Big James

Hey, I was wondering if anyone had any luck polishing their own intercooler. If so, did you coat it with anything, like a clear coat? I have a Spearco FMIC and whould like to polish the ends of it.

TIA.

TurboInteg95

I polished mine and it turned out fine. I didnt clear coat it with anything but I have to redo it every few months. It gets pitted from rocks.

hobo79

hey, just wondering but arent intercooler accessible to rain just like the CAI? are there any ways to prevent it if there is that possibility?

TurboInteg95

intercoolers are very susceptible to rain but it doesnt matter. They're sealed units. It's like your radiator getting wet.

b18bturbo

what you need is good aluminum polish. I reccommed the mequirs one or the 3m version. Both are very bad stuff. Just take your time and polish it slowly.

ssblue

will that aluminum polish give it a chrome looking finish?

ludikris

I like to see the heat transfer coefficent of an I/C unpolished, polished, and polished with clearcoat. Methings the clearcoat will provide to be somewhat of an insulator.

TurboInteg95

The BEST thing in theory would be to leave the finish rough. this provides more surface area to shed heat. But I care more about the way it looks then the few degrees cooler that the intake charge MIGHT be. I think your right though, it's like when you sit on a bare metal bench and it's cold as hell, then you sit on a metal bench that's been painted and it's not quite as bad because it holds the heat a little better.

Big James

Good points. I will try polishing the backside of it just to see how it turns out I guess. Thanks guys.