Black Fmic Kit - Anodizing Vs Powder Coating Vs Painting

[QRI05E]

astlineofdefence - Yea but its bit pricey for my budget... im getting a just jap kit...

HRthirtyone - I spoke to a few places regarding Anodising and they told me that 2 things that may go wrong with the FMIC:

1. If there are any impurities in the aluminium it will cause patches

2. The sulfuric acid MAY damage the fins (its a risk)

So my only conclusion is to get a radiator shop to spray it using Radiator paint.

Cheers

Edited January 21, 2007 by QRI05E

[QRI05E]

Hey guys, I just spoke to a local Radiator Repair Shop and he recommended the following:

- Sand back the polished areas of the FMIC kit (piping + end tanks)

- Add a brass vacuum nipple to the crossover pipe (for actuator)

- Lightly prime the end tanks and all piping using etch primer.

- Spray the piping and end tanks with Black semi-matt high-temp paint.

- Very lightly coat the FMIC core with Black semi-matt high-temp paint.

$60 - $100 for the whole job (depending on time consumption)

I also called a company that specialises in Anodising automotive parts. They recommended NOT to paint the intercooler as it would insulate the heat and trap it inside.

$160 approx for Anodising a FMIC Kit in Matt Black

Cheers,

Sarkis

[Cubes]

You say $160 to anodise the Fmic 'KIT' does that mean the piping as well or just the FMIC?

[QRI05E]

Yep thats $160 including piping... but unfortunatly i just found out that the Just Jap FMIC kits have chrome plated piping which means they need to be stripped before anodised...

Might need to get the FMIC anodised and the piping painted?

Regards,

Sarkis

[QRI05E]

I spoke to Plazmaman who are specialists in intercoolers and they reckon as long as its a light coat of paint, it wont effect the cooling by much if at all... so i dont know who to believe... maybe the anodisers said that painting will insulate heat just to convince me in taking my product there?

From all i have read and researched, im sure that as long as the FMIC core and fins arnt covered with much more then 0.1mm of paint they should still cool the same as bare aluminium. cause the cooling process is done within the thickness of the core not the front or rear surface meaning as long as no paint gets into the fin area, it will have nil effect on its coolong performance. So perhaps use etch primer for the end tanks and piping then spray with high temp matt black... and just dust the surface of the FMIC with high temp matt-black...

Regards,

Sarkis

[sillylankan]

Hey Guys, just got a quote for $10 from a radiator shop to spray an FMIC kit with black thermal paint...

Wetherill Park Radiator Service

Unit 24/ 274 Victoria St Wetherill Park NSW 2164

ph: (02) 9604 7798

Ask For: Chris

Regards,

Sarkis

hey man, why dont you go with this? why have you changed your mind?

[QRI05E]

Thats without any sanding, preping or primer... just straight spray on... i dont think it will last long on the polished pipes... rather do it right the first time round.

Cheers

[sillylankan]

ah k, fair enough.

oh btw, do they have to take the whole thing apart before they paint it?

[D_I_F]

Thanks for the reply guys, my aim is NOT to chase 0.00001 hp gain but to have it hidden behind the front bar and not noticable... im sure if i just spray it black it will flake off after a few months from the hot and cold temp changes...

I dont want a GTR FMIC cause i prefer a kit that comes with all the piping... dont want to have to make up custom pipes...

Is the Nismo black FMIC still in production?

Cheers

You dont have to make up custom piping for the gtr front mount.. I fitted one one my car perfectly.. and just using a standard piping kit..

It cost me $100 or more less then a hybird kit and flows just as good

[QRI05E]

Well they are going to spray the FMIC and piping all seperatly..

[sillylankan]

You dont have to make up custom piping for the gtr front mount.. I fitted one one my car perfectly.. and just using a standard piping kit..

It cost me $100 or more less then a hybird kit and flows just as good

ZOMGGG D I F !!

YOU STILL HAVE THAT ULTRA COOL SIGNATURE!!

GIMME GIMME !!

SO HOTTTT

[RB20DET_Silvia]

Please....stop there, no need for fancy work.

Simple light mist coats from a black spray can will fix this issue.....it will not clog up your intercooler etc aslong as u mist it on and dont do thick coats. I dont it on my oilcooler and i would notice the affect much more on a oil cooler and it was 100% perfect.

Chances are your front mount is far to big for your application to start off with and its already lagging your car so black spray wont affect it what so ever. Not being rude.

- Luke

[Nathan_G1]

how can i remove a business name from my intercooler? sprayed on with can spray and i wanna get rid of it, or cover it? whats my best option and how can i do it

[QRI05E]

Luke - Im getting a highflow turbo, 555cc injectors, walbro pump, Haltech ECU all fitted... aiming for 250+rw/kw... you telling me a 600 x 300 x 76 FMIC is too big?

Dont think so!

Cheers

[DaGr81]

black grill FTW...saves alot of hassels!!

[blah_blah]

Take it to a radiator repair shop and get them to paint it. Their stuff is made for the job.

Hi Geoff,

Do you mind posting up any radiator shops you recommend to take it too? (eastern suburbs ) Or are the local radiator shops fine?

[QRI05E]

Any decent radiator shop will do the job... im sure any pannel beater will too...

A black grill is a good idea but the only problem then is the pipes that stick out the side of the R33 S2 bar underthe fog lights/blinkers...

Can anyone please post up some pics of their S2 R33 with grill infront of their FMIC?

Cheers

[Nathan_G1]

no way im i putting crappy grill on my car, thanks for that suggestion, but its a terrible idea.......specially since its purely a track car, mite just spray lightly over it

[666DAN]

Don't paint it!!! 0.1mm may sound like not much, but that's 100 micron of paint, more than enough to trap heat.

A lot of the polyurethane paint you see on things is less than that, when you consider a factory car paint job is around 125 micron, that's a lot of paint on your cooler.

[QRI05E]

Dan what you suggest? The FMIC i can get Anodised but the piping is chrome plated aluminium... how am i going to get them black?

If i anodise the FMIC (end tanks and core) would it be okay to paint or powder coat the piping?

Here is a little edit I done in Photo shop... i really prefer the stealth look....

Regards,

Sarkis