Scott Hall wrote (about painting calipers):
>
> I think if you're going to coat them at all, powdercoat them.
> <...>
> white lets off more heat, but I doubt the color will make a
> noticeable difference. <...>
I would think that powdercoating them, although good from a durability point of
view,
might not be such a good idea from a heat transfer point of view. The smooth
thick
powder coat finish would probably act as a good thermal barrier acting to keep
the
heat in the caliper.
As for the color white letting off more heat, the opposite is true (if I
remember my heat
transfer from my distant college years). White is a good a reflecting heat
(i.e. a white
car doesn't get as hot as a black car sitting in the sun), but black is a
*much* better
heat radiator (i.e. ever wonder why air cooled motorcycle cylinders/heads - the
painted
ones anyway - are black? For that matter why do you think they paint
automobile
radiators black?). Dull unpainted surfaces will radiate heat better than
painted surfaces
(the paint usually acts as an insulator), flat (non-glossy) surfaces radiate
better than
smooth, polished, or glossy surfaces. Black radiates (and absorbs) heat better
than
white, or any other color for that matter. With all the above, there are
exceptions -
there are special paint coatings that actually radiate better (talk to NASA),
etc., but
in general the above applies.
And as Scott said, it probably doesn't matter anyway...
Tim Mullen
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