THANK YOU Bwmurph

[BarryK]

Bernie came over after work this evening and helped me take off the exhaust manifolds. Well, a slight correction, I helped HIM take them off.
Man, those things are a PIA, I'm VERY grateful for his help. I'm sure I would have managed in time, but he had them both off in an hour or less and I can see it would have taken me at least an entire day. Those french locks alone would have had me throwing things around the garage. the person who came up with THAT idea should be shot!
Anyway, after we finished getting them off the car we ran them down to his workplace where there is a glass bead blasting machine and we got both manifolds and the heat riser all cleaned up and looking nice and new. Man, they look AWESOME!!
Now I just need to get the paint for them. Will either go for the Eastwood's "Factory Gray" paint JohnZ mentioned or another product by Virginia Vette's that was also recommended to me so they continue to look this good and not rust.
I do have a lot of cleaning to do on all the bolts, studs, french locks, and all the shielding brackets and shielding pieces that go along with the exhaust manifolds.

now I just have to get the intake lightly glass blasted and deal with the valve covers. I think I'll probably NOT glass bead blast the covers but rather follow another recommendation which is take them to a local automatic transmission repair place and see if they will take the covers and put them in their big parts washer machine they use for the aluminum transmission cases. hopefully that will clean them good enough so I don't have to blast them also.

here is a pic of one of the freshly glass bead blasts manifolds and the heat riser

 

[firstgear]

 

[bossvette]

Yea whenever I get the idea to quit my job I just think about the blast cabinet and what I would not be able to do :L

 

[Rowdy1]

Media Blast

I did two sets of aluminum valve covers, or should I say I have a friend that did them. It's not sand blasting but a science of the right material and the right pressure. After blasting, we clear coated them and they look fabulous and no matter what you get on them, a wet or damp cloth, and they're spotless. I don't have a picture handy but if you're interested Barry I'll try to dig up the set I'm not using, take a picture and send it to you. He does manifolds, fiberglass, anything, including some very rare pieces, jewelry, silver etc.

 

[JL66REDCPE]

Yep -- they look great. Get some coating on them before they surface rust.

 

[BarryK]

Lou
based on emails between a few people i'm not sure that i'm going to glass bead the valve covers or not at this point. It seems that it could really be detrimental to the proper finish of them although we may try it as low pressure if needed than finish them up with steel wool.
I think i'm going to take a suggestion that was offered and try a local automatic tansmission shop and see if they will take my covers and put them in their big parts washing machine they use for aluminun tranny casings and than see how they come out looking.
if they aren't good enough after than than i'll try the glass bead blasting on them at low pressure.

 

[BarryK]

Yep -- they look great. Get some coating on them before they surface rust.

thanks John
yep, i was real excited to see them looking this nice as soon as we pulled them out of the cabinet - it's a shame they won't stay like this by themselves though.......
i'm going to spray them with WD40 hoping a coat of that will keep the surface rust off them until I can get them coated with manifold dressing or factory gray paint.

 

[Bwmurph]

Barry,

Like I told you -I thouroughly enjoy wrenching on other peoples cars. There's absolutely no cost whatsoever to me !!!

Glad you didn't tell everyone about how I tried to wipe out the side of your car while throwing around my feeler gauges, or the heart attack I gave you when the exhaust pipe hit the floor when the manifold came off.

Let me know when you start putting it back together; that's when things usually get real interesting.

Bernie O.

 

[BarryK]

Bernie
nope I wasn't going to mention either of those incidents but it seems you now mentioned it yourself to everyone...........

let see, the feel gauge went flying out of your hand and come within a 1/4" of scrapping down the side of my new paint job. Yeah, that was a nice feeling.
than i'm inside in my office on a business conference call and hear a HUGE bang! I had visions in my head of you lifting the one exhaust manifold out of the car and it accidently dropped on my fender killing my new paintjob. I was too afraid to come outside again after my call ended but luckily as you mentioned it was just the sidepipe dropping down and hitting the garage floor when the last nut came off. You DID give me a heartattack on that that one!


but all turned out well and I GREATLY appreaciated your help. Hope Wendy wasn't mad that you ran a bit late getting home for dinner.
BTW, I still think the guy that invented those french locks should be tortured, shot and killed.

 

[allcoupedup]

I used the eastwood factory exhaust manifold paint and after 2 years they look bead-blasted fresh.

The first time you fire up the motor, the paint will bake and smoke a bit. Do not be alarmed. This happened during my motor break-in and had me worried.



Brian

 

[Bwmurph]

Barry,

I would NOT, repeat NOT, put any WD-40 on the manifolds, just leave them in the plastic bags we put them in and leave them in your office until you get ready to put whatever it is you're going to put on them.

The WD-40 MAY keep your final coating from adhering to the surface. ANy little bit of suface rust that gets on them from this point can be removed with steel wool and a good (non-oil based) solvent.

Bernie O.

 

[BarryK]

Brian
cool, that's the stuff that JohnZ recommended so most likely what i'll use also. good to know it's lasting for you as i know a lot of these manifold dressings or paints don't seem to last very long.

Bernie, i hear you!

 

[67HEAVEN]

BTW, I still think the guy that invented those french locks should be tortured, shot and killed.

I thought they were "freedom" locks now.

 

[BarryK]

Bob, you are free to call them whatever you wish, I hate them all the same