- Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:31 pm
#23561
Hmmmmm. Heat dispersant paint? How would that work then I wonder. Engine gets hot in use, that's OK. Rough finish on an iron or aluminium barrel increases surface area by a factor of about 3, that's OK. Air passing over surface aids cooling, that's OK. Dark colours radiate heat better that light colours, so painting the barrels black is OK. So far all is OK, so how does heat dispersant paint add to this? What physical characteristic does it have to increase the effect of dark colours (in this case black) and improve upon the air cooling function? IMHO the name is like something off of a bottle of snake oil. I have used many different black paints on barrels over the decades and none does anything but change the colour and reduce the effects of oxidation on an iron barrel. My Commando has silver barrels and it seems to make no difference to cooling. The problem is usually finding a black paint which will stay on the barrels. After all most cylinder heads are aluminium castings with no black coating and that seems to be OK, particularly when we remember that the head is where all of the heat is generated. I will be intrigued to see an explanation of how "heat dispersant paint" works. Incidentally should that be "heat dispersing"?
