Plenty of discussion in the archives on exhaust manifold finishing
with variable results reported. I decided to try a ceramic product
made by Cerakote and it looks pretty good. Not glossy like
porcelain but according to the vendor should be more durable. Guess
I’ll see after a few hard runs. Fairly labour intensive. The
coating is put on in one wet coat, 1-2 mils thick, so whatever
filling it does is fairly limited. You need to start off with
smooth manifolds and this step in the process takes the most time
and effort. I started with bastard and chainsaw files, then disc
sander finally hard block sanding with 150 grit paper. Probably 6
hours work.
Next step is to bake the manifolds for an hour or so at 400-800�F.
Did this in the barbecue for the sake of marital harmony. Turns
them bluish.
From here on handled with gloves so no hand oils are transferred to
the surface. Into the blasting cabinet using fresh ALOX (not glass
beads) to give the surface some tooth.
Next step is to blow off the manifolds with dry compressed air,
hang them up and apply a single wet coat of the coating using HVLP.
Hard to get at areas are shot first to minimise runs. The product
air cures, not cured by heat. This is how it looks a day later.
You can order the product at the link below. No affiliation. Buy
the 4 oz size if you’re doing only one pair - it’s actually enough
to do 2 or 3 pairs of manifolds. It comes with a ‘‘training manual’’
which sets out the steps above.
In reply to a message from N�ck sent Mon 7 Apr 2014:
Thanks for that Nick! Definitely let us know how this holds
up. One note to all that will try this- be sure to wear
respiratory protection (HEPA is best) when filing and
sanding any metallic article as the tiny metal particles
will mess up your lungs.–
The original message included these comments:
Plenty of discussion in the archives on exhaust manifold finishing
with variable results reported. I decided to try a ceramic product
made by Cerakote and it looks pretty good. Not glossy like
porcelain but according to the vendor should be more durable. Guess
I’ll see after a few hard runs. Fairly labour intensive. The
–
Doug- 1968 Series 1.5 E-Type OTS 1E16060
Denver, CO, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from N�ck sent Mon 7 Apr 2014:
Looking good Nick… I will keep in mind when it comes time
to install new exhaust next year.
Alan–
Alan Dell
Niagara Falls, Canada
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Nick, I notice that the makers instructions just specify blasting not
necessarily smoothing the surface. Did you experiment first with
non-smooth but blasted surface or because you believed smoothing was
necessary based on some past experiences… I spent several hours
this morning blasting the remnants of the original coating, and don’t
look forward to much more work on these things…
Plenty of discussion in the archives on exhaust manifold finishing
with variable results reported. I decided to try a ceramic product
made by Cerakote and it looks pretty good. Not glossy like
porcelain but according to the vendor should be more durable. Guess
I’ll see after a few hard runs. Fairly labour intensive. The
coating is put on in one wet coat, 1-2 mils thick, so whatever
filling it does is fairly limited. You need to start off with
smooth manifolds and this step in the process takes the most time
and effort. I started with bastard and chainsaw files, then disc
sander finally hard block sanding with 150 grit paper. Probably 6
hours work.
From here on handled with gloves so no hand oils are transferred to
the surface. Into the blasting cabinet using fresh ALOX (not glass
beads) to give the surface some tooth.
Next step is to blow off the manifolds with dry compressed air,
hang them up and apply a single wet coat of the coating using HVLP.
Hard to get at areas are shot first to minimise runs. The product
air cures, not cured by heat. This is how it looks a day later.
You can order the product at the link below. No affiliation. Buy
the 4 oz size if you’re doing only one pair - it’s actually enough
to do 2 or 3 pairs of manifolds. It comes with a ‘‘training manual’’
which sets out the steps above.
In reply to a message from John North sent Mon 7 Apr 2014:
John, the instructions say not to attempt to sand the surface
instead of grit blasting. Sanding it smooth prior to baking and
grit blasting is not required unless you want the finish to look
like the above photo. The stuff has a very high solids content but
1-2 mils won’t fill much. I didn’t smooth the undersides and this
is what it looks like:
Yeah, blasting away the old porcelain is a chore. I did that job
years ago so forgot to mention it.–
The original message included these comments:
Nick, I notice that the makers instructions just specify blasting not
necessarily smoothing the surface. Did you experiment first with
non-smooth but blasted surface or because you believed smoothing was
necessary based on some past experiences… I spent several hours
this morning blasting the remnants of the original coating, and don’t
look forward to much more work on these things…
John North
–
Nick Saltarelli '68 Cdn mkt E-type S1� OTS, '54 XK120SE OTS
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from N�ck sent Mon 7 Apr 2014:
Nick,
That looks awesome! I hope it lasts!
Dan–
Dan Sater /69’ XKE 2+2 / 85’ XJ-S V12 5.3 HE / 2007 XK
Bonita Springs/Florida, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Very nice Nick, good work. I did the Jet Hot trick on mine, they
looked good but didn’t look as good as yours. Hope the coating is
durable.
pauls
…Next step is to blow off the manifolds with dry compressed air,
hang them up and apply a single wet coat of the coating using HVLP.
Hard to get at areas are shot first to minimise runs. The product
air cures, not cured by heat. This is how it looks a day later.
You can order the product at the link below. No affiliation. Buy
the 4 oz size if you’re doing only one pair - it’s actually enough
to do 2 or 3 pairs of manifolds. It comes with a ‘‘training manual’’
which sets out the steps above.
In reply to a message from paul spurlock sent Mon 7 Apr 2014:
Durability is the key, so I look forward to seeing how
Nick’s nice work turns out. He deserves success if only
due to the amount of sweat capital he has invested.
My problem is that for durable gleaming vitreous coatings
like porcelain then yes, I’d sweat blood - but not for a
matt finish. If success looks like barbeque paint I’d use
barbeque paint.
At the moment it looks a good bit shinier than BBQ and
appears satin rather than matt. If it stays that way after
some long hard runs then it should be worth the effort.
If it dulls then there are plenty of less labour-intensive
options. The surface prep is never wasted though. I
suspect it’s the main reason Nick’s parts look very good.
Expending the same effort would get you the same smooth
quality finish regardless of coating. If it goes matt like
even Jet Hot ceramic does, then it will be a pity. Here’s
hoping it stays shiny-ish.
Pete–
1E75339 66 D, 885958 62 FHC,1R27190 70 FHC
Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from PeterCrespin sent Tue 8 Apr 2014:
Following up on this earlier topic, inspired by Roger Los’ ‘‘first
drive’’ thread and issues with exhaust manifold coating.
This is how the Cerakote product looks after 1000 miles:
Seems to be holding up, except on the front manifold where I
allowed the timing light cable to make contact and melt! It also
lost a fair bit of its sheen almost immediately after startup but
seems to have stabilised. Not nearly as pretty as the porcelain
manifolds I have on my XK120 but not bad.–
The original message included these comments:
Durability is the key, so I look forward to seeing how
Nick’s nice work turns out. He deserves success if only
–
Nick Saltarelli '68 Cdn mkt E-type S1� OTS, '54 XK120SE OTS
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Hi Nick,
Out of curiosity was the shop that did your manifolds a small shop that did basically race car manifolds 20-30 miles from Windsor?
Bob
889076
Plymouth, Mi.On Oct 13, 2014, at 9:43 AM, Níck stellar-plain@sympatico.ca wrote:
In reply to a message from Níck sent Mon 13 Oct 2014:
In reply to a message from Robert Stevenson sent Mon 13 Oct 2014:
I did them myself, Bob. Fairly labour intensive. If you click on
the link to the original thread you’ll see what’s involved.–
The original message included these comments:
Out of curiosity was the shop that did your manifolds a small shop that did basically race car manifolds 20-30 miles from Windsor?
–
Nick Saltarelli '68 Cdn mkt E-type S1� OTS, '54 XK120SE OTS
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
I should have looked at all of the links.Greatr job, I’m impressed!
Bob
889076
Plymouth, Mi.On Oct 13, 2014, at 11:14 AM, Níck stellar-plain@sympatico.ca wrote:
In reply to a message from Robert Stevenson sent Mon 13 Oct 2014:
I did them myself, Bob. Fairly labour intensive. If you click on
the link to the original thread you’ll see what’s involved.
The original message included these comments:
Out of curiosity was the shop that did your manifolds a small shop that did basically race car manifolds 20-30 miles from Windsor?
–
Nick Saltarelli '68 Cdn mkt E-type S1½ OTS, '54 XK120SE OTS
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Sorry about the photobucket watermarks. At the time it was one of the only ways to post pictures to J-L. Click on the photo to expand and clear the watermark. Following up. Almost nine years and 12,000 miles later, this is what they look like today. No rust but has definitely lost its shine.
Just had mine done last week (Winnipeg). Their process was to sand blast the manifolds including interior as best they could, heat to 1800 degrees F for 4 hours and then apply the liquid ceramic coating. Air cooled and allow to cure for 5 days before installation. While not a glossy black its more like an eggshell finish - not flat but almost like a steel plate sheen. Surprisingly inexpensive.
Nick, I did mine in silver ceramic and after two years they also lost their luster.
Photos of porcelain in 2017 (we’ve all been there), ceramic new in 2017, and ceramic after two years in 2019. Note that the luster has not degraded further as of 2023.
Here’s the ceramic coating on my manifolds. Surprised on the smoothness of them especially the interior. Technician said the sandblasting does have an effect on removing some of the rough spots including minor casting pits and slag which is then coated by the ceramic. Have to see how they hold up but seems well worth the cost - $150 Cda.
I’ve owned the car since 1979. Don’t believe “exude” honed was even in our vocabulary then. As with cast iron manifolds usually being a bit “rough” so when I picked them up the overall smoothness both inside & out was what surprised me the most. Other than the price. In retrospect I should have taken a snap of the inside of the manifolds prior to assembly. Of course this is all moot prior to some use so will respond w/ an update once I get some miles on the car.
