Could that be from the heat shield and manifold blocking the paint since they were mounted before paint.
No, that pic is on the passenger side, there is no gasket or shield and the manifold isn't in the way, the drivers side shield doesn't shield that area either, both sides (bare areas) look the same. The attached pic is the same engine, I removed the exhaust manifold for the first time ever (and put every bolt back into it's exact original place when I reinstalled it). You can see the bare areas that the exhaust manifold masked.
