Proper color for 60 radiator core?

[Fred from MO]

Getting ready for the new radiator core and the
thought occurred to me what color is the core
supposed to be?? Unpainted copper, JD classic
green, or like The Rolling Stones once said
painted black?? Thanks in advance
 

[silverado]

when they came down the assembly line they usually got some green on them but all the originals i have taken out of 50, 60 620 520 etc appear to never have been painted,,,,,,the ones i have had people restore for me paint them green some people claim if they are painted they dont cool as good i find that hard to believe
 

[rustred]

the proper color is black radiator paint which is specially formalated for heat transfer. regular or auto paint is not recommended as it is too thick.
also knew a guy that rebuilt his truck engine and gave it a lots of coats of paint to make it look smooth. that engine would not cool itself. he had to pull engine and disassemble it and soak it in caustic to remove the thick paint. after that it was good.
 

[CLW]

In past discussions it seemed that the majority said only over spray was on them. If it came painted then I would leave it that way. If it was not painted I would leave it that way also. I go with over spray but that is just me.
 

[Kent Petersen]

dont put any paint on it leave copper color it will cool at max efficiency that way
 

[B-maniac]

Each to his own , but if we are going as far as to re-create the overspray for authenticity then why would we not re-create the runs and orange peel and bare spots that also came down the line with each new JD tractor??? Just my opinion but if one has to spray sloppy looking green overspray all over a perfectly nice looking black replacement rad just for the sake of being "assembly line authentic" then lets have the runs and dry spray and dirt and bare spots that also are just as authentic. A lot of the old JD,s came from the factory with a grease soaked burlap wrapper around each outer axle shaft end to keep it from rusting and so tread width could be easily adjusted at sale for each farmers needs. I have yet to see a restored JD with this authentic feature on it. Do what you want , it's your project but I think too many people watch too much "Barrett Jackson Car Auction"