Radiator paint question

[tdskip]

Anything special here - I know Eastwood sells paint specificailly for use on radiators but I'm not sure if that is any different or better than say this;

 

[martx-5]

Radiators don't get that hot...hopefully less then about 200 deg. Most rattle can paints should handle that, I don't think you even need any high temp paint. Eastwood sells a lot of good products, but at fairly high prices. I think this is one of those times that any decent paint will do. Just look on the label to how high of a temp it will take.

 

[Geo Hahn]

This issue may not be just temp but also the thickness or heat conductivity of the paint.

I believe a heavy coat of paint on a radiator can be detrimental to cooling.

There are paints that are almost as thin as ink (like the black from a Magic Marker). Don't know if that is a characteristic of the Eastwood paint but with a phone call you could probably find out.

TR rads are challenged in the best of times so anything that reduces their performance is to be avoided.

 

[DaveatMoon]

I have some of the Eastwood radiator paint but haven't used it yet. It's selling point <span style="font-style: italic">is</span> it's thinness and temperature conductivity. I believe that there are other brands lurking on the shelves of Advance/Pep Boys/et al that will work as well, however.

You can easily and probably will seriously effect the cooling capacity of a radiator painting it with normal spray paints. There's a thread on the AACA forum right now by a guy who painted his 1930s Chrysler rad with Imron (becaue it looked nice), and now he can't drive it for more than 15 minutes.

The Krylon can pictured is for a steam heat radiator. It's main selling point is good thermal adhesion and elasticity. You'd have to ask them what it's thermal conductivity is like.

 

[PeterK]

I used Eastwood's radiator paint. It's thinner than "regular paint" and provides a nice coating. I avoided overspraying the fins nonetheless. Just enough to coat. Never use engine enamel as it has very high solids and too thick for this application.