As I understand it, excess heat is the result of the ethanol blend gasoline we are forced to use these days. My dealer told me, a test of E10 vs non ethanol gasoline, resulted in 150-200degF higher head temps on small air cooled engines.
Sounds like the guy didn't bother to retune the carb to adjust for the difference in fuel quality.
Carbs meter fuels by volume and viscosity, but their energy is measured by weight and chemical composition. Fuel changes effectively change jetting so retuning is usually necessary. A well tuned motor easily shows differences between different grades of pump gas - let alone totally different fuel blends. THink about how an alcohol drag car goes so fast. Alky works great when you let it.
+1 to the other guys who've done a lot of anodizing/plating work - I paid my way through college doing anodizing. I've never seen a cast part produce a good finish - they're always grainy and the color is poor. As noted, casting sand and metal impurities cause tons of little ugly regions that are impossible to fix. Anodizing can be done at home, but it's pretty hard to do well. Most people don't have access to a rectifier beefy enough to handle that kind of load.
Harbor Freight sells a home powdercoat kit that's relatively inexpensive. You can cure the paint in the oven, but don't be surprised when wifey decides to find a new home for your pretty new saw. :censored:
Gary: Jet-Hot coatings work really well but they tend to keep more heat in the pipe which usually forces a jetting change. On expansion chambers, the difference usually forces a pipe redesign compared to uncoated steel. Don't know what to expect for a can muffler. But the coating really does look nice!