FMS FMIC Paint or Not

I started work on my Ford Motorsports Front mounted intercooler. The heat exchanger has been bead blasted and is now ready for paint. The tubes are going off to the powder coater monday.

There seems to have been several coats of paint over the years. The base coat seems to only be on the tanks and on the end plates.

Does anyone know for sure how the paint was done? Not that this is going to be a resto project but I would think paint on the cooling fins would hender performance.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Flat black paint would release the most heat.

I don't know much about it but there is such a thing as radiator paint. You are right, the more paint you have on it the more inefficient the heat exchange will be.

Like Pete said, use radiator paint. It puts down a thinner layer than "regular" paint.

Thanks for the input guys. I have the heat exhanger stripped and may very well just polish it.