eastwood products seem to be the choice for a realistic cast iron look.

should i use the brush on or spray on ?

Best cast iron color I have seen is VHT Nu Cast spray.

really ? thought everyone here was thinking eastwood.

ok, any others thinking of VHT?

I am also interested in what many people do for the exhaust manifolds. Most of the time we have either had them coated from Jet-Hot or we have had them powder coated. Both ways have worked well but are not very cost efficient.

As for every other cast iron part, I did it the long drawn out way. After being disappointed with most rattle can cast iron colors, I matched a paint chip card to an actual new cast iron suspension part. Since I work at a body shop, it wasn't that much trouble to do. I mixed up the base coat to match and then topped it off with a satin low gloss clear coat.

Justin
"CornDog"

Obviously the OE resto is'nt using anything like the coatings being discussed here... But on that note if you're going the painted route Eastwood is always a good choice for the coating...Holds up well and can be retouched any time the need arises....Get the brush-on and use a foam brush...That gives the best coverage...The spray works well but takes too much to be cost effective on a complete manifold/header job......

Have'nt used the VHT Nu-cast {cast iron} coating yet but have used plenty of the black in the past and it's a good product also...As with any manifold/header application the key is good prep...

I have used eastwood use foam pad for good coverage follow directions for drying time and recoat with spray gun this makes the metalic in the coating look nice and even
excellent results

Here is the VHT paint. SP998 is the part number: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail...7&ppt=C0171

Here is a photo of the finished product that I did recently.

I have use this product for in between touch up detailing.

http://www.eastwood.com/calyx-manifold-coating.html

Blast em clean then have them ceramic coated..Then a final cast grey powdercoat...You wont be dissapointed..

Almost everything on that engine above is powdercoated except the hardware, block and heads...

I have used the VHT and it looks good and is easy to find at local parts stores, but after 1 or 2 years it will rust back up again depending on how much you drive.

This is what I used:

http://www.hirschauto.com/prodinfo.asp?number=EMPT-PINT&variation=CST%20IRN%20GR

It is supposed to be one of the best, but do not have the engine in yet to test it.

I use the Eastwoods stuff and bake it in a oven. Then install them on the motor BEFOR you paint the mtr . Then paint the mtr getting a fair amt of overspray on the manifolds for a OE look.