MG MGA Exhaust Manifold Ceramic Coating BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net

MG MGA - Exhaust Manifold Ceramic Coating

I had mine treated here in Australia by a process called Jet Coat seven years ago now. Various colours were available. My cylinder head guru arranged getting my exhaust manifold treated, at my request, though he was fully in support of getting it done. I assumed he was getting it done in black or grey. Don't assume anything: he requested gloss silver, which looks too ostentatious for my tastes. I was told it would dull over time. It hasn't. In fact the finish remains as good as the day I received it back from being coated. But the shiny silver finish is not too awful being mostly hidden behind the exhaust heat shield and other inlet paraphernalia. The result was certainly worthwhile, with cooler under bonnet temperatures demonstrated by palpably less heat transfer into the cabin, and a diminished tendency to cough and splutter after restarting on a still hot engine, presumably due to diminished fuel bowl vaporisation. The coating was not especially expensive, and I consider it to have been money very well spent. Apologies for the upside down and sideways photos. I don't know why they are being loaded askew.

T Aczel

Try this.

Nigel Atkins

Thanks Neil for dealing with my photo orientation issues with such alacrity! I should also mention, I found it interesting that I can comfortably (lightly) touch my exhaust manifold with my finger when the engine is hot. I certainly wouldn't dare try that with a naked cast iron MGA exhaust manifold. So there is no doubt whatsoever the coating very significantly reduces the amount of heat transferred through the manifold. I hadn't considered coating the engine pipe too until I read what Colyn had written; or at least till I got to the part about the road gravel induced damage to the finish. This would certainly be an issue on our Australian roads. (My brand new BMW i4 e Drive 40 picked up a flying stone that cracked the windscreen on the first weekend I took it out. I'm currently awaiting a replacement from Germany. ETA 8 weeks from ordering. My MGA has also had a flying stone induced windscreen crack. In both cases the offending stone seemingly "appeared out of nowhere".)

T Aczel

Hi Steve, I am over in Spain just now (for the first time in over 3 years because of Covid), and our Internet modem had given up the coast so I couldn't get online. It is up and running again now (along with having to replace a gas heating boiler, air-con units, shower tap and the satelite TV receiver!) So here is a pic I took of the grey silk finish on the exhaust manifold and the black shiny finish on the inlet manifold. Sorry if it isn't orientated correctly. Cheers Colyn

Colyn Firth

Just got the exhaust manifold back from Camcoat. Absolutely brilliant service. Many thanks to Colyn for the recommendation. Nick Adams the workshop manager recommended the black satin ceramic finish for best thermal efficiency. Excellent chap to deal with if any of you want to go down the same route: nick@camcoat.com It will likely be 6 weeks before I can fit and test drive (knee replacement only 5 days ago). Steve

Steve Gyles

It looks great Steve, your manifold is well away from the stone-chipping effect that the lower part of my tubular Maniflow unit and so it should last for years. I decided to try the Camcoat ceramic coating on my new manifold to avoid the cracking problem that my old Moss tubular manifold had suffered from. The old one had an exhaust wrap to help reduce under-bonnet temperatures but this caused it to crack due to overheating and I had to have it welded up a few times. I removed the wrap and used a high-temperature spray paint to improve the appearance but this soon looked a real mess and so I had to live with the rust finish. I wasn't entirely convinced that ceramic coating both the inside and outside surfaces would actually reduce the amount of heat radiating into the engine compartment, but it does seem to have worked. The Maniflow manifold was an awkward shape to package up and so I decided to start at one end and wrap it up as it was. I have posted a picture to show the end result, which still makes me chuckle when I look at it! So how is your new knee going Steve? I hope you have realised that having fitted an "aftermarket" knee, you are no longer built to Concours standards, which may affect your "agreed value"! :^) I have just been put on the list to have a new left ankle joint fitted, so it may be a while before they can actually do it. They have given me the option of having the ankle "fused", which I was initially against, but the doctor pointed out that my ankle is already virtually fused solid and so this may be what they decide to do. Ah! the joys of getting old! Cheers Colyn

Colyn Firth

Starting to get my engine back together after my knee op. I can only lean forward over the engine compartment for about 20 minutes. Photos show the ceramic coated (inside and out) exhaust manifold. I am fully aware of all the non standard items and attachment points of other bits and pieces. A story or reason for them all. Steve

Steve Gyles

This thread was discussed between 26/09/2022 and 22/01/2023

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