I'm looking to buy a front mount intercooler and I've found a kit that has a decent quality intercooler but the hard pipes are steel Is there any way of stopping the insides of the pipes from rusting or am I just best off using alloy pipes?

Thanks

 

Sorry to jump on your thread Paul, but since your on the subject, what should i use to refurb my fmic since it's looking a bit weathered?

Thanks.

 

Powder coating (electrostatic gun, then oven bake) should do the trick, or even a wet dip in a paint shop....

 

The paint will clog the fins and reduce the cooling efficiency.

 

Thought that. Any other options or is it best left alone?

Harvey - thanks for the emails. Busy right now so i'll have a look through them later.

 

I used diluted alloy wheel cleaner on mine, not like new but a lot better

 

What are you on about man?
He said the PIPES ARE STEEL and wants to prevent internal corrosion in them.
I was relying to the ORIGINAL thread starter.

As for weathered aluminium, a dip in a mix of dilute hydrochloric or brightener should do it.
Find a paint stripper in the 'pages' and have a chat m8.

Steve.

 

odd thread this! people not reading the original question

Paul, they wont internally rust unless you leave the car in a humid atmosphere without running it.

the engine/charge heat will soon get rid of any internal condensation after you have run it for a few miles. Lots of IC set ups have steel pipes.

If you want to protect the ally core from a bit of oxidisation, give it a clean and then just aerosol it with a colour of your choice. As Harvey says dont powder coat it as this will affect conductivity.

You cant powder coat the ID of a long pipe. powder works by being attracted to a electrically charged material. the powder wont get past the first few inches of the pipe without sticking to the walls really thickly so you wont get any in the pipe really.

You can do the outside though. a couple of pics of my hybrid. powder coated pipes and a aerosol black core. i noticed no difference in charge temps after doing this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ark/black1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...k/DSC00539.jpg