Maybe a silly question, but was curious if the outside of the radiators that shows through the vent of the hawk, can be painted? Or is it hazardous in some way.

 

it's not hazardous but their efficiency of radiating heat will be decreased as soon as you paint them. you could always just paint the grille that sits on them and not the actual radiator itself.

 

Yes, its hazardous. These bikes barely cool themselves as it is & it all depends on the heat exchange of the thin-walled radiator fins. Painting them would be knocking a huge amount of efficiency off them. It would be about as smart as painting your tires. They are functioning units, not cosmetic.

 

It will reduce efficiency, so not a good idea.

 

The radiators on my '05 are painted black from the factory... it cools just fine.

 

Yes, the factory ones are no problem. But spraying paint on the silver ones is not a good idea, as it will close up the cores a bit.

 

There is a screen on the outside of the radiator. I've painted it with high temp paint and it looks good. Doesn't effect the cooling because the actual radiator is still stock. Got the idea from a friends VFR. Their screens are black.

 

I´ve painted mines black and had no problems with temperatures.
They´ve been repaired.
The temp gauge works like always.

 

I'm gonna be painting mine in a couple days, just the grills, and outer edges.

 

I know that there are compounds that do not put a layer of anything on aluminum, but they do "age" it and patina it dark, almost black. How about that?

 

Sounds like it would be ok.

 

Can't say for sure what the durability would be on a radiator, but this is what I had in mind: https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/store/antiquing.html#oxd

Can't hurt to call them and ask about it?

 

painted mine black, doesnt run any warmer than usual, and Im installing a digital temp gauge so I'll be able to get exact numbers in the near future...

 

Your much better off not doing it!

 

i'm new to the motorcycle world, just got a '99 vtr.
HEAT kills power and in that regard, anyway to run cooler is more effective and or more ideal operation.
Had my 300awhp daily WRX header/up/down pipes coated, and wrapped. under hood heat temp dropped, enough for the temp gage to register the lower temps. after running it around town & freeway driving, i could pop the hood at a gas station and the manifold and intercooler pipes would be cool to the touch.

you guys might want to look into: http://www.hightempenginepaint.com/