of 4-8% from coating the pistons, and 10%+ when the pistons, chamber surface and valve faces are done.
The DFL-1 is a "dry film" lubricant, techline shows using it for piston skirts, bearing insert faces, camshafts, ......... I'll put it on the piston skirts, thinking about the bearings and camshaft or lifter faces as well. Not sure how much this will cut friction in normal operation, but it should provide a back up in case the oiling system hickups
The PKSX is a rub on (no baking) lubricant that is intended for bore surfaces. It will go on the cylinder bores and likely the lifter bores. Perhaps it will help to cut ring drag a bit
Then there's an exhaust manifold coating, heat barrier again.
The 4 of those ran ~$120 US, and from my understanding there is more than enough for one engine. I'm not in the financial situation to go for a full machined rebuild, so I'm planning on just glaze breaking and running these pistons after they are cleaned up and coated. I figure with that in mind, the coatings could offer a bit of insurance, and if they turn out to be a bad idea (flake off and abrade or something) I won't have F'ed up a fresh bottom end. I still need to check clearances and check the bores for taper and such, but as long as nothing is out of spec I want to keep cost to a minimum.
As for the balancing, I'll run through what I do. Since the I6 doesn't require bobweights to balance rotationally, I'm going to try and idea for balancing the crank at home. If it works I'll post up.