Painting the intercooler

[It's A G8!]

I want to paint the intercooler so it wont be as noticeable. What can i use? Regular spray paint?

[wreckwriter]

I wouldn't do it. Won't help heat transfer. If you must I'd guess header paint.

[It's A G8!]

I have read that it affects heat transfer but I dont know by how much. I also saw a thread here by blownG8 that he painted his. I just cant find the thread.

[jxhopper]

THere is no way I would paint an intercooler. As said above it would likely total screw up the heat dissipation capability of the aluminum.

[hartigan85]

"Generally speaking" .. . if you have a HOT object, hotter than the items around it, and you want it to give up heat, then try to simulate a 'black body emitter'... ie.. paint the object a flat black.

Conversely, if you have an object that is 'cooler' than the objects around it, and you want it to reject 'radiated heat' from other objects around it, then make it white/shiny/reflective... Heat energy works similarly to light energy.... with the differences associated to the longer wavelength of the heat energy...

Check this out. Pretty much says that a bare aluminum radiator will not radiate heat as well as a painted one. A polished aluminum radiator will radiate even less heat. Ever wonder why radiators are painted black? That's because the emissivity coefficient of aluminum varies from about 0.04 for polished aluminum to 0.31 for heavily oxidized aluminum compared to 0.89 for black epoxy paint. Should be the same concept with an intercooler.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/emissivity-coefficients-d_447.html

If you decide to paint it use Radiator paint like this one.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-radiator-black-12oz-satin-finish.html

[DRCUSTOMPARTS]

Radiators are painted black so it won't affect the heat transfer if he paints the intercooler black. I would use a high temp BBQ paint and coat it lightly, just enough to hide the metal color of the fins.

[hartigan85]

Radiators are painted black so it won't affect the heat transfer if he paints the intercooler black. I would use a high temp BBQ paint and coat it lightly, just enough to hide the metal color of the fins.

Like i posted they make paint specifically for radiators, BBQ paint will be way to thick and possibly clog the fins therefore affecting the cooling. OP, do yourself a favor and use a paint that is designed to be used on radiators.

[20lbbooster]

I had mine anodized black.

[DRCUSTOMPARTS]

Like i posted they make paint specifically for radiators, BBQ paint will be way to thick and possibly clog the fins therefore affecting the cooling. OP, do yourself a favor and use a paint that is designed to be used on radiators.
You hadn't posted yet when I posted that, but thanks for the clarification.

[jxhopper]

I had mine anodized black.

How much did that cost?

[20lbbooster]

How much did that cost?

I had an intercooler made and the anodizing was $100 extra.

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv144/20lbbooster/photo-22.jpg

[laserred]

You could use TLTD which is a ceramic thermal dispersant from Techline Coatings. You'd sandblast the part with aluminum oxide, spray the TLTD with an airbrush, and cook the part in an oven at 350* for an hour. Techline has independent testing done on intake manifolds where they coated the top with a dispersant and saw temperature reductions between 40* and 100* on an operating engine.

[1meand]

Contact Rich at Precision Motorsports. He told me they have a heat dispirsant coating available for the intercooler. He's one of the sponsors.

[laserred]

Yeah I don't know if Rich deals with Techline, but since he has a company that does his thermal barrier products, I would think they have something similar.

[Boss Hogg]

I lightly sprayed with black header paint. With a black car, the aluminum heat exchanger stuck out like a "diamond in a coal miner's a$$". I believe that's how BlownG8GT put it.

[locrzn#92]

I like mine as is and I have my tranny cooler mounted in front of that. People stand in front and try to figure out what I have going on there. So, after they ask I lift the hood and show them.

[It's A G8!]

Im just looking to paint the front side. Not the whole thing.

[Matt]

I wanted to do this also when we built my kit. I didnt because of the heat issue from the roads. the shiny intercooler really does attract alot of attention against the black paint. everyone notices it, I didnt like that at first. I had an idea to stretch some charcoal mesh/screening to the inside of the honecomb areas on the front clip to kind of shadow the intercooler so it would go unoticed in most situations. I never did.

[Matt]

not a good pic but you can see it for sure.

[locrzn#92]

Hey Matt, is it a single turbo?

[CanadianEh]

You could use TLTD which is a ceramic thermal dispersant from Techline Coatings. You'd sandblast the part with aluminum oxide, spray the TLTD with an airbrush, and cook the part in an oven at 350* for an hour. Techline has independent testing done on intake manifolds where they coated the top with a dispersant and saw temperature reductions between 40* and 100* on an operating engine.

We offer this coating at our shop, we have it in black currently but you can get white as well... it works extremely well we used it on a bunch of parts in our stroker 360 and it greater reduces temperatures. When we baked it on the oil pan it was in the oven at 350* for an hour and when you pull it out is it hardly hot in about 20 seconds. I also put it on my brake calipers on my G8 and it made a noticeable difference in braking.

[Matt]

Yes, single Garret.


Hey Matt, is it a single turbo?

[Matt]

Man, I wish I would have known about this service before the install. I would have gone with that 100%. Still good to know now if I ever take it out I will send it over.



We offer this coating at our shop, we have it in black currently but you can get white as well... it works extremely well we used it on a bunch of parts in our stroker 360 and it greater reduces temperatures. When we baked it on the oil pan it was in the oven at 350* for an hour and when you pull it out is it hardly hot in about 20 seconds. I also put it on my brake calipers on my G8 and it made a noticeable difference in braking.

[laserred]

On the turbo, there is a coating called TurboX for the turbine housing, it is specifically made for this, you can even use MCS as an undercoating to increase the temperature resistance of the TurboX as well. It comes in blue or black, and then you'd use the TLTD on the compressor housing.

[Matt]

Thats good to know. I think the turbo all blacked out would look sweet!

[CanadianEh]

We have the turbox as well, actually we have all the techline coatings. I will do a little write up on them to give people an idea of what they do

[laserred]

CanadianEh, what's your shop? I am a Techline dealer as well! I'll let you do all the writeups :)

[CanadianEh]

I figured haha, we just got into it 4 months ago.. Radical Advantage Performance & Custom Fabrication is our company out of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

[It's A G8!]

Can some of you guys that have the maggie take pictures of the front of your car to see how the intrecooler looks?

[norm8332]

I painted the frame of the intercooler with flat black and a brush and left the fins alone. Can't notice it at all now.

[WhiteDeathLSX]

Can some of you guys that have the maggie take pictures of the front of your car to see how the intrecooler looks? I'll take a picture later today. From certain angles the intercooler is barely noticeable. But when the front end is well lit, it's very visible.


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[WickedMom]

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh, stop calling it the intercooler!!! It's the heat exchanger.
The intercooler is located under the blower itself.

Ok, I feel better now!


Sent from my amazing and awesome iPhone4

[polo]

^ don't mind her, it's the hormones :)

[1meand]

^ don't mind her, it's the hormones :)

I was thinking that, but I wasn't going to post it.

[laserred]

Polo, what's that red dot that's bouncing around on your back?

[WickedMom]

Bed rest is making me crazy. And polos name is Marco... Geeze you guys are lame.


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[norm8332]

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh, stop calling it the intercooler!!! It's the heat exchanger.
The intercooler is located under the blower itself.

Ok, I feel better now!


Sent from my amazing and awesome iPhone4


I thought that when I posted, but to make less typing I just used the language being spoken..thanks;)

[It's A G8!]

So norm what kind of paint did you use on the intercooler, oh I mean the heat exchanger?LOL

[travis gore]

Ok, I feel better now!


Sent from my amazing and awesome iPhone4

I am glad you feel better now :)

[laserred]

Just a question to the OP, and anybody else. If you're trying to "hide" the aftercooler (YW, Jess! :)) why wouldn't you want to pick up a performance advantage at the same time you are gaining stealth? It's a little more expensive and involved, but you gain HP, torque, reduced possibility of detonation, etc. etc. etc. To me it's the equivalent of filling your nitrous tank with CO2. Sure, it's almost the same thing, hey, they're both compressed gases with oxygen molecules that have a subzero vaporization temperature, right?

[It's A G8!]

^^^ Not sure if I understand. Are you saying why not just get the heat exchanger coated and gain performance and stealth at the same time?

[laserred]

Yes! Why use black paint, which will impede heat transfer vs. the uncoated part, when you could spend $100 or so, and gain stealth, increase the heat extraction rate, and many other benefits? Isn't your pride and joy worth a Benji to help ensure longevity and safety for your boosted engine?

[norm8332]

So norm what kind of paint did you use on the intercooler, oh I mean the heat exchanger?LOL

It was flat black high temp spray paint applied with a brush (spray in cap) - Just painted the frame only with a kidney grill removed. I didn't want to take it all apart. got all visible areas and it's been a year and it still looks fine. Quick and dirty some would say, but easy.

[08G8V8]

I painted the frame of the intercooler with flat black and a brush and left the fins alone. Can't notice it at all now.

Norm, would you mind taking a picture of the front grill so I can see how your painting looks. I have a black car as well and want to mask it. I think painting the edges for sure and a vey light coat on the fins, but if you left your fins alone and you can't really see it, that might be the way to go. Thanks