ajarofclay
Well-Known Member
More of a "how to" question; I'm wondering what are some of the better ways to clean up and coat or treat factory stock exhaust manifolds. As Always, thanks in advance, Gentlemen...and/or ladies.
Cast iron exhaust manifold cleaning
- Thread starter ajarofclay
- Start date
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Media blasting.
Scody21
Just send it
Bead blast, parts wash and paint with high temp header paint
ajarofclay
Well-Known Member
I've never had good luck with "High temp" paint, myself. Any suggestions on brand, color? What about ceramic or powder coating?
Once blasted, wipe with brake/component cleaner, then brush on with POR15 Manifold grey. That stuff goes far, is durable and can be touched up with brush. It has the consistency of thin toothpaste, but coverage is above excellent. A small can will do 5 sets, 2 coats each of sb manifolds easy.
POR-15 High Temperature Paint - Gray - 8 fl. Oz. - High Heat Resistant Paint - Withstands Temperatures of 1200 Degree F | Weather & Moisture Resistant https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00J6B1JZY?tag=fabo03-20
POR-15 High Temperature Paint - Gray - 8 fl. Oz. - High Heat Resistant Paint - Withstands Temperatures of 1200 Degree F | Weather & Moisture Resistant https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00J6B1JZY?tag=fabo03-20
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
Crushed glass media blast, VHT Cast Iron manifold paint... properly cured in an oven and Bob's your uncle. 6+ years on mine and about 4000 miles, still look good.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
por15 coating. foam brushed it on.. cured it in the oven some even though you don't really need to..
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ESP47
Well-Known Member
Another vouch for POR15 manifold paint. Best I've ever used hands down.
The POR stuff rocks! it looks like crap until you start the engine, then it melts into the manifold, all the brush strokes go away. But the best part is touching them up with a small brush - start the engine and the touch ups melt into the existing paint and you can't even find the repairs - sure beats taking the manifolds off to re-spray or spending hours taping things up to respray in the car...
harrisonm
Well-Known Member
OK. I will agree that there are some high heat exhaust paints that are OK. I have used quite a few over the years. I have never used POR15 high heat exhaust paint, but POR15 products are quite good. I have been powder coating part time out of my garage for about 20 years. I've gotten pretty good at it. I have found an excellent professional product called Techline Color Guard that works far better than anything else I have ever used. It comes in a cast iron grey that looks just like a brand new exhaust manifold, and stays looking loke that for many years.
I media blast the manifolds and spray the paint on. I then do a partial cure in my powder coating oven for about 20 minutes. Then the first time on an engine finishes the cure. Follow the instructions on the can. The instructions say DO NOT use glass beads. They leave the surface too smooth for good paint adhesion. I normally use medium grit ground glass. I have done dozens of sets of manifolds with this product, and I have never had a customer bring them back.
ColorGard Cast Iron Grey Exhaust Coating (CHK) | Tech Line Coatings Industries
ajarofclay
Well-Known Member
Very nice. Is that a paint or powder coating then. (I know of powder coating but not really familiar with the process)
Now I’m curious….
Do any of the products and methods mentioned above work on headers? Can’t say that I’ve ever seen a header that didn’t look like crap.
And my apologies to the OP for somewhat highjacking this thread.
Do any of the products and methods mentioned above work on headers? Can’t say that I’ve ever seen a header that didn’t look like crap.
And my apologies to the OP for somewhat highjacking this thread.
ajarofclay
Well-Known Member
Nah, you're good PB. I 100% agree regarding the headers. As you can see, mine do. And I'm pretty confident I had these zinc coated way back in the day. For anybody assuming that's because of age, they look like this within a few years of being done. It's a different time now and I'm a different person so trying to get this car back to stock for the most part. On top of that I remember what a nightmare these headers were to install, needing to partially pull the motor up to squeeze them by everything and denting one of the tubes in the process. They suck to get the starter out also.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i have a friend that uses the eastwood stuff on his headers. seems to hold up ok but needs to be touched up from time to time.. he touches it up with a foam brush...
I've never done headers, just manifolds, but POR15 Manifold Gray states good to 1400*F.
harrisonm
Well-Known Member
It is a paint. It costs $120 per quart. I bought a quart several years ago and have done several sets of manifolds. There is probably enough left for two more sets. So $120 and I get 6 sets of manifolds; not bad. I spray on one medium wet coat and a few minutes later another medium wet coat. They warn you to NOT spray a second coat after the first dries, and to NOT build up too many coats. You could use just about any spray gun, even a cheap Harbor Freight one. Like I said, all of my customers have always been very pleased.
I have never used the Techline on headers. However, about 25 years ago, I used the silver Eastwood stuff on the headers on my Barracuda. It looked pretty good and lasted for several years before needing a bit of touchup. THAT BEING SAID, I really like the Techline stuff, and it's all I'll use on manifolds.
Agreed. I sprayed mine on the first time and brushed on the touchup.
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