Exhaust paint? Is it worth it?

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Zack1978

Zack1978

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Hi everyone,
I just picked up a new cat back exhaust for my 1987 FJ-60 from the dealer this afternoon. I'm perhaps what may be a futile attempt at preserving the exhaust, would high temp exhaust paint protect the exhaust and provide extended longevity?
Are there any preferred brands of paint? It seems that Eastwood has a silver colored exhaust paint, is it any good?

Thanks,
Zack
 
I use Rustoleum BBQ grill paint on all my exhaust stuff. Holds up pretty well. Best part is it's a lot cheaper than speciality paints! When it starts to wear off, I just respray. Not often though.
 
Those paints seem to hold up well on older trucks. I applied high-temp paint with a brush to my FZJ-80 exhaust system and virtually all of it burned off quickly. On my FJ55, it looked great a year later. I think it will hold up fine, after the cat, on an FJ60. It's well worth doing if you live in a salty/wet climate.
 
I've used VHT- brand spraycan paint with good results for years now. It's not as good as aluminized
tubing or stainless, but it's a LOT better than nothing.

And yeah, for race car headers, it's not all that long- lasting, but cat- back, it should be pretty good.

t
 
TobyB said:
I've used VHT- brand spraycan paint with good results for years now. It's not as good as aluminized
tubing or stainless, but it's a LOT better than nothing.

And yeah, for race car headers, it's not all that long- lasting, but cat- back, it should be pretty good.

t
Click to expand...

I used the VHT as well.

Make sure you wipe the exhaust down good with laquer thinner or something to get the oils off first.
 
Nothing I've coated my exhaust headers with has held up. I've used VHT on my diesel exhaust manifold, turbine housing and full exhaust and it's held up well.

It seems that headers get too hot. For manifolds, use VHT.
 
When it comes to factory exhaust I dont worry to much on longevity since it lasts 3X as long as aluminized muffler shop garbage , I always cringe when my factory system gets replaced by muffler shop pipe cause I know I am replacing it every 2 years.
I have several Cruisers that still have their original system but I know I will be replacing them sometime down the road with muffler shop garbage since alot of the factroy pieces are no longer available or way to expensive.
Diesels are the worst for eating exhaust system up not sure of the reason but they are very corrosive on the bends.
If you got the cash go bling go stainless.
 
not worth it on the manifold or headers, but might be worth the time downstream from either one...and away from the catalytic converter if you have one of those.
 
Well I sprayed the new exhaust tonight. I first used a Scotch-brite pad on the entire exhaust, then I wiped it all down with a wax/grease remover solvent. I used the Rust-Oleum Ultra BBQ paint in gloss silver. The finish is close to the look of the exhaust without paint. The rattle can claims that it can withstand temperatures up to 1200.
I think it came out great, however only time will tell how it will actually hold up when it is installed on the truck. I will try to get it on the truck tomorrow night, but it may be a nightmare since the nuts/bolts are very rusty.


What do you think?

Zack

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In closely looking at the new exhaust from the dealer, I think paint is a must. The factory welds had some surface rust on them already.
And with respect to the exhaust rotting from the inside out, that did not happen on my current OEM Toyota exhaust. The current exhaust is about 9 years old, and it absolutely rotted from the outside.


Zack
 
Well I managed to get the exhaust on tonight.....it was a bit of a struggle but it's done.
The first hurdle was the three nuts and bolts connecting the exhaust to the cat. The bolts were very difficult to even move. We used an oxy/acetylene torch to heat up the bolts. I was able to remove two nuts because of the heat, but the third had to be torched off.
The next issue that I encountered was a bit of a surprise. I noticed that on the old exhaust the muffler bracket was zip tied to the rubber isolation bracket. I assumed it was that way because the original nuts were rusty. Well much to my surprise the nuts came off......hmm wonder why it was zip tied?? I soon found out!
When I went to mount the new exhaust, it was not even close to fitting. The tail pipe was about 4 inches lower than the mounting bracket, and it would not line up with the cat. The muffler bracket was hitting the mounting pad on the shock tube, what is going on???
What I soon realized is that when the rusty shock tube was replaced many years ago, they didn't weld the muffler mounting pad is the proper position, and it was pushing the exhaust down. So I had to bend the bracket on the new muffler down in order to make the exhaust fit. Then I had to drill new holes in the mounting pad, and use some nuts and bolts to mount is securely.
The job was a PIA, but it would have been good if they replaced the shock tube pad correctly.


Zack

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exhaust paint projects generally look good to start with....after a couple cycles of running the engine for an extended period....it becomes a down-hill slide. At least you have access to a paint booth / lift...body shop....you have done good. Looks good....maybe it will last a while, it may since the tail pipe section doe not get as hot as closer to engine.
 
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