hI all,
I wanted to paint my intercooler in black so that you cant see im turbo from outside ( almost ). But i Was wondernig since its gonna be painted will it do its job as it should, I guess yes but just asking to make sure

 

i guess it would all depend on how thick the paint is and if it restricts air flow through the fins. it probably will, but you might not notice the difference. my friend did a light coat of black on his and there is no problems.

 

do a search

 

Actually, black radiates heat more than any other color. (Also absorbs more, but I doubt that the ambient air is going to be hotter than the IC itself).

So it is possible that if it isn't restricting any airflow, it could help cool the intercooler slightly.

 

Regular paint does not have any real world effect on the intercooler.

 

If you msut paint it black, paint the IC with radiator paint. Radiator paint will actually HELP discipate(sp?) heat more then before. Any other kind of spray paint will worsen heat discipation. Anodizing it black is the best, then rad paint, then standard paint

 

Have you ever noticed that the radiator on the back of your refrigerator is painted with really thick paint? It isn't done for cosmetics. Actually, the paint increases the surface area of the heat exchanger, making it more efficient. But paint is also an insulator. Whether paint will make your intercooler less or more efficient is a fairly simple heat transfer problem, if I knew the precise dimensions of the tubes and the operating conditions. But since that is hard to find, let's just say that as long as you don't clog the fins, paint probably won't have any measurable effect.