Man, that ish is pretty. You going to put some mesh in front of it? It owuld be a shame for that thing to take some bruises and start showing the old color.

 

Nice man, real inconspicuous. You always notice a bigger intercooler but it makes you wonder now that i see one in black if i would even look twice at it on the street.

 

if it shows its old color from getting banged up by rocks out comes the sharpie ... Well seriously I would be pretty mad if it did and it probably will get banged up I am sure of that

 

Dude you drive an Evo I dont think just blacking out your intercooler with change that.It does look good but I wonder how it will hold up under rocks and so one?

 

^^^ yup thats true

 

so why did you get it annodized as opposed to using heat transfer/intercooler paint.

 

I got it anodized versus painting because firstly in my opinion I think it will hold up better againtst rocks than paint would... also I wasn't familiar with "heat transfer paint" researched a little on anodizing and seeing a few pieces of aluminum anodized really sparked my interested... as it made the parts look almost billet.. Plus it has bling points with ricers when you tell them that your IC was dipped in a vat of sulphuric acid (just some comic relief)
plus for 55 bucks I didn't think it was a big deal.

 

Not a problem at all man glad I could help. Thats what i'm here for. It looks good now that i can actually see it. lol I like it!

Let me know if you need anything.

Jarrod
Buschur Racing Inc.

 

Will do Jarrod thank you soo much for the help and awesome product... time to save up for the rest of your goodies on the buschurracing website

 

that **** is hot!!!

 

Whats the difference?

 

If you used heat transfer paint (or any paint) you would need to mist it on. This has been covered on threads before about 'don't paint your intercooler.. blah blah..' but I believe that if you 'misted' it to a black tint that you would slightly change the heat transfer properties of aluminum.

Heat transfer paint
Pros
Painting can be easy (if you are good)
It can be cost effective (as an engineer.. nothing is 'cheap' )
It can be touched up in the future and you only need to (i would only recommend 'misting' one side

Cons
You are covering the intercooler and may slightly affect it.. If done with care this should be very minimal
The paint may chip/peel from age and rocks
Salt may affect the paint
If you are not good at painting the layers may look 'blotchy'


Anodizing the aluminum is a completely different process it changes the aluminum surface to its oxide. It is a procedure in which the aluminum is electrified in a bath and a chemical reaction takes place. Anodizing can be in many colors and mulitple colors on the same part.

Pros
Very strong (it actually hardens the surface of the aluminum)
More abrasive resistant and holds up better to being 'beatin up' by the road debris
It will not peel like paint
Long lasting
It is thin (on the order of 0.002")

Cons
It can be done at home - but may be expesive to start the first time, so for the diy'er it means you have to take it somewhere and it might be expensive cost... or should i say 'cost may vary dependant on your area and how much of a ***** the guy is who you want to have this done by' - thats better
Aside from that.. I can't think of cons.. It can be changed later.. but is difficult and deemed to only be done by a 'professional'

Anodizing is the way to go if you want it permanent and you want a good finish and to increase the hardness of the AL.

Painting is the way to go if you want a quick job (make it look good) and you may consider changing it later. You can also do it yourself

Sorry for the long post.. I hope it sheds some light on the situation.

-Wes

 

thanks for the informative post... I guess I can finally see some some practical apps of chem coming into play...

 

thanks for the post I learnt a thing or two from it
also thanks for the comments everyone
now whose going to sell me a lip

 

Your Evo looks like K.I.T. from Knight Rider. "Hello, Michael."