Anybody have an Idea as to what type of paint you should use when painting your intercooler? I was told by someone go with rustolium, and someone else told me that I could use regular spary paint, and if I really wanted to I could powder coat it.....Not sure if either of those will do the job with out clogging the fins.

-Thanks in advance

 

Anodize it?

 

eastwood radiator paint is the best option.

 

TDC it... (Thermal Dispersant Coating)

There's quit a few companies out there that do this and it'll actually improve the performance of your intercooler.

Painting it will not really do too much in taking away from it's performance unless you give it a thick a$$coat or over spray it and block fins. The radiator paint will definitely be a cheaper route to take if cost is a problem.

Your average size intercooler will cost about $300.00 to TDC it.

 

Thanks a lot guys, going to look into the TDC, should be interesting to see how it all pans out.

 

supposedly, the TLTHD coating improves heat dispersant by 30% but that may be BS...never saw a study yet....

large gtm IC cost me 150 to TLTHD (tech line thermal dispersant) by young guns coatings in rancho cucamonga. (althought Sam originally said he had it sprayed for me but actually, he just painted it black)...what an a$$

 

Paul, I would listen to Rich on Eastwood or Drako, that's the kind of stuff you need.

 

The thermal paint (the stuff that works) has to go through the finish on your inter-cooler, and I'd be a bit nervous having that done. If there's re-search out there that supports it (from unbiased customers) then maybe go for it, but for $300 bucks... Not worth it if not actually proven IMHO.

You can use radiator paint, rustoleum (probably what I'd use), pretty much anything that is for metal. You really don't need a lot of paint so it really shouldn't matter what paint you end up using. Don't break the bank, and (obviously) don't powder coat it. Anodizing can be cool if you're going for a specific look.
Just know that you'll likely have to respray it from time to time if you do regular spray can. If you want stealth, that's just something you'll have to deal with!

 

My tuner used Eastwood and turn out looking good. No issue whatsoever.

 

I've had two builds , first one I used the black Eastwood paint and the second used a black TDC from these guys:

http://www.performancecoatings.com/index2.html

Both [provided the stealth appearance that I was looking for , but what I can say about the TDC IMHO, is that the IC stays cleaner. For example bug splatter does not stick as much to the IC anymore.