What to do with my Exhaust Manifolds

[woodfork1]

I just received my two replacement Ram Horn Exhaust Manifolds. I will be painting the engine first just waiting to pull it out next week. Using Por 15 Engine Enamel Black foe the engine. Should I paint the manifolds or leave them as they are. I guess do they need some type of protective coverage?

[ole dollor]

its hard to keep paint on exhaust man. but i have seen some painted that look great, might check around and see what the best paint would be.

[geezer#99]

Look around on here. They have manifold coatings.
http://www.eastwood.com/

[PatrickGMC70]

I haven't had a lot of success with the manifold paint, but others have. I used the Eastwood manifold spray paint.

Instead, I cleaned mine up with a scuffing pad and used Calyx on them. It's a graphite paste so it doesn't burn off. It would also be easy to reapply, but I haven't had to yet. Pic below.

Patrick


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[woodfork1]

Thats nice Patrick looks good. But would you recomend the Eastwood product on a new Manifold?

[ole dollor]

[QUOTE=PatrickGMC70;6160985]I haven't had a lot of success with the manifold paint, but others have. I used the Eastwood manifold spray paint.

Instead, I cleaned mine up with a scuffing pad and used Calyx on them. It's a graphite paste so it doesn't burn off. It would also be easy to reapply, but I haven't had to yet. Pic below.

Patrick

man those look great, looks like new.

[DGulliver]

+1 for the Calyx

[GRX]

Only success I have had with paint on used and rusted manifolds if after they have been baked in an oven to remove ALL moisture, then shot peened clean before de-greasing and final paint.

[sboris]

I used the por15 manifold paint. Of coarse it's not mounted yet, I'll update the results someday. Covered well though..
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[PanelDeland]

I've had some decent luck with the high temp paint.I blasted the mani and then rinsed well with carb cleaner.I used a few light/medium coats of VHT then let them dry for a couple of weeks.Then I followed the burn in instructions on the VHT.It's held up well for about 7-8 months but I haven't been DD ing the truck.I think I had to start and heat them for a few min 2-3 times then get them very warm for a good while.VHT had the instructions on the can.

[PatrickGMC70]

Well, it's a long story, but I want to make sure I add all of the details so people can decide for themselves.

My original manifolds leaked. I was told by an exhaust shop that they were cracked and I had to replace them. The estimate was crazy, so I just thought I'd do it myself - someday. About 2 weeks later, may son was born so I didn't touch the truck for about a year.

When I got back to it, I bought a set of new Dorman manifolds. I cleaned them up with a degreaser to remove any oil on them and painted them with probably three coats of the Eastwood paint. I don't drive the truck a lot because there's always something that needs fixed. So I would say that after about 1 year and 50 miles, most of the manifold paint had rusted through. Was it something I did wrong? Sure, why not, but I followed the instructions on the can to a tee, and in my book, that should be all one needs to do.

Here are some pics when I had the engine out:







So, I was pretty discouraged with those results. Plus, the Dormans leaked just like the old ones, and I was going to have to get them machined so the mating surface was flat. i wasn't happy with Chinese manifolds on my truck, and when I was rebuilding my engine I was really discouraged about what to do. I wanted to get the Sppedway rams horns, but they were $500 and I would still have to figure out a solution for the straight-dump to angled-dump.

So I circled back to where I started at my original GM manifolds. Despite what I was told, there weren't any cracks in them, just carbon build up. I kinda put them off to the side because they had studs snapped off in them, and I didn't want to deal with finding a shop to get them out without charging me an arm and a leg.

I signed up for an engine class at a local community college and used a torch there to get the studs out. I had never used a die grinder before in my life, so the results were certainly not the result of any expert technique on my part. You could probably accomplish the same thing with a scuffing pad, a lot of time, and Popeye forearms.

I just cleaned all the crud off of the old manifolds, took a paper towel and smeared the Calyx stuff on the manifolds. It was pretty easy and I've been happy with it so far. If you go this route, wear some gloves to you don't get that graphite stuff all over your hands.

I hope whatever you try works out for you. I have to say that if I didn't use the Calyx, I would have probably spent the money getting the manifolds ceramic coated before I would have tried painting them again.

And, if it matters, I am one of those people about whom you can say that if I can do this, anyone can. Good luck.
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[Don Quixote]

I am right there with you. Learning by doing every time. I had spraybombed mine a few times over a few weeks and my results were surprising good a year later. It's burning off now but I am amazed I got so long out of a few can of grill paint.

[PatrickGMC70]

Here are some more "after" pics:

(Hey, why pass up a free chance to post pics of the first engine you ever built?!)




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[Don Quixote]

I would too! I can spec an engine out for what I need but I haven't graduated to building them yet. Someday...

The rams' horns look good though.

[PAWS 72]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

I've had some decent luck with the high temp paint.I blasted the mani and then rinsed well with carb cleaner.I used a few light/medium coats of VHT then let them dry for a couple of weeks.Then I followed the burn in instructions on the VHT.It's held up well for about 7-8 months but I haven't been DD ing the truck.I think I had to start and heat them for a few min 2-3 times then get them very warm for a good while.VHT had the instructions on the can.

I'm with Panel Deland on this. The guy that owns the parts house that I get my stuff from told me to spray about 3 coats of VHT on and then run the motor till the paint starts smoking and cut the motor off 4 times it should last a long time.

I'm going to try when the show season slows down so we'll see.

[67 chevelle]

Like geezer suggested , eastwood has some great header paint , not the puffcan stuff that is junk , you need to use brush on , blast them first , and make sure to coat them well a couple times . they will be very soft untill you run them thru a few heat cycles , like paws said , i have had very good results with this eastwood header paint , it lasts and dosent turn colors

I dont like kalix , it is messy to work with and rubs off , its not a paint , more like a uncured coating that never cures , it is very messy .

[geezer#99]

With the Eastwood paint you need to heat the manifolds up real good the first time and run them thru a few high heat cycles. Touch them up and run them normal and the paint will last for years. Of course I didn't live in a high humid area. That might make a difference.
I used the cast iron gray. Enough paint to do 3 sets of manifolds too!

[sboris]

Anybody tried or heard how the por15 lasts?
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