Spray Painting Intercooler  

psi999

use a shit light spraypaint, it will be fine

DZ

Most pressure pack spray cans can go up to 100 degrees without a problem but if you wanted to be on the safe side, get engine enamel as it IS better with high temps and really doesnt cost much more.

You dont need to go the UHT (ultra high temp) paint tho. Its more for exhaust headers and things like that.

the red krawler

I used heat proof. The main reason being it sticks to anything! Just give the cooler a light rough up with a wire brush or green scotch pad and then wipe with prepsol, paint with heatproof and she's apples. Heat proof doesnt orange peel/craze/mist/blotch like normal paint.

Fcuk-Fear

Hey would this heat proof stuff stay on say a turbo manifold or the exhaust side of a turbo? And Dump pipe? Ive tried to use Hi temp break caliper paint but it just burns off?

the red krawler

It will stay there for a while
Its designed to go up to 800oC (or is it 1200oC??) from memory, but the turbo and dump pipe (exhaust side) will get hotter than that.

If you paint it black, within a week it will goto misty white. Then dissapear entirely, probably exactly what the caliper paint did?

tripharn

ummmm.... wouldn't painting the intercooler lessen it's ability to cool the air?

psi999

In theory it should actually make the intercooler work better 9black paint), but real world it will make no diff.

Just dont paint it too thick.

Fcuk-Fear

Yeah thats exactly what happend. smells pretty bad when its starts burning off lol

Is there any kind of paint out there that wont burn off? there has to be?

InterCooL

Fcuk-Fear i hope you are talking about dump pipe / other exhaust piping...

i just sprayed my cooler today...

btw good to see another starlet memeber here

gingerman88

yeah i havnt really found any paint that doesnt burn off yet but i am guessing there has 2 be some form of paint out there somewhere dont u think?????????? any ideas ppls

InterCooL

didnt hi temp paint work for you? they go up to 1500 degrees F

with further research, i think spraying an intercooler is a bad idea anyhow

BenTT

Go and talk to a radiator shop, they should have a high-emissivity black paint that radiates heat better then std pressure pack paint.

MoonLight

The radiator shop would be a good place to start as mentioned by BenTT. They have to paint radiators with something. However, a mate used standard Hi Temp black paint on his WRX frontmount and it was fine for a couple of years. It wasn't that super high temp engine enamel stuff either.

NISMOgemini

paint will stop the ability to cool slightly.. get it anodised black..

HKS32

i dont think a thin layer of black paint will affect the performance unless you pack the shit on. GTR32 coolers come black

Fcuk-Fear

Yeah when i got my dump pipe made, the exhaust place that did it sprayed the dump pipe with this black paint which i though was going to burn off as well, but it didnt, it stayed on there for around 2 weeks, and it didnt burn off, but it eventually started chipping off and flaking, but it almost stayed on, maybe a thicker coating and it might have stayed on, might have to go ask them what they used.

InterCooL

well i used $2 paint that was sitting in the garage. its worked for the moment, i'll tell you in a few weeks if its peeling

TRacerD

hey intercool,

it is good to see another starlet member here lol.

I have just put the mesh on to my new front bar and i painted the intercooler piping gloss black to make it look a bit better. And i was thinking that it would look better if i sprayed my cooler black and then meshed in front of it. it would conceal it a bit too. After seeing this post (which is kinda weird cause i thought of this today) i will be painting mine too.

thanks