Has anyone ever painted their intercoller before. I know i have seen the ones that say STI on them. I am interested in putting WRX on mine. I am planning on using hi-temp paint. and i have also heard it had little to no interference with the cooling on the turbo. let me know. any help would be great.

UPDATE HERE IT IS










DO AT YOUR OWN RISK: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU SCREW THIS UP BECAUSE YOU CANT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

It was pretty easy to do. I just found an image off the computer of what WRX logo i liked.

Here is the one i used http://www.cartype.com/images/page/subaru_WRX.jpg

Printed that out and cut a stencil out using a manilla folder, x-acto knife, and a ruler for straight cuts. I advise not trying to cut freehand.

Then i tried about 5 different ways to put the stencil on my intercooler.
The only problem with other peoples ways were you can see overspray on the intercooler. that might be ok for some but that would drive me crazy if i had to look at that.

And if all you do is put the stencil on the IC and spray it, it wont look good. It will look like this

\/ \/ \/




Maybe its just me but i think they both look half-assed.

So what i did was put painters tape on the IC and taped the whole thing with only one layer of painters tape, overlapping about 1/4 inch on every length.

then i took my manilla folder stencil and laid that on the tape and very carefully cut the tape while it was on the IC making sure not to damage the IC.

As you can see, before i was told, I sprayed my IC with a garden hose to get bugs off after a cross country trip and i bent some of the fins. I was told it wont effect the IC but I am bummed cuz it looks not awesome.

after tape cutting (took about 35-45 mins) i took some wrapping paper i had laying around the house and laid it over the engine and everywhere i didnt want paint to over spray onto. paper bags or anything like that should work.

Then I sprayed. I used some Duplicolor Hi-temp paint. Picked it up at Kragen. I used the kind that can go up to 1200ºF but the 500ºF I am sure will be fine. I used the 1200 cuz i had it from a previous car in which i painted the intake manifold.

I did a ton of research prior to spraying. Spraying your IC with this paint had no effect on its ability to do what its supposed to do.

Before you spray make sure that you clean. Or the grease on your IC will make the paint seperate wierd and it will look bad. I heard someone say use BBQ grill cleaner. I dont know about that. I just used a soft sponge with some dawn and water and it seemed to have done the job. Just make sure you rinse it all out really well and let it dry before painting. I used my wifes blow dryer to speed the drying along. Compressed air or something will probably work just as well.

Then i sprayed. I did 4 light coats. Hitting it from each direction to make sure one side of the fins didnt get missed over another. I hit it from each side, front, and then the back. (thats what she said :RockOn - not mine: )

I let it dry for an hour. And then i used the blow dryer on it. Just for a few minutes to get it to dry so I could take the tape off. In the past when working with this paint it is best to bake it. However unless you take your IC off, which isnt needed, this isnt possible. Not to mention as your drive your car the engine will do its own baking process.

After that stand back and see how good of a job you did. I think it looks really well and if you have the patiences and take your time. If anyone needs any help PM me and i will see what i can do for you. Hell, I will even do it for you for a small fee. (a man has to make gas money some how)

 

its not mine but a friends of mine.. you gotta mask it off so only WRX will be sprayed

 

bump

 

thats "V8ROFL"'s FMIC before he sold the wrx...

 

it turned out really well. its a little off center but i think i can fix that with adding a littl something else. i taped it off instead of making a stencil it turned out way better. no overspray look.

 

that looks clean
giving me some things to think about

 

hahah yes, yes it is. or should i say was

put some pics up!.. ive been thinkin bout doin the same thing on my tmic

 

I will post a pic later today. i am gonna need ideas ons oemthing to put with it to make it center. it is only off by 1/2 inch. just like v8rofl's. i think it is the shape of the X that makes it look hella off center.

 

here it is.

see first post

 

bumpity bump bump bump bump

 

hello. lol

 

when did he get rid of his wrx?

 

^ um id say about 2 weeks ago?

i was bored yesterday and ive been thinkin bout spraying my IC as well. ive got a stencil made up now all i have to do is clean and spray (and find some free time to do it lol). pics when im done

 

Hey chicken, be a poser and do STI. C'mon, you know you want to .











Or does your stencil already say that?

 

ok.. question here..

how/ where did u find a stecil or used something to make the manila folder paper into the WRX looking form?