Painting manifold and DP?
 

Just curious, been looking at alot of engine bay shots with turbos and I got to thinking that it could look pretty cool if the exhaust manifold was red or some other color considering how ugly it usually is. Can they be painted?
What type of temps does the manifold and downpipe see? I know there is 1500* engine paint would that work?
Or even better maybe, is there a paint that has some sort of ingredient that helps with keeping heat inside like ceramic? That could look better and have a real benefit too...

-Ryan

There are hi-temp coatings (NOT paint) that do just that. Most towns have places that will do this for you. Hopefully markp will chime in, I seem to recall he's got one that he swears by.

Ceramic coated yes, painted no. I have seen blue ceramic coating, but not red. It probably exists though.

My manifold and turbine are currently satin chrome coated and the new turbine is getting a satin titanium coating (shiny brownish/gold color). Red would be sweet IMO.

Red is a hard color to get right on ceramic jobs. 1500 deg stuff wont cut it, so I would recommend the 2000 degree stuff. Believe me, it makes a big difference in engine bay temperatures. Most places can do black, grey or blue for you. I choose black for mine and love it. Look up ceramic coating for more info. Where are you located? I know a great local shop that give phenomenal rates here.

Hey magna, I went ahead and fixxed your 15+ spelling and punctuation errors:

Red is a hard color to get right on ceramic jobs. 1500 deg stuff wont cut it, so I would recommend the 2000 degree stuff. Believe me, it makes a big difference in engine bay temperatures. Most places can do black, grey or blue for you. I chose black for mine and love it. Look up ceramic coating for more info. Where are you located? I know a great local shop that give phenomenal rates here.

dont mention it,
ryan

ha ah ah ha ha good one thanks what do ya mean mine is right :P

Autozone carries a high temp red paint. Or get some black BBQ pit paint from Home Depot. It will work, however, it will not last long! For more durable results, get it ceramic coated black or silver. Even those will not last forever, but will provide a nice finish and measure of temperature control.
Stephanie

The paint and coating might react with one another, but I wonder if anyone has ever painted over ceramic coating. Given how much heat it shielding it provides, the paint might survive assuming it can stick.

http://performancecoatings.com/headercoatings.html

no red though, sorry.

Although ceramic coating would be the best option, VHT Flameproof paint will work. I used the black paint on my log manifold and it has held up for quite a while on my car without any issues. You just have to bake the part to get the paint to work correctly.
-Michael-

Bandit,
Where did you find the VHT Flameproof?

Well, I'm in CA - I'm sure if I asked around I could find a local place that does the work, Laguna Seca being down the block and spec miata builders all over the place, I probably just need to open my mouth and ask someone lol.
Red would be cool IMO... not a ton of point painting it if you can get it ceramic coated and actually improve heat control under the hood... maybe you can paint the ceramic coating...?
-Ryan

I usually buy it at Autozone or the equiv. If not I think Summit and a most of the online suppliers can get it.
-Michael-

You bake it in the BBQ?

I just used a regular kitchen oven.
-Michael-

Are you married? Still? :)

Doesn't it stink the place up? Or was this not in your kitchen?

Well, haven't made it quite to marriage yet. Still gettin my edumacation, then me and ol' lady will get hitched. On a serious note, this wasn't my house, and it kinda stank, but it wasn't too bad.
-Michael-

slightly OT but how much does it usually cost to get a valve cover painted?

I used black 1500 degree paint on my manifold and downpipe, I forget who makes it. Silver and gold can with picture of an engine on it. Anyway, it has burned through enough to where you can see the metal under it if you get up close. It has stopped it from turning the parts rusty, and I've had it this way for 1,200? miles.

If you want it to stay you will need at least 2,000. I doubt that would stay much longer, but at least the parts aren't brown!

i used that same can with the engine pic on it for my exhaust manifold, really i just used it because my manifold was really rusted to where i didn't even wanna touch it so i sanded that crap out of it and painted it red to keep the rust from coming back. haven't installed the mani so don't have results but no rust on it...lol...