C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

[Harmon C.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

WD-40 worked for me.

[Greg F.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

What does the WD-40 process consist of???

[Tom L.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Jerry McNeish (Camaro restorations) has a reskinning process that is suppose to be great. I'm going to be sending him my (HIPO Mustang) manifolds soon.

I've also heard of bead blasting the manifolds and "soaking" them in WD40.

I just picked mine up from Jerry this weekend. He's a great guy and did very nice work. However, the manifolds that I had aluminum spray welded and came out pure white. He returned the manifolds with two cans of high heat spray paint so I could paint them gray myself. I thought that avoiding the need for paint was the whole point of the aluminum spray welding. I should have asked more questions, but his web site made no mention of paint, so I didn't think to ask. I guess the value of the process is that they can't rust now.

[Mike M.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

i did a pair of manifolds on one of our 57 FI's in 1985. they still look presentable after 20K miles. first glass bead them thoroughly, then clean with lacquer thinner. then avoid touching them and apply Eastwoods High temp aluminized manifold paint. after they dry, and still avoiding touching them with your bare hands, put them in the wifes oven at about 350 degrees for a couple hours or fasten them to the engine and fire the old girl up. let it run for 20 minutes or so at 2000 RPM. Just this afternoon, i used the same eastwood product to do the manifolds on our other 57 FI. Wife won't let me repeat the kitchen stink of '85 again so i'll fire up the engine to "harden " the manifold paint. mike

[Terry M.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Get your own oven for the shop -- keep it next to the fridge. Keeps Lea happy.

Old appliances in out-of-date colors are often available at the town dump or in more urban communities at the curb or in the alley on garbage pick-up day. Whether you draw the line at dumpster diving is your choice.

Even restorers can be green.

And no, I have neither a fridge nor an oven in my garage. I do have a recycled furnace, however. Unfortunately I haven't hooked it up yet.

[John H.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

I just picked mine up from Jerry this weekend. He's a great guy and did very nice work. However, the manifolds that I had aluminum spray welded and came out pure white. He returned the manifolds with two cans of high heat spray paint so I could paint them gray myself. I thought that avoiding the need for paint was the whole point of the aluminum spray welding. I should have asked more questions, but his web site made no mention of paint, so I didn't think to ask. I guess the value of the process is that they can't rust now.

Jerry did my '69 Z/28 manifolds six years ago; I painted them with the high-heat paint he supplied, installed them, and they haven't changed a bit since then; they'll never rust. Photos below show them after the molten aluminum plasma-spray, after paint, and after install/cure.

[John H.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Dunno where the third photo went above, but here's what they look like after install/cure and six years of use.

[Peter J.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Is there somebody out there that has used Jerry McNeish's system that could tell us how well the high temp paint has held up. I was kind of surprized to find out there was spray painting to be done after the coating process.

[Joe L.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Is there somebody out there that has used Jerry McNeish's system that could tell us how well the high temp paint has held up. I was kind of surprized to find out there was spray painting to be done after the coating process.

Peter-----


John's photos and text pretty much tells the tale. The VHT very high temp cast iron paint sort of "absorbs into" the spray weld coating. After curing, I think the manifolds look very natural. Do they appear EXACTLY like fresh cast iron? No, they don't. Are they the best possible solution for judged cars? Probably not. Are they the best possible solution for someone that does not want to see rusty exhaust manifolds and with low maintenance efforts? Absolutely!

[Peter J.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Thanks John,
Just what I wanted to Know.

[Jeremy D.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Wait 'till I send him my pipes....they're gonna fall apart as soon as he opens the box!!!
1971 LT-1 2-7-08 010.jpg

1971 LT-1 2-7-08 011.jpg

1971 LT-1 2-7-08 023.jpg

[Joe L.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Jeremy-----


Send who your pipes? If you're talking about Jerry MacNeish I don't know that he does exhaust pipes. They may do them if you ask, but they're not going to come out looking like original, at all. The process that Jerry uses is more designed for cast iron, not carbon steel.

Plus, these pipes are going to look awful even if they did agree to do them. First, they'll have to be completely cleaned. The rust will go, but the PITS will remain. After spray welding, the PITS are still going to be there.

[Jeremy D.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Um, I was referring to Mr. Eric Gardner, in a minorly and PHOTOGRAPHICALLY OBVIOUS SARCASTIC attempt at just a TOUCH of humor ( I know, humor has NO PLACE ON THE TECHNICAL DISCUSSION BOARD...unless you have an NCRS number in the double or triple digits, of course) regarding an earlier post that said something to the nature of anyone who sent them their originals would get a free system from them. I am currently waiting for Gardner Exhaust to perfect their system, which they will, and I believe that they are not so stupid as to look at just the pitting even if I were to send them my exhaust....they're more interested in the bends, the way they were made, and such....which are still easily seen in my beat up, Midwestern-abused and ORIGINAL pitted junk. I think they, as I am, are intelligent enough to know that the corrosion is NOT in the NCRS Judging Manual as being original equipment on LT-1's and will probably reflect that knowledge in their product, as I will when their product goes on my car. And you watch....if my car ever gets judged, I know I'll get hit for points for having a repro system on my car.

[Joe L.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

Um, I was referring to Mr. Eric Gardner, in a minorly and PHOTOGRAPHICALLY OBVIOUS SARCASTIC attempt at just a TOUCH of humor ( I know, humor has NO PLACE ON THE TECHNICAL DISCUSSION BOARD...unless you have an NCRS number in the double or triple digits, of course) regarding an earlier post that said something to the nature of anyone who sent them their originals would get a free system from them. I am currently waiting for Gardner Exhaust to perfect their system, which they will, and I believe that they are not so stupid as to look at just the pitting even if I were to send them my exhaust....they're more interested in the bends, the way they were made, and such....which are still easily seen in my beat up, Midwestern-abused and ORIGINAL pitted junk. I think they, as I am, are intelligent enough to know that the corrosion is NOT in the NCRS Judging Manual as being original equipment on LT-1's and will probably reflect that knowledge in their product, as I will when their product goes on my car. And you watch....if my car ever gets judged, I know I'll get hit for points for having a repro system on my car.

Jeremy-----

Most of the discussion in this thread has dealt with exhaust manifolds and coatings thereof. So, if you were going to shift the discussion to sending original pipes to Gardner for their use as a "model", you should have been clearer about that. In NO way did I find your post "a minorly (sic) and photographically obvious sarcastic attempt at just a touch of humor". That may be how you intended it, but it was not how it was interpreted, at least by me.

[Paul L.]

Re: C3-1971: Exhaust and Exhaust manifold coating

This is totally incorrect but I use spray graphite lube applied with a Q-tip. The carrying liquid burns off leaving the graphite/carbon. Requires perhaps two five-minute treatments each year.