Paint or finish for mild steel exhaust

[MichaelH]

Got a mild steel exhaust, which I have taken off the car and I want to put it back, the surface rust makes it difficult to get apart

What do the forum recommend for a suitable paint for the hot tubes, which will both protect the outside of the metal and allow easy assembly and disassembly.

 

Thanks for your thoughts

 

Michael

 

[Alec Pringle]

To paint and protect the exhaust external surfaces, a high temperature paint - Sperex VHT or somesuch.

 

The mating surfaces are another matter - rub down, polish and spray with PTFE would be my thought. PTFE is Teflon by another description, often used as a lubricant/protective spray on saw blades.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[Rodbr]

Clean as Alec suggested and then:

Use PTFE PLUMBERS tape wrapped a couple of turns round the mating surfaces, lightly greased to assemble, makes it dead easy to split. Make sure the tape is flat when you fit it as bunched up it ain't so easy and will tear easily.

 

Years ago people used to seal the ends and then pour in cold galvanizing liquid turned over a few times in different directions to coat the inside and left to drain. Not sure if it worked but the idea has some merit. The idea being that exhausts rust from the inside out!

Edited March 3, 2014 by Rodbr

[Motorsport Mickey]

Michael,

 

I'm with Rod on the cold galvanising paint which I used to pour into the back box and turn over, didn't seem to hurt the inside baffling and helped get another couple of years from one. Not sure how the paint will fare inside the headers with the excess temps there ?

 

Mick Richards

[Lebro]

B & Q do a spray paint they call "BBQ & STOVE" paint - comes in various colours including silver.

I used the silver type to paint my cast exhaust manifold. it still looks as good now after many hundreds of miles,

so can definately take the heat.

 

Bob.