Using graphite spray on exhaust manifolds
 

I was wondering if anyone has tried using graphite spray on their exhaust manifolds? I saw it used on a couple of youtube videos, thought it looked good so I gave it a try and really liked the results. It's a couple of shades darker than as cast - cast iron but looks good enough for me. Not to mention there's no need to bead or sand blast them before using. Just wire brush, clean with Brake Cleaner, spray with Graphite spray lube, let dry & wipe down. (I used PB Blaster Graphite Dry Lubricant $6.58 at Home Depot) one 5.5 oz can easily did both exhaust manifolds. My motor is still out of the car so I can't say how well it will hold up.

Off the car - wire brush, clean & spray, let dry wipe down & install
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nt75-4bzI8&t=48s

New cast iron manifold castings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqh22Pafzag&t=344s

Old manifolds done on the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHXm5Hxijw4&t=189s

My manifolds I did - the as cast Master Cylinder is there for color comparison. Any comments good & bad are appreciated. Be honest - you can't hurt my feelings - I don't have any.

I like it. Nice job!

I used something similar about 15 yrs ago.....was a paste as I recall.

I don't know how well it will protect against corrosion long term (probably not great), but it's easy to touch up and I like the look better than paint and way better than rusty iron.

Kind of like the old school method of using wood stove polish, which has graphite as the main ingredient.

The jury’s out until you’ve put some miles on them.

Anything you paint onto exhaust manifolds or headers will look good before you run them

Hopefully they’ll look good after a few years, if not then it’s just some labor to get them off and a small outlay for a different product to get them redone.

I used the paint by brush method with the Eastwood can paint. 2500 miles later, they look as good as day I did them.

That might have been Calyx?

Yes, that sounds like the product. Thank you.

One benefit of using products like graphite/Calyx/stove polish/etc. is that if and when the manifolds start looking scruffy, you can just reapply more. No real preparation is needed.

Which Eastwood product?

It appears Eastwood only has one high temp coating for exhausts these days: https://www.eastwood.com/paints/hi-t...st-paints.html Years ago they had a product with stainless steel in it that left an as cast look. I used it on my car with good results but it's not in their catalog anymore.

I think people have been using "Slip Plate" graphite products for a while now on exhaust manifolds. They make an aerosol and a brush on. I've used it for years on my snow thrower chute. No idea how it holds up on exhaust though.

The makers of POR-15 have the same type of high heat manifold coating too. I used it on turbo exhaust manifolds and wastegate thats lasted for 10+ years. Looks like fresh cast iron.

I just looked since it's been a few years. Yes, it's POR 15. Great stuff.

I used POR 15's exhaust manifold paint(followed all the instructions) and it started flaking off almost immediately. The RA manifolds were brand new at the time.

Strange for that to happen, must have been an issue with the prep or application or maybe a defective can. Never heard of POR high temp flaking off "immediately"... mine & everyone I know of thats used it has lasted for years, mine is at 12-13 years on turbo cast iron manifolds & wastegate with only some light signs of rust stains coming through in a few areas after all that time.

VHT spray can is supposed to be pretty good too, I knew a guy with an olds or buick at the drag strip with the blue VHT paint on headers, he came to the track for 3-4 years and we had a rivalry racing each other, it ran low 11's... the headers looked great every year I saw them, the car was street driven and did lots of runs at the track. I plan to try it when I do a clean up & repaint of the engine in my 78 that has the silver color POR header paint flaking off after about 15 years, easier to clean & mask them off than removing to recoat.

I’ve had both results with POR15 manifold paint.
Twice I did a set of SBC rams horn manifolds. They were sandblasted, handled with rubber gloves, washed with lacquer thinner and painted with a brush. Then left to dry for a couple days. Both times they flaked off and rusted in less than a year.
I also did a set of RARE ram air manifolds with the same procedure except I baked them in an old electric oven. They are holding up great so far 4 years later. They only have about 1000 miles on them now so time will tell.

I wonder if the silver color of the VHT paint that I used and baked in an industrial oven, according to their instructions, was the problem when I used it? My manifolds surface rusted just sitting outside at my painters for a couple of months.

How mine looked after 30k miles and 5 years of daily driver use, my first attempt at using POR-15 manifold paint about 24 years ago.

I did use Metal Prep after bead blasting them to clean and etch the bare metal before brushing on the paint. I didn’t bake them before running them on the engine. The manifolds were brand new.

The silver color VHT on my lakester's zoomies has held up quite well. They still look almost as good as they did new (in the picture).

I can't imagine where I went wrong.. I had great faith that choking my co-workers all day was going to be worth it.