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Radiator Painting?

dodge68charger

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I Bought An Aluminum Champion Radiator and Some Cans Of Eastwood Radiator Black For My 68 B Body..

Anyone Running An Aluminum Rad.. Just Curious If Its Visible Through The Front Of The Car.. I Dont Want To Paint It But Will If It Will The Aluminum Fins Can Be Seen and Hide It With The Black Paint. Thanks
 
Do you have AC, the condenser will hide a lot if you do. I painted my complete unit with the same paint.
IMG_20170307_171211809.jpg
 
No Ac Condenser on The Car. Just Don't Want To Throw The Look of The Car Off Due To the Shinyness.. Thanks
 
You could just paint the grille side fins and leave the rest natural if you want. I painted mine because I wanted the factory look on my Griffin.
 
It definitely shows through my Coronet grill. It doesnt really bother me too much.
 
I just painted my ECP aluminum radiator a month ago, Did it all black with Eastwood radiator paint. I didn't want any silver showing, im happy with it. Why are you opposed to painting the fins ? It will have zero effect on cooling.

20170731_112556.jpg 20170731_112612.jpg 20170731_145231.jpg
 
Here's a few pictures at shows, one with the radiator painted and one without. The third picture is a close up with it unpainted.

Brewzer_calendar_3.jpg 20170623_211840.jpg 20170716_081438.jpg
 
Are there any companies that sell a black aluminum radiator?
 
Are there any companies that sell a black aluminum radiator?

I have this one which I bought from a company on Ebay, Auto City Classics. Although I couldn't find Mopar radiators on their website they do offer these. I have a 26" on my 69 GTX w/ 440 and it does a good job of cooling even in AZ. I bought it because it looks factory and fits the radiator support with no modifications. It also has the fan shroud flange to mount a stock fan shroud. I am very happy with mine. Plus you can get them painted or unpainted.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1966-1972-...LENGER-CUDA-/351583436713?hash=item51dc017fa9
 
When you paint a radiator, you essentially trap some of the heat inside the radiator. The more paint, the more heat that gets trapped inside. However, if the paint is not a High Temp type paint and is not laid down too thick, the disadvantage is minimal. I'd spray it lightly on just the grill side to accomplish the look you want.

btw, if you want to paint the tanks, for good adhesion, it's best to dust the tanks with a metal etching primer and then just spray a light coat of OEM shine black paint.
 
When you paint a radiator, you essentially trap some of the heat inside the radiator. The more paint, the more heat that gets trapped inside. However, if the paint is not a High Temp type paint and is not laid down too thick, the disadvantage is minimal. I'd spray it lightly on just the grill side to accomplish the look you want.

btw, if you want to paint the tanks, for good adhesion, it's best to dust the tanks with a metal etching primer and then just spray a light coat of OEM shine black paint.
there have been studies on this, the heat retention is minimal. Like under 1 degree minimal. Black also dissipates the heat better than other colors.
 
Gentlemen,
I totally agree with CCSA's premise. The reason for the black paint deals with the phenomenon of the black body radiation principal. Simply stated, the amount of heat conducted is equal to: T2 to 4th power - T1 to the 4 power = the absolute temperature. To those that do not understand physics or thermodynamics, please google absolute temperature calculations for a better understanding of the subject.....cosmetic appearances not withstanding.
Bob Renton
 
Bob, thanks for the effort but I think instead of doing a google search on thermodynamics, I'm going to just drive the car and peel out a few times...
 
My painted black radiator sure keeps my car cool on high 90 degree days ! And it looks right at home while doing it ...
 
Ideally you would flat black anodize
No enamel
No VHT or high temp, they are insulating
Flat Black does radiate much better than aluminum and polished aluminum is worthless
I was not aware of the radiator special paints
I used thin lacquer or BBQ black
going to learn something from this thread
Back in the turbo VW and Corvair days (when Banks was still in San Gabriel) we black anadised aluminum finned cylinders and the heads, oil pan on the Corvairs
 
Polished aluminum is worthless? To whom? If it looks nice and has no negative effects, it is not worthless to me.
Why would any coating help dissipate heat? If the hood is closed, no light shines on the radiator. I'm not understanding how any exterior coating could help a radiator cool better.
 
Black just absorbed and dissipates heat better than aluminum or white, rough better than polished
surface boundary gets broken up
same reason we do not polish ports anymore
 
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