Exhaust Manifold Coating

[Pengue]

I am thinking of ceramic coating the exhaust manifold on my 71 280SL (1) for corrosion protection and (2) for cosmetics.  Any experiences and thoughts would be appreciated.

[GM]

Cerakote
https://www.cerakote.com/cerakote-industries/automotive

[dirkbalter]

I did mine too, for the same reasons. I believe it was around $400.

[RAY]

I have had mine done to, partly for the clean look but also because of the reduction in heat in the engine compartment and under the car because I had the downpipe done as well and also wrapped the section under the car, near the front passenger floor where the heat shield is, in that special fabric exhaust wrap tape. Now the floor does not get hot at all and the wife is a happy girl. There is also said to be some gain in keeping the exhaust gases as hot as possible within the pipe to increase flow and efficiency instead of that heat dissipating around your engine compartment. I also gas flowed my manifolds whilst I was at it.

Well worth doing the coating IMO.

[mdsalemi]

...also wrapped the section under the car, near the front passenger floor where the heat shield is, in that special fabric exhaust wrap tape. Now the floor does not get hot at all and the wife is a happy girl.
Well worth doing the coating IMO.

Can you share the brand/kind, and maybe a photo? Sounds like a worthy project, Ray--

[Pengue]

Looks great!  I love the satin finish on the valve cover too.  Was that done with some kind of coating as well?

[dirkbalter]

Thanks. I (glass) bead blasted the cover and applied a coat of Nyalic afterwards for protection.

[Kevkeller]

I got a quote for $260 from Jet-Hot, High Performance Coatings for a ceramic coat.  They do the inside also.  I haven’t sent mine in yet. They are very responsive.

Kevin

[Kevkeller]

Dirk,
Did the Nyalic yellow at all?  I bought some but haven’t used it yet. Any negatives to it?
Kevin

[dirkbalter]

Dirk,
Did the Nyalic yellow at all?  I bought some but haven’t used it yet. Any negatives to it?
Kevin

Kevin,
Not yet. It gives it a bit of a coated look. But I have only 400 miles on the car / motor. I heard good things about it on the forum and thought I give it a try.

[MarkCan]

I got a quote for $260 from Jet-Hot, High Performance Coatings for a ceramic coat.  They do the inside also.  I haven’t sent mine in yet. They are very responsive.
Kevin

Provided that quote is for the genuine Cerakote, it is the lowest I have seen. As for the Cerakote itself, probably the best on the market for the application. In my neck of the woods it will run you close to $800 cdn.

[paults1]

I used POR 15 silver High Temperature Paint on my '63 230Sl exhaust manifold in1993. It still looks great to this day. one application is all you need, very thick paint.

[RAY]

Hi Michael,

I have found the original box and instructions for the wrap and guess what ......... it's originally from America, so your in luck to aquire the same item easily.

It is from a company called Thermo Tec. PO Box 96, Greenwich, OH 44837.    800 274-8437

The product is called - Cool It, Exhaust Insulating Wrap.  Part 11154 which is graphite black 2in x 15ft but from memory there are other shades available.

Even have a bar code number if you need it !

[Pengue]

the place where I have had some powder coating work done (radiators in my old house) in the past also recommend glass blasting both the intake manifold and valve cover then send it out for coating.  Not sure of the specific coating they would use.

I’ll take a look at Nyalic.

[dirkbalter]

Some of the guys here also talked about and had good results with vapor blasting.
Aluminum usually gets anodized. The simplest form is probably a clear anodize which will look a bit like clear coat. Most aluminum can also be anodized and finished to all kinds of colors or if you are after mechanical properties, it can be hard coat anodized to be used as a bearing surface. Afaik the aluminum parts on our cars were not anodized or coated originally.