I had to pull my manifold off the other day to change the gasket and fix a broken stud. I have tried painting the manifold many times, usings 2000 temp paint and baking in it in the oven. Nothing will stay on it, I heard about this method from another site and figured I would try it.
This method is very simple, basically you get a can of copper spray-a-gasket and paint your exhaust manifold or turbo exhaust housing with it. Let it dry for a little while then put it all back together. The paint may stay tacky until the heat dries it so be careful when putting everything back together.
You could probably use this to paint the center section of the turbo, but I wouldn't recommend painting anything else with it. It takes a lot of heat to turn the copper color grey. Not saying the part would stay sticky but it may remain copper colored.
Here are some before and after pics. The flanges are almost fully grey now. It took a little bit longer for them to turn.
