So today I had some free time and decided to leave work a bit early. I have gotten a bit sick of how nasty my Stripes pipes kit has gotten over the years. The paint never adhered very well. So I pulled all the pipes and got to work. Stripped them all down with a wire wheel until nice and shiny. As I wrapped up my work, my wire wheel decided to end it all and throw itself out of the drill and over my 12th floor balcony...woops.

Now the question is: Should I clear them and leave them shiny? Should I paint them flat black and never have to clean them again? Also, when painting IC pipes can I get away with interior trim paint black (I have 2 cans) or should I use the engine enamel?

 

That's what I did with mine, I cleared them. But over the winter they started showing signs of rust.

you should just get them PCed. :P

 

Blah.. I'm considering it, but then i need to remove the sensor that someone JB welded on the thread a bit haha

 

trim paint would work on the cold side, probably not the hot side. Just get a can of paint meant for engine blocks if you end up painting it.

 

Pc...fo sho

 

Barbecue black from the hardware store has stuck to everything I've ever painted. But it's flat black.

 

I used this for a couple of things, the intercooler being one of them. It doesn't seem to stick well for me. It scratches off very easily. Admittedly my prep work is nearly non existent most of the time.

However, the rustoleum I used on my valve cover is surviving really well actually. That'd be my advice...do rustoleum in the color you want and you should be good. Pretty durable, lots of colors to choose from, easy to apply and looks good.

 

duplicolor ceramic high-temp paint lays down awesome on that ****.

 

just be sure to use a good metal etching primer first, and you will never have any problems.

 

I opt'd to say hell with it: I'll just PC and not risk it chipping off and going through this crap again. My VCover is PC'ed Mirror Silver, and the new BEGI IM is aluminum, so i suppose I'll do the same color.

 

i work at a powdercoating shop. we've had customers smooth welds with jb weld. if you sand it down to a thin layer it shouldnt boil, the powder just wont stick to it very well since its not conductive . that is if they used regular jb weld. the kwik stuff sucks.

 

I thought we JB welded an adapter in the pipes then simply screwed in the sensor...