[SierraDually]

I promise this is not another “what do I paint my exhaust manifolds with” post. God knows there’s enough of those already. Consensus seems to be POR or anything besides the VHT stuff. It’s beating a dead horse. My question is on the prep work. I have two brand new cast iron exhaust manifolds for the 454 in my truck. They arrived to me straight from the shop they were machined in. They didn’t even waste time cleaning them. One of them had a ton of sand in it. The other had more. They were cheap. They were from China. But they are new.
Question is Can these just be wiped down and painted or do they still need blasting? I’m not really picky. This is a daily driver not a show piece. Just want it to look good next to the new paint on the engine.

 

[chasracer]

I would just scrub them well with a good laundry soap and hot water. Dry them off with compressed air if you can or set them in the oven for 10-15 minutes. In fact, if you can paint them when they are a bit warm, it would probably help them hold on to the paint.

 

[cerial]

If your using VHT paint use VHT primer. It is worth the $6-$10.

2 light even coats of primer 2 light even coats of paint.

I use flat paint usually black as it gives contrast to a bright colored engine that is painted bright to easily see any leaks.

The flat black can be touched up easily when you wack the manifolds with a wrench etc. Another thin layer can be added during a clutch removal to refresh the look.

I use a box fan as suction and shoot the VHT primer inside cast manifolds as rust prevention. I do the same thing with exhaust pipe and mufflers which are also painted flat black externally. Not alot of protection. But, for the cost of 1 can it is better then leaving it bare. I live in Michigan it can go 30 to 80F here in the same day. Anything you can do to fight condensation is worth the little bit extra.