exhaust manifold restoration--again

[Bill C.]

I am thinking of sending the exhaust manifolds of my '63 to Jerry Macneish to be refinished (I hate rust). But, I have several questions and concerns, that I need guidance on from people that have had this done already.
I know the manifolds are painted engine orange.
a: Does the engine orange paint go directly over Jerry,s finish?
boesn't the engine paint burn off; leaving Jerry's "whiteish" finish visible?
C: After the manifolds are painted; is there any visible difference from original in the manifold, that an experienced judge can see?

Thank you in advance for your help.
Bill

[Peter J.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Jerry will give you two cans of high temp paint and if you look at how long John Hinkley's manifolds have lasted it is an impressive paint and coating system. The orange paint on the factory manifolds burned off (most of it).Give Jerry a call - he is quite helpful and experenced with the judging process. And yes a judge can see the difference.

[Bill C.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Pete: good to hear from you;thanks for your input. I saw John Hinckley's photos. His manifolds are impressive. I am curious how he did in judging. Perhaps he will have some input.
Bill

[John H.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Pete: good to hear from you;thanks for your input. I saw John Hinckley's photos. His manifolds are impressive. I am curious how he did in judging. Perhaps he will have some input.
Bill

Bill -

Those manifolds are on my '69 Z/28, so they've never seen NCRS judging; however, Jerry MacNeish is a "Diamond" judge in the world of Camaro originality judging, and they'll fly in that judging environment. Camaro small-block exhaust manifolds weren't painted - they were installed after engine paint.

The manifolds come back from Jerry in white (the plasma-sprayed aluminum coating), you paint them with the hi-temp paint he supplies, and they cure to the color shown after a few heat cycles - mine were done almost eight years ago.

[Dick W.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Bill, is your car finished??

[Mike M.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Jerry, did my manifolds and at the Windsor National I lost 2 points out of 15 on originality for the coating. It's well worth the points. Its easy to tell there is a coating on the manifolds.

[Bill C.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Mike
As I suspected; an experienced judge can see the coating. If I am correct, I would loose 20% for finish under originality. Points have a way of adding up.

Dick
Hi: car still has a long way to go. I am hoping for the first show to be the Carolinas Regional.

Bill

[Joe R.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Bill,

There was a article in the "Restorer" years ago on refinishing exhaust manifolds. Glass beading them and painting them with a high copper content spray can such as "Rustoleum". Bake them in the oven and they turn a wonderful ash color very much like a bare manifold.

THEN paint them when you paint your engine! They burn off nicely and you don't have them rusting and you don't loose any points on judging.

Just follow the instructions closely in the article. I've used this method for several top flight cars and one Duntov. Several BG cars also. NEVER lost a point!

JR

[James W.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Bill,

I've attached some pictures of the BB 396 manifolds that Jerry refinished for me. We applied some orange overspray and then dyno'd the engine for about 2 hours before putting the engine in the frame. This is the finished look, sorry I don't have any close-up shots of the manifolds.

Hope this helps.

James West

[Bill C.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Joe
Thanks for your reply. I read the Restorer winter '90 article by Greg Ellis. What a great idea! It is hard to believe the copper color will turn to a clear under heat. I will need to tape off the alternator mount, as the article describes. I can put them in a barbeque gill.The ovens off limits. I pulled that stunt already. Joe; how long do you think I should cook them??
Bill

[Joe R.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Bill,

I have never exposed any painted manifold to an open flame so I just put mine in the oven and turn it up all the way. Then I let them cook until they are gray. After cooking I let them cool down until the next day. I don't know how they would react to a fast cool down. Probably break!

Have fun,

JR

[Joel M.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

I totally agree with Joe's process. I have done many sets over the years and the results are amazing. Bead blast being sure to remove all rust and try to prevent and finger prints on the parts after blasting. Buy can of gold paint (Hobby Lobby) and keep mixed well throughout the process. Brush on evenly and get a heavy coat. I dabb the tight places with end of bristles to work into the pores. Crank up wife's oven as hot as it will go and cook for an hour or two and let cool naturally. Parts will turn grey when the are done. Install on engine and apply appropriate overspray. You will not be dissapointed.

[Bill C.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

To all;

Thanks for all your advice. I am going to try the copper/gold paint method. Only deviation is; I will be using the grill(banned from the oven). Then they will be covered in orange.
Happy Thanksgiving all
Bill

[Larry C.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Hey, Joel,

Throughout the discussion on preventing rust on exhaust manifolds, members and the Restorer article were talking about using "copper" paint. In your post, you mentioned that you used "gold" paint. Will either color work, or did you mean to say "copper"? If you meant to say "gold", is this a particular type of paint at Hobby Lobby? Thanks, Larry

[Joel M.]

Re: exhaust manifold restoration--again

Hobby Lobby - Copper Metallic Leaf - Krylon brand-- 8oz can--- 6/7 bucks