Who do we like for exhaust manifold coatings?

My X1/9 sprung a small exhaust leak on the way back from Florida and of course instead of just replacing the gasket I'm now looking at putting on a full sport exhaust system. I'll have to check with MWB but I don't think their headers are coated in any way, shape or form. Given the well-known heat issues in the engine compartment and rear trunk (rrunk?), I was toying with the idea of having the header coated before putting it on in the hope that it'll reduce the temperatures in the engine bay a little.

Who do we like for exhaust coatings on a brand new header?

Finish Line Coatings in Milwaukee Oregon is who I use for pretty much every car we build. I ship them headers and manifolds and they ship back wonderfully coated parts that hold up for decades of use. I like the CeraChrome finish.

The Cerakote finish I can have done locally does not block heat as well and hasn't held up as nicely over the years.  I don't recommend it for exhausts

Oddly enough black bbq paint has worked better than some fancier paints. Used jet hot and swain but never seemed worth it

Whatever Hooker uses on their headers burns off rapidly, recommend avoiding.

I can't recommend Swain, it's flaking off and melting on my exhaust. I'd go with Jet Hot if I were doing it again, it's pure ceramic instead of ceramic over aluminum as I understand Swain to be.

I'd probably wrap it in something from DEI, though. Something like Form-A-Shield, or Floor and Tunnel on the car.

We went with Swain Tech on our Mustang project. 

While we talk about heat management here:

For any of these, do the headers need to be totally clean mild steel or stainless, or is light surface rust on mild steel still acceptable?  

In reply to NorseDave :

For the ceramic coatings, nothing less than freshly sandblasted clean metal will do.