[SNIP] I'm in the process of painting my Spitfire exhaust manifold with a
high-temp
paint (Eastwood's). Having sandblasted it clean today, I noticed that it
has a hairline fracture. My local guy suggests that a welder that does
work on heavy cast iron parts
will be able to repair it. Anyone have experience with repairing a header?
[snip]
++++++++++++++++++++
Yup, been there done that. Piece of cake. Should be no problem at all for
even a semi-experienced welder. As to hi-temp paint, even the best will
only last a few months at most. You really need to "Jet Coat" the sucker
with a ceramic hot coat to keep it looking beautiful forever. Chrome will
eventually turn blue, then rust, then.....
++++++++++++++++++++
[SNIP]Also, what do we use to make the intake manifold shiny and new again?
Is it
aluminum? Is it "anodized" aluminum? There is an "aluminum jelly" on the
market, but it's not for "anodized" metal, whatever that means. I assume,
also, that the brake and clutch M/C chambers are of the same metal as the
intake manifold, correct?[snip]
+++++++++++++++++++
The intake manifold is aluminum and it will polish up to a gorgeous shine if
done properly, as will the brake and clutch MCs. I have a 1/2 hp 8" bench
grinder that I converted into a buffing maching with an adapter kit from
Eastwood. You can buy their buffing starter kit that includes 2 of each
wheel they offer, one tube each of the various compounds they offer, face
shield, gloves, respirator, video, etc. and then all you need to do is
practice. I have polished damn near everything under the hood of my 64
Spitfire and boy does it make a difference. MCs, coil, thermostat housing,
brackets, oil cap, distributor, intake manifold, carb bodies, etc, etc.
As to the intake manifold, I recommend that you clean it real well with
lacquer thinner, file down any casting marks with a flat file, smooth the
body out with emory paper, move up to a 220 grit paper, then wipe it down
again before buffing.
Ross D. Vincenti
64 Spitfire 4
64 Porsche 356 C Coupe (next project)
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