Will painting a heatercore affect temps?

natewildes · Apr 14, 2006

This may sound like a stupid question, but to me it makes sense: will spray paint on an unpainted heatercore affect temps? I know you can buy them painted, so my inclination is to say no, but who knows, maybe only certain kinds of pain work best? Won't the paint inhibit the heat from venting off the fins? Any knowledge into this would be very helpful.
Thanks!

AZNBoiOnFIYA · Apr 14, 2006

they dont paint the fins, just the tips of them. from what ive read though painting an entire heatercore though will only decrease its performance by 1-2 degrees. i guess the whole thing depends on whether you want to lose a couple degrees for looks.

pejsaboy · Apr 14, 2006

i'm interested in this as well. my guess is that it will negatively affect temps if the paint is applied thick enough for complete coverage on the fins. painting the tanks shouldn't have any affect though, there's no [significant] heat transfer going on through them.

natewildes · Apr 14, 2006

maybe I'll just stick to sharpies? unless those might affect it as well....

nachosyumm · Apr 15, 2006

you can paint the sides and spray a light coat on the actual surface without any decrease in performance. You'll only encounter a difference if you spray it inside of the heatercore between the fins. A mist will coat the edges.

citronym · Apr 15, 2006

I painted a core by spraying at a 45º angle to the fins, so that the paint couldn't make it down between the fins, just the leading edges and a millimeter or so into the fin. I didn't see any change in the performance on that system.

-aDaM^ · Apr 15, 2006

Weapon paints his heatercore's and there the best

hung · Apr 15, 2006

But I hear that it's not actually paint that they're using, it's actually powdered paint of some sort.

natewildes · Apr 15, 2006

Well, since mine is going to be sitting in an unmodded (so far) sonata II, I'll stay away from paint, it seems too risky, and I'm much more concerned with temps and performance than looks. Besides, the rusty brown/silver is nice....:/

SewerBeing · Apr 15, 2006

I don't think that you will notice any drop in performance if you are careful about painting it. As long as you don't go nuts with how much paint you use or clog the space between the fins with paint then you will be fine.

citronym · Apr 15, 2006

^Agreed. Plently of people have painted their cores and I can't recall hearing about anyone who ruined theirs as a result of painting it.

Will painting a heatercore affect temps?

natewildes

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AZNBoiOnFIYA

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nachosyumm

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citronym

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-aDaM^

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