Conquestdetaco Posted November 12, 2002 Report Share Posted November 12, 2002 Has anyone painted their intercooler? My car is gonna be painted all black and I have all black Conquest rims...I want the front mount intercooler tobe noticeable...Can I paint it or will it clog up? Thanks TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SQF Posted November 12, 2002 Report Share Posted November 12, 2002 Painting the IC reduces the heat exchange coeficient and lowers the effectiveness of the IC. Basically not a good thing to do. If your all black and you want noticable why not polish it? Shiney chromelike polished alum is noticable. Especially against a black backdrop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conquest351 Posted November 12, 2002 Report Share Posted November 12, 2002 There is a coating and also a paint they use on radiators that actually helps the heat transfer. Of course this is mainly used on copper radiators but It should work on the aluminum intercoolers as well. The paint only comes in black though so you might not want it. Be sure to get RADIATOR paint and not like brake caliper paint (had a customer do that on his ATI intercooler, lost 3 hp). But that is all I know of as far as coatings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjf Posted November 13, 2002 Report Share Posted November 13, 2002 A polished IC looks geat, but polishing actually reduces the heat transfer of the IC. It is simple physics, dark colors transfer heat better and a polished surface is the least effective. That is why you feel heat reflected off of a mirror. However you do not want the paint to be thick or shiny. Thick paint tends to insulate, and shiny paint is not as good for heat transfer as flat finnish. So a thin coat of flat black is about as effective as you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conquestpa Posted November 14, 2002 Report Share Posted November 14, 2002 I disagree, any paint on the intercooler will kee it from doing its job... even a thing coat... and whats the resoning behind "A polished IC looks geat, but polishing actually reduces the heat transfer of the IC. " I dont get that, it would probably make it so it cools faster... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjf Posted November 15, 2002 Report Share Posted November 15, 2002 A rough unpolished surface actually has more surface area because all those minute little bumps and surface imperfections give more area to dissipate or absorb heat. That is why flat finish paint absorbs/dissipates heat better that a shiny finish. Ever look at hot water solar panels? They paint them flat black for a reason. Now you might decide that it looks so much better polished that you are willing to give up a bit of heat transfer, that is your choise, but understand what you are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conquestdetaco Posted November 15, 2002 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2002 I think I will just clean it up real good...I do not want to lose any cooling properties...thanks for all the help. Tony T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SQF Posted November 16, 2002 Report Share Posted November 16, 2002 The main surface area for exchange is going to be in the fins. Polishing the IC isn't going to get into the fins so the effect on exchange would be minimal at best IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importwarrior Posted November 16, 2002 Report Share Posted November 16, 2002 polishing is not good , the ruffness helps wick the heat away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul87Quest Posted December 4, 2002 Report Share Posted December 4, 2002 The end tanks are not the heat exchangers though, the radiator part is.....I imagine that 98% of the heat transfer occurs at the fins on the intercooler. I think it's safe to polish....not to mention even the best polishing job looks dull after a couple months without a thorough cleaning. If by rough you mean allowing the aluminum to oxidize, I would imagine THAT would trap heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offalot Posted December 4, 2002 Report Share Posted December 4, 2002 OKay how about stripping the intercooler? when I got my car I put a quick thin coat of silver spray paint over it. If I wanted to get it back to bare metal whats the best way, beings as stripper usualy takes some abrasion (not possible on the fins). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul87Quest Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 I would use Jasco paint remover in a gold spray can (I've seen it at Home Depot and a lot of other larger home improv stores)....just be super careful that you don't let any get on the front spoiler or bumber or you'll have yourself a repaint. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, then get out the 'ol hose with a pressure nozzle and blast away...should take almost all the paint off. If there are stubborn spots you may need to repeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodSpeed Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Two things... First the intercooler is designed to take advantage of the cooling properties of alum. a black finish will ABSORB heat.. which is a bad thing... you ever touched black asphalt in the sun compared to concrete... and the other thing I polished my intercooler with no ill effects I used 320-400-600-1000 grit paper then used steel wool the fine woodworking with some mothers alum polish then just a cloth with the polish and alot of buffing and it looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conquestpa Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Yes.... A rough intercooler surface may have a minute amount of more surface area (like 1.0000000000000000000000000000001 % more), but!, a polished intercooler will allow air flow around itself.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heefner Posted February 28, 2003 Report Share Posted February 28, 2003 When talking about colors, white, black, shinny dull, ect. you guys are talking about heat genrated by the sun light. The intecooler will see sun light occasionally during your driving but other parts under the hood that wont see sun light are less of a concern. So polishing the IC may remove a small amount of cooling capacity but it will be minmal. However, painting the IC cooling fins will clog it and result in less air flow and ultimately decrease performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artinist Posted February 28, 2003 Report Share Posted February 28, 2003 i had it painted white on one of my cars. it was dumb and made it ugly. did it affect performance? not that i could tell. I think as long as the paint is not very thick to insulate the fins, it probably wont matter much. you can get some of those dining room silverware polished that are in liquid form and dip it in the liquid to get a polishing effect on the fin areas that cant be rubbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSIBoy Posted March 1, 2003 Report Share Posted March 1, 2003 Anyone ever think to try annodizing? I've delt with a lot of annodized aluminum, you can probably get an intercooler done in any color for $300 and it should not effect efficiency at all. Annnozidizing is basically dying the metal by corroding a color into the surface layer, it does create micro pitting in the material but nothing major. It is also a nice easy to keep clean surface and lasts a long time when properly maintained (as in... don't clean it with abrasives or harsh chemicals). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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