Rusty exhaust manifolds, recommendation for paint or coating?

The exhaust manifolds on my 69 GTO are rusty again. I painted them with high heat paint last rebuild. It lasted approximately 5 days.

I'd like to do a better job this time. Any recommendations?

High heat paint? Powder coat? Ceramic?

The por 15 products are supposed to be good as well as the stuff that Eastwood sells. I used high heat paint on my manifolds and it held fine for several years. Did you sandblast them first? That makes a huge difference.

Here's a method that I'm going to try to clean the rust off my exhaust manifolds - electrolytic rust removal. Here's the FAQ location
http://www.bhi.co.uk/hints/rust.htm

Basically, you use electrolysis, dip the manifold in a solution with washing soda/water, use a stainless steel electrode and a battery charger and hook the mess up. Leave it overnight or longer and supposedly the rust will rub off. They suggest a plastic tub or bucket but I thought that an old stainless sink would do better as it could be used for the positive anode. The part to be cleaned is attached to the negative of the battery charger.

On 11/05/03 22:19, arei stated:

Yea, I had them sand blasted. I suppose I exaggerate a bit. It worked ok for awhile but I'd really like for them to remain pristine. Apparently paints is not the way to go. Thanks for the (POR) suggestion.

'Bill O'Reilly' wrote

Take a look at this link: http://tinyurl.com/bnds

I don't know if that will Copper-Cote trick will work or not, as I have not tried it yet. It may be BS, but I've kept that in mind and I'm going to try it someday just to see if it's true.

I've never personally tried it, but I've read good reviews in car mags about Calyx Manifold dressing. http://www.calyxmanifold.com/

It looks like it's worth a shot/

Jay S

I used the Copper gasket spray on my exhaust manifolds a couple of months ago when I rebuilt the 327 Chevy in my '36 Ford Coupe. I had been waiting for a chance to try it since I saw it posted here and that was it. It seems to be working OK except wherever there was a fairly deep pit in the metal it has a little rust spot. I just used a wire brush to clean them up. If I was going to do it again I would sandblast them or have them dipped.

Leon Rowell

Thanks for all the responses. I'll report back with my results...