Painting Couplers

[nucleareclipse]

I have been helping my friend build an XSpower ebay intercooler with a piping kit we got off ebay as well. The piping is 2.5, he got to select 6 pipes, and 6 couplers, the piping is flared, its 2mm thick piping, and each piece is 18" long, finally comes with 12 tbolt clamps. The kit is really nice, but he has a red car and the couplers are a bright blue. We are wondering if there is any conventional way to "paint" or change the colors of the couplers in a way that they wont crack or peel from underhood temps or anything in the near future?

 

[ILLiCliPSE]

I would love to know the same thing...I wanna buy an ebay intake and just use the metal pipe but it comes with bright blue couplers...I was thinking I could buy my own black ones, but I was also wondering if I could paint them.

 

[elfroggo]

I wouldn't worry about it cracking from heat, it's the fact that you are trying to paint a rubber and very flexible surface. That and you're going to have clamps digging in to the surface.

just buy a decent set of couplers in the color you want and keep the blue ones as emergency use. That's what I'm doing.

 

[DSMunknown]

just buy a decent set of couplers in the color you want and keep the blue ones as emergency use. That's what I'm doing.

I think the point of this thread is to not have to go out and purchase another set of couplers, but to use the couplers already in hand. That being said, try looking through Dupli-Color's website and see if anyone can find anything for this type of use:



http://www.duplicolor.com/

 

[PieEyedPiper]

I wish I could post a pictrure for you guys but my cam is down.
I've done this painting of the couplers. I painted a chrome extremePSI intake and the red couplers it came with. Looked awesome until I went to install it back into the car. It cracked and chipped and flaked. I used dupli color, gloss black for plastics.

The rubber is just too flexible. Of course all it needs is a touch up once you've installed it and it would look just dandy again. I've yet to do so but I'm confident it would work just fine.

 

[xioca]

You might try the Plastic Enamel paint you can pick up at lowes or home depot. I don't exactly know if it will work well on silicone but it'd be worth a try.

 

[andymoraitis]

Nothing really works well since you'd need tons of flex agent to be able to handle the amount of flexibility that a coupler has. It'll basically do what was mentioned above: look fine until you remove it at which point it'll crack and flake everywhere.

Sorry,

Andy

 

[nucleareclipse]

Well some guy in my class came up wit ha good answer for me. Apparently they use this PVT stuff, not sure what the accronym stands for, but its a type of spray on vinly they use when making carbon fiber plugs to prevetn the cf from sticking to the mold itself. When the stuff is still liquid a lil color will be all i need to have something i can spray, and be color, problem now, how to apply it...wondering if this stuff can shoot out a gravity gun, or if i could just slap some of it in liquid form on the outside of the coupler and hang em out to dry...time to investigate.

Another idea was to just use the blue couplers in the areas you can't see, such as to and from the intercooler, between hte turbo and licp, then suck it up and go buy some red couplers for the TB, and the reducer couplers for the gm maf. thanks for the replys guys

 

[wvturbo2]

I can't see how buying paint and taking the time to paint them can be that much cheaper than buying a coupler. They even have them at autozone in blue or red. They have stright 3 inch or 3 to 2.5 and so on. Thats what i decided to use since one of my couplers was 2 large.

 

[Blitzeclips]

Ask them for another color man! I had the EXACT same problem when I was putting on my turbo, and they actually sent me vibrant red ones. So e-mail to seller and see what they can do..

As far as "painting" the couplers go... I wouldn't. The word you're loking for here is "dye". That surface flexes too much for paint to stay. DYE will permanently change the coloring..

GL

 

[VanIsleDSM]

I bought a used Greddy IC pipe set and the couplers looked like crap.. I noticed the surface of the couplers looked like a woven fabric and was wrapped around the coupler.. being a good Canadian I instantly noticed it looks exactly like hockey tape, which can be had in all different colours.. I went to the sports store and picked up some blue hockey tape.. did a nice job wrapping it on.. starting diagonally on the edges and cutting off the excess so there was no start or stop tape flap... I then clear coated the ends to keep the tape from stretching back when the couplers were tightened.. worked great, the look just like they did, but brand new! I'll snap a pic and post it up.

I notice some of the couplers are not a fabric woven look but shiny slick looking.. I imagine you could find some coloured rubber and lay on a coat of spray adhesive and slap that stuff around it.. just put the seem facing down.

 

[TimF]

what about radiator paint, I was thinking of that?

 

[Bud92gsx]

Introducing flex seal..It's liquid rubber, In a can..

 

[Boostinsideways]

Hmm another application for plastidip?

 

[Flash]

Rit dye, just bring to a boil and throw in the part. It's cheap and it's easy. I've only used it to dye plastic parts before, works great. I don't see why it wouldn't work on couplers.

 

[TimF]

I also found silicon spray, I would think that would work to. Im buying a FMIC that comes with blue couplers and they want to charge me extra for black ones, so I figured it would be cheaper to paint them

 

[sax_man]

+1 for plastidip. It should be flexible enough.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

A 5 year thread revival about painting silicone. Interesting.

 

[JusMX141]

^ Tru'dat.


Want a good way to get a nice, smooth finish when painting your car? Coat the whole thing in Tire Wet first.

Attempting to paint silicone couplers is no different.

 

[knochgoon24]

Just order the couplers in the color you want. You'll spend twice as much trying to paint them, only to then turn around a buy the color you originally want 6 months later.

 

[LiquidX]

Intercooler Pipe Fabrication - Silicone Intake Systems Auto Parts your one stop shop.

 

[Flash]

Just order the couplers in the color you want. You'll spend twice as much trying to paint them, only to then turn around a buy the color you originally want 6 months later.

And you call yourself a DSMer. Painting is cheap, easy and can be done without removing the couplers.
I just can't wait for the pictures to surface of the finished product. They will be awesome.

 

[knochgoon24]

And you call yourself a DSMer. Painting is cheap, easy and can be done without removing the couplers.
I just can't wait for the pictures to surface of the finished product. They will be awesome.

I've seen rattle-canned couplers. He had a mental breakdown and took a can of black spray paint to EVERYTHING in his engine bay. Just went to town, thinking he was blacking out everything on the car. The paint flaked off a few weeks later.

 

[importracr317]

Is the OP really asking if you can paint silicone rubber?.....

And to Knochgoon's point...a couple years ago at HIN, I saw the same thing. A guy with a turbo RSX just rattle can painted his whole engine bay as a joke. Not exactly my kind of "joke", but I guess it was funny to him and his "team".

 

[TimF]

I thought plastidip was clear?

A 5 year thread revival about painting silicone. Interesting.

I thought its better to post in another thread than make a whole new one.

Anyway I figured spray paint wont work. Ill try plastidip