is it safe to paint your intercooler? if so which paint should i use? i want it black

 

You can get it annodized, but spray painting it will make it less reliable.

 

Forced Induction forum for a better answer

Ive seen them painted before. As to what kind of paint.. cant help ya there

 

I would not paint it if I were you. Get it anodized.

 

its been done, and you can actually purchase black anodized FMIC's, but just everyday spray paint i would think would actually hold the heat of the air in instead of letting the air cool down as much. look into anodizing it, duplicolor has a anodizing paint out now in a variety of colors. hope that helps

 

not my car, but props to who's ever it is

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbodreamz0385 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

not my car, but props to who's ever it is</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought that was the grill for a second!

 

awesome sleeper look

 

very clean look. i like how he painted his manifold as well. he got a two tone look in there. mad props

 

Yeah, it's cool to do it... the cops won't get all dicky about it... Black is the way to go anyway, if you do it any other color... looks whack =D i'd say do it dude!

 

Wow. That is nice.
I've seen intercooler-specific flat-black paint...?
Maybe heat-resistant (though if your intercooler gets that hot, you probably got problems).
Maybe more-durable to resist rock-chips etc...?

just thinking out-loud

 

http://www.coolingzone.com/Gue....html
some explanation for you of heat transfer in a anodized heat sink

http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize99.html
wtf anodizing is and home kits for sail.

There, read! I am too lazy to do all the math with the numbers I found to give you a true answer of what will happen. but it looks like anodizing puts a layer of lower conductive material on the outside, this will change the temperature gradient ever so smaller. Anodizing puts aluminum oxide on the outside (k= 36-48W/mK, not to sure, I don't know what the crystal stucture is in this case.) and aluminum has a "k" value of 237W/mK for pure aluminum and around 170 for the alloys (most likely what your intercooler is. However Anodizing changes the emisivity from around .4 or something to almost .9 (black anodized of course) so you will lose a lot more heat in radiation then if it weren't anodized. As for your convection seeing as the anodizing layer is so small it will make almost no impact (again, why i didn't do the math) In the real world you are not really going to see much of a difference in performace, but it will look nicer. So in other words it will look cooler but it won't be cooler......oh, what a geeky horrible pun!

My suggestion go to a shop, get it anodized for cheap (almost any colour you want) and rock that ****.

any questions just ask.

 

If you are painting it spray at an angle so you only get the front.


You could also wrap it in panty hose, might help with bugs/rocks.

 

subscribed for later use....

 

clean eg

 

what about powder coating...just wanna know if its even possible...cuz that coating is preety thick so i doubt it ....

 

my friend spray painted his. he used high temp and i think it was enamel paint but i am not positive. he did it really light just enough to get it black. worked fine

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMrps13 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what about powder coating...just wanna know if its even possible...cuz that coating is preety thick so i doubt it ....</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can powder coat them, but it would be a dumb thing to do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by http://www.eastwoodco.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Radiator Black 12 oz Satin Finish

Radiator Black Satin - Many have asked for a lower sheen radiator black. The lower satin sheen resembles the gloss level of modern plastic tank radiators and some imports.

Standard engine paints are too thick for radiator use because they can interfere with heat transfer and block air flow between the cooling fins. Also, standard paint tends to flake off radiator tanks. Radiator Black helps solve this problem. Durable Enamel formulation resists temperatures up to 250ºF, gas and chipping. One can covers 6 square feet (most radiators require 2 cans). Net wt. 12 oz.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Item# 10340 Z Radiator Black 12 oz Satin Finish $10.99

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shop...paint

 

I painted mine black....rust-o-leum...VERY THIN paint and very light coats. Just enough to have a smooth, even paint job. came out great I thought

 

A buddy of mine has a subaru impreza RS with an STi engine in it, and his shop dyno'd it before and after spraying the intercooler flat black. It had no effect.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by coquitlamEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A buddy of mine has a subaru impreza RS with an STi engine in it, and his shop dyno'd it before and after spraying the intercooler flat black. It had no effect.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sport Compact Car has pretty much said the same thing. About a year ago, they featured a bunch of sleeper cars, and had tips on making your own. One of them was to spray your intercooler black. They said it has no adverse effects on the intercooler.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Sport Compact Car has pretty much said the same thing. About a year ago, they featured a bunch of sleeper cars, and had tips on making your own. One of them was to spray your intercooler black. They said it has no adverse effects on the intercooler.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's right, i remember reading that article too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Radical_Edward &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">= but spray painting it will make it less reliable.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Explain that one to me please

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ghetto Civic HX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Sport Compact Car has pretty much said the same thing. About a year ago, they featured a bunch of sleeper cars, and had tips on making your own. One of them was to spray your intercooler black. They said it has no adverse effects on the intercooler.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Pretty much. The fins are what dissipate heat, and by painting it you cover so little of the surface area of the fins that the difference is negligble.