Best Way To Clean Headers/Exhaust Manifold?

[NeWyoRksPLaYaZ]

hey guys, my headers are really dirty and I wanted to know what was the fastest and best way to get them to look new and clean again. Any info/help is greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

[92AWDHX40]

New again maybe paint but thats about it they never stay new looking, its a header.

 

[silicosys4]

Having them coated is the only way to get them looking as new. You can try taking some gun oil and steel wool to it if its rusty but it will always have a patina on it from use, once they have been well heat cycled its pretty much impossible to get the original look back, unless its cast and rust free, and even then most cast manifolds will change.

But yea, you can sand or bead blast it, use metal polish, steel wool, etc...just be sure to blow it out really good and clean it with brake cleaner afterwards if you use oil to clean it.

You only have one "header" btw. Its more often called an exhaust manifold.

 

[bryanwheat]

There is a product that you rub on it with a rag that will keep it rust free. Home To get the rust off i like to use electrolysis. All you need is a battery charger, a bucket of water with baking soda and a steel rod. It works very well. All the oxygen is removed from the iron turning it back to iron. From there you just scrub it with a brush and rinse it off. From there i will blow it dry and coat it with a thin coat of wd40 to prevent it from rusting.

 

[NeWyoRksPLaYaZ]

I thought there was some metal cleaner out there and with a rag i could just wipe off the dirtyness . Ill try to use a metal cleaner and see what happens.

 

[Darris]

full strength purple power and a wire wheel. then get the sanding wheel for a drill and take off any of the rust. then paint it,or have it powder coated.

 

[99eclipse420]

hey, I use to work at autozone, about a year ago and I asked my co worker what I could use to clean my headers cause they were rough looking so, we grabbed a can of mothers metal polish ... tried it and then some other polish then another and another and we came up with the conclusion that nothing will work to clean headers, best bet would be get them chromed or powder coated. We tried every metal, aluminum, mag polish and some turtle wax polish nothing worked well enough to see a major difference.

 

[RamenPride]

full strength purple power and a wire wheel. then get the sanding wheel for a drill and take off any of the rust. then paint it,or have it powder coated.

If you powdercoat the exhaust manifold, it will just burn off.....

 

[Darris]

the high temp powder coat wont burn off. also known as a jet coating. its also meant to help keep the heat in. and the person from auto zone. purple power will clean a header turbo mani etc. i use it when i clean engine blocks and to remove rust.

 

[92AWDHX40]

I would get a oem heatshield just sold mine with the old header rocking a fp now, good luck.

 

[bmoha7321]

I thought about chroming my new DNP SS exhaust manifold. The chromer reacted like it was a piece of crap and not worth him doing anything with. He said if it was meant to be chromed they would have smoothed every weld as it was built. He asked how much I spent on it. I answered $550. Purchased brand spankin new in 07. His response was What did I expect for 500 bucks. Just put it on, run it. It's disposable. He also said if I was serious about it I'd have to put down a $500 deposit but might expect it to cost twice that. Gheesh.
Ah skip it. For a few years it was wrapped. Now it looks kinda crappy. Screw it. Maybe if I have spare change in my pocket I'll Swaintech coat it. But in reality I probably wouldn't bother with a DNP. Maybe a Trust or Shearer etc but not my used DNP.

 

[atownturbo]

Media blasting it will make it look brand spankin new. And its a lot easier. Then jet coat it and your done.

 

[knochgoon24]

Have you tried something like Seafoam or oven cleaner?

 

[fallenauthority]

I just sand blast them and ceramic coat them, not the cheapy bs stuff you buy in a can at autozone, I use an HVLP spray gun and legit ceramic coating. I actually just did a set of stock exhaust manifolds for a mustang in a chrome looking ceramic. Looks sweet.

 

[Darris]

Where do you get your spray from?

 

[fallenauthority]

Ceramics for Powder Coating by Powder365.com
Most of them you have to cure in an oven at 500* for at least an hour