There was an article in Mopar Enthusiast where they coated the exhaust manifolds with Slip Plate which is a graphite dry film lubricant. I have never tried it but they said it looked like bare cast iron, protected the manifolds, and was easy to touch up if needed.
I made my own with dry graphite and mineral spirits. I suggested it but nobody seemed to catch it. It works but it is messy. It looks much better then painted manifolds which I think looks crappy and fake looking. Slip Plate seems to be a better alternative fhough.
