Baffle- Paint- Yes or No

[Jeff Vaughan]

Trying to figure out if painting the baffles is worth the time and effort.

What are the pros of painting. I know the cons: added weight, time to do etc.

[f1rocket]

I think the biggest con is that they just don't look that good for very long. I painted mine, but they look a little beat up now.

If I were to do it again, I would go for polishing the aluminum and then just let them reach a natural patina. I think it's a cleaner look and will last longer.

If you do paint, you might consider having them powdercoated instead. That might be a little more durable.

[gasman]

Try a can of X-I-M 900 clear coat 800-262-8469 This stuff goes on easy, your parts look great and it is easy. Will dry fast and the finish is tuff.

Wash your part with Dawn dish soap and scuff with red scotch brite.............

[az_gila]

Anodizing might be an option that might look better (more metallic looking... ...) than powder coat.

It's an option on some aftermarket certified aircraft baffles.

Pricing might be not much more than powder coating if done in a single batch...

gil in Tucson

[Bob Axsom]

I can't believe anyone would even consider it.

Bob Axsom

[bsacks05]

Painted mine with flat black engine paint from an auto parts store. They look great after 95 hrs.

[Ironflight]

I left mine bare - my experience with baffles on my old Grumman was that with all the vibration and wear, they'd be looking patched and ratty eventually anyway. With more than 450 hours on the Val's baffles now, they do look remarkably good - no wear or cracks - but I'm still satisfied that I didn't take the time to paint them. If I had, and they needed patching, the disassembly to repaint to make them pretty again would be a lot of work - I don't want to have to take them apart until it's time for engine overhaul!

Paint them, powdercoat them, or anodize them if it makes you feel better, but leaving them bare worked just fine for me.

Paul

[JonJay]

I am always impressed with the guy at the fly in that takes his cowling off to show his beautiful engine compartment. There are some spectacular installs and I like looking at them, seriously. However, I did not paint anything that I did not have too, and in my opinion, baffling is one of those things. Decided flying sooner, even a few hours, was more important to me.
I do think that cracks are easier to see on naked aluminum, hence, I did not paint my airbox parts either.
I think there is no right or wrong answer here, just your personal preference.

[N62XS]

Originally Posted by Ironflight

I left mine bare - my experience with baffles on my old Grumman was that with all the vibration and wear, they'd be looking patched and ratty eventually anyway. With more than 450 hours on the Val's baffles now, they do look remarkably good - no wear or cracks - but I'm still satisfied that I didn't take the time to paint them. If I had, and they needed patching, the disassembly to repaint to make them pretty again would be a lot of work - I don't want to have to take them apart until it's time for engine overhaul!

Paint them, powdercoat them, or anodize them if it makes you feel better, but leaving them bare worked just fine for me.

Paul

I'm in Paul's camp. I powder coated mine with a high heat silver finish. Came out OK, but not great. My 1963 Mooney had bare baffling. I took a rag and some Dawn to it and it cleaned up great. If I were to do it over, and I will at least three or four times, bare. Less time, little if any benefit and releatively easy to replace if it starts to look ratty.

[ao.frog]

Hi.

I'm working on the baffles right now and I'm planning to leave them unpainted.
The reason is that I'm thinking they'll be able to transfer heat more easily from inside of the plenum to the outside, thus making the cooling more effective?

I was thinking that paint will act as isolation?

Or am I wrong here maybe?


Regards Alf Olav Frog / Norway
Finishing