I'm going to be replacing the exhaust system on my 2007 Honda Fit because the muffler rusted out and fell off the car. I see some guys who paint exhaust parts in an effort to keep rust down. I'm replacing everything back to the cat so before I install the new muffler and resonator is there any value in priming and painting these parts with high temp paint? I live in the rust belt so my gut tells me I'd just be wasting my time and money with paint as it won't stop rust from forming on the inside. I'm curious to know if anyone has actually done this and had any prolonged success. Thanks in advance.
There is only one specific thing that you can do to prolong a life of a steel exhaust, … downstream of the cat drill 1/8-1/4" hole(s) at the lowest possible points of the system. These will become drain holes.
Exhaust gas, as it cools, drops out water in form of condensation. That water becomes very corrosive. It pools in lowest part of exhaust and primarily in mufflers. These tiny holes assure that these pools do not form.
Try it, you will be pleasantly surprised how much longer your muffler system will last
F.S.
I feel like this will just make your car smell like exhaust inside.
Not at all. It’s perfectly fine. You drill 1/8” hole at very bottom edge of a muffler, at the lowest end of it. That’s it. No smell, nothing. I keep cars for very long time. I only had to replace a muffler once, on my ‘83 VW Jetta - a car that i drove longest, …drove it from new in ‘83 all the way ‘til 2010.
You can get an aluminized steel tailpipe to help prevent rust. The tailpipe on my old Ranger rusted off the last hanger last year and I replaced it with an aluminized steel pipe. I'm not sure if they make mufflers that are also aluminized or not. It's a regular steel exhaust pipe that has a thin coating of aluminum added to it. Try to not scratch it on the concrete when you put it on if you go that route, the soft aluminum can get knicks in it and allow moisture to get to the base metal.
Little drain holes are fine, if too big then you will start to smell
I put on my a cout of paint protection from rust from rust olem that is made for that Metter usually used on break clipers .
So far no problem
Real, real simple. Automakers make their exhausts out of 409 grade stainless steel. Not very solid and not very rust resistant.
Get a good 304 grade stainless steel setup and problem solved. It won't be cheap, but it will work.
