willysmjeeps.com

I am getting ready to paint my radiator. What paint (brand & type) did you guys use and how did it hold up?

Dave

I used Eastwoods radiator black gloss on my M38,but they now have satin black if you prefer.

A tip I heard of doing, and I did this, was when spraying the actual fins, spray at an angle so that you just cover their edges. That way you dont load too much paint down in.

To build on Bretto's post, I've also heard people say you don't want to paint the radiator fins at all because it decreases heat transfer.

What I want to know is: what part of the radiator gets painted which color. The fan shroud for example. Does it get black or OD? And the radiator housing? Radiator cap?

Just as RCFlyguy wrote, think about the radiators in your home. You don't want to paint them (the radiator fins) because that reduces the heat transfer ability.

After my re-core/re-build my rad guy recommended
blowing solvent or paint thinner thru- then blowing it out w/air
removing any caustics left from the dip tank and such before painting.

I painted everything black with no cooling problems. Eastwoods paint is thin and will not impair cooling. Any surface that you leave bare will eventually oxidize giving future cooling problems.

Radiator and attached shroud should be semi-gloss black.

Were the fins painted on the M38 radiator from the factory? Thanks for the information guys. I'll try the suggested paint technique for painting the fins. I have black lacquer that I was thinking of using. I used it on my starter, generator, voltage regulator, and cooling fan. Basically, everything black in the engine compartment has been painted with black lacquer.

fins were painted, I just kept it to a minimal coating for my jeep.