Cerakote brand coatings seem to hold up pretty well. The stuff is a little costly but a little bit goes a long ways. I bought a 16oz. Bottle of glacier silver (C-7700) to do my exhaust with and only ended up using about 4oz. So far.
Hardest part is prep work, everything needs to be thoroughly degreased and sand blasted for it to adhere.
I did the manifolds for Dads ‘56 about a month ago, they only have about 12 miles worth of cruising on them and about 10 or so heat cycles but they still look fantastic.
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The manifolds on my truck were done with VHT header paint, I cured them on the wood stove last winter several times. They have zero miles and maybe about 5 mild heat cycles and they’ve already changed colors. I don’t suspect it will hold up for too long.
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Compared to the VHT spray cans at $13-16 per can paying $35 for 4oz. bottle of Cerakote is actually cheaper considering I would have gone through probably 4 rattle cans to do a full dual exhaust.