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manifold paint?
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 12:38 pm
by POAH
looking to tidy up my mild steel manifolds with a coat of paint but unsure what paint is suitable. I've seen paint rated to 500C is that a high enough rating? my land rover is not a racer and not driven hard except for tunnels

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 1:04 pm
by topcatcustom
Will probably be fine, there are a few VHT (Very High Temperature) paints around, I think they will all burn off sooner or later but should last longer in your landy than a TVR racer

Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:50 pm
by gelmonkey
Poah
Kind of agree with Tom but would say that I have tried many different manifold paints over the years and have not found one that stays on that long at all.
I have even sandblasted,degreased and then painted all to little or no avail.
There well may be new products on the market but I would be sceptical about the temperature ratings given.
The only thing I have found that goes the distance is ceramic coating but this is an expensive route if the budget is tight and you are not overly bothered about the appearance long term.
Just my opinion
Cheers
Paul
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:55 pm
by sidecar
gelmonkey wrote:Poah
Kind of agree with Tom but would say that I have tried many different manifold paints over the years and have not found one that stays on that long at all.
I have even sandblasted,degreased and then painted all to little or no avail.
There well may be new products on the market but I would be sceptical about the temperature ratings given.
The only thing I have found that goes the distance is ceramic coating but this is an expensive route if the budget is tight and you are not overly bothered about the appearance long term.
Just my opinion
Cheers
Paul
I'll second that, in my humble of the VHT paints are crap!
Ceramic coating is in a different league, its good stuff!

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:00 am
by POAH
I'm currently unemployed so a tin/can of paint for £6 to cover up a few repairs to get me through the MOT will be fine lol once I get a job I'll be getting new manifolds etc so will think about the ceramic route then.
cheers for the advice
Ross
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:12 am
by ian.stewart
Alluminium paint works surprisingly well
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:00 pm
by mgbv8
I've use "brush on" exhaust paint with much better results that "spray on" stuff.
The best result for engine bay looks is good quality exhaust wrap. On my steel block huggers it looked cool. I brush painted ally exhaust paint on and it was fine for 2 years until I swapped for RV8 headers. The downside with this is that the paint pigment does not actually seal. So if you teouch the wrapping you get silver fingers. I took the wrap off after 2 years and there was no corrosion on the headers as I was told there would be.
My new headers are SS and I still have them wrapped, but not painted.
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:10 pm
by Coops
Pel how much wrap would i need to do my rover manifolds on the cappa?
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:58 pm
by ged
OK I'm going to get shot down in flames for this but, I've been using manifold paint for years & had good results. The secret is ( and I think it's printed on the tin) you have to cure it properly. I know it sounds anal but the first thing I do is wear gloves when I fit them so I don't get sweaty paw prints or grease on them. After fitting I run the engine for a minute or so until I can feel the headers get warm then let it cool off. Then I run it for about 10 mins at idle & let it cool off. Finally I take it for a short run (couple of miles) & let it cool off.
Then I rag the arse off it as per normal.
I find I get 12 months use out of it before it needs redoing. For 6 quid a can that's not bad.
Best Regards Ged
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:22 pm
by Coops
bbq paint works good too

Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:18 pm
by mgbv8
thev8kid wrote:Pel how much wrap would i need to do my rover manifolds on the cappa?
I seem to remember I just got away with a 30 foot roll last time.
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:22 pm
by Coops
ta mate
will see whats on the bay
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:44 pm
by mgbv8
Some of the stuff on ebay is quite cheap mate. The first lot I got burnt turdy brown in colour. The last lot I got from Motor serve in MK and its been fine.
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 5:11 pm
by Coops
i used this about 4 years ago,
https://www.europaspares.com/prod.asp?p ... imgstate=1
but now its £56.61 for a 50mmx15mtr roll and i'll need 2
how much does ceramocoat cost???
Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 5:29 pm
by Coops
just looked at the add,
its 15 meters which is about 50ft, so think that roll will do
eh Pel

my manifolds.
