While the block and heads are at the machine shop for a cleanup I looked for options for the exhaust manifolds and found a local shop that does ceramic coating. For a VERY reasonable price they baked and shot them repeatedly until they got all the oil out, and this is the result.
Looks fantastic! So did they just clean them up, or ceramic coat them once clean?
R&P Motorsports and Coatings
1010 Katy Street Suite A
Lancaster, TX 75146
469 744 3546
Ask for Robert.
He blasted them to remove the rust and repeatedly baked them to remove the oils. He did a full coat that didn’t meet his standards, re-blasted, baked overnight to get the last vestiges of nearly 60 years of oil drippings out and coated them again for this finish. He said he now knows to start with the heat process to get the oils out on these parts, so future work will be a one cycle process.
Totally jealous, looks great!
Whats the cost?
I did this 22 years ago. I sent my rusty pair of exhaust manifolds from my 427 GT-E to Jet Hot coatings in Oklahoma City, OK. They came back with a coating of their natural cast iron coating. They still look like new today. The cost including shipping was around $200. It’s a little more today maybe $300. Still the way I would go.
Royce’s figure for today is about right. I rounded up to that figure because it took a few attempts to get them just right.
Those manifolds look great!
There’s another budget alternative the Corvette guys introduced me to.
Beadblast or wire wheel (the manifolds don’t need to be spotless) and spray with Slip Plate - which is a graphite aerosol coating.
Looks very close to natural cast iron and lasts a VERY LONG time. The only downside is that some graphite will get on your hands whenever you rub up against the manifolds.
I prepped the manifolds with a wire wheel/brush and an acetone wipedown before spraying 3-4 thin coats of Slip Coat.
Here’s a 429CJ manifold 3 years after coating with Slip Plate:
Nice finish, and in some applications an improvement over the bright ceramic I chose. I also have heat transfer issues to a Borgeson steering box, so combined with a heat shield sleeve over the pipe running back from the manifold and beyond the bellhousing, I am hoping for some significant drop in heat. Once I have the car back together and can test, I’ll let everyone know if it made an impact.
Graphite spray or rub on was something we started using back in the 80’s -early 90’s for manifolds and is a lot easier to touch up if there is a surface rust or chip issue. Of course Ford used graphite to seal the exhaust manifolds to the heads rather than use gaskets originally so you have another use for the product
Changed to ceramic coating about 10 years ago with many others. Just purchased a quart and have used it on many car projects. Not cheap, but easy to apply and it goes on thin so that it does not trap the heat of change the look of the surface. We use a much darker color so that its closer to bare cast iron. For many engines (when restoring) the manifolds get a little or more engine paint on the manifolds so its just one of the steps towards the final look. Have cured the ceramic in an oven, or just used the engine heat to do it if you live in a dry climate
