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Car Paint Color Temperatures Test

745 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Yellowstone2Yukon
Hi all,

I hope this test that I did helps many of you when you choose your van paint color.
-Erik

Car Paint Color Temperatures Test

  1. Test conducted November 22nd, 2019 at 2:30 pm
  2. 76 degrees Fahrenheit, direct sun, no clouds
  3. Jacksonville, Florida at a Ford dealership
  4. New/clean cars, not driven, sitting on dealer lot in the sun
  5. A hand-held thermometer "laser gun" was used to scan several areas on each car hood that were in direct sunlight. The gun was held 2" away from each hood and the highest temperature was recorded.
  6. Each vehicle was scanned three times with the temperature gun and each reading was exactly the same as the previous one for that car.
  7. Test was completed within a 20 minute window

    =======================================
    86F or 30C White
    88F or 31C Bare Aluminum (a new bare piece that I laid out in the sun next to one of the cars)
    98F or 37C White (Pearl)
    102F or 39C Champagne
    110F or 43C Champagne (Darker)
    114F or 45C Blue (Bright)
    121F or 49C Silver
    124F or 51C Silver (Darker)
    126F or 52C Red
    127F or 53C Black Line-X coating in a truck bed
    128F or 53C Metallic Red
    128F or 53C Green (Bright)
    130F or 54C Silver Spruce Metallic - Ford colour/ER LTi
    139F or 59C Metallic Grey (Dark)
    144F or 62C Black (Plain)


    The test was performed to obtain metrics and quantitative data, a week before Thanksgiving in Northern Florida. Consider the impact in a desert environment such as the Southwestern US or Western Australia.


    ___
    A proper data recollection is the basis of a proper reference template.
    I have seen other tests, but non as detailed as this one.
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Thanks for the info.
This is partly why I'm happy to have a white one.
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Thanks for sharing this helpful info. I’ve owned a few RVs and can’t help but laugh a little when I see a kitted out campervan all blacked out. It may look badass but it’s a hugely impractical choice from a livability standpoint. Your numbers bear this out.
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I remember seeing a test someone did at a Ford dealership where the Ingot Silver color was cooler than white


That was part of the reason I went for it instead of white.
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I remember seeing a test someone did at a Ford dealership where the Ingot Silver color was cooler than white


That was part of the reason I went for it instead of white.
White was Far cooler than any shade of silver, as you can see from the test above.
I remember seeing a test someone did at a Ford dealership where the Ingot Silver color was cooler than white


That was part of the reason I went for it instead of white.
IR temperature readings are impacted by the emissivity of the surface. See point #4 in the attached. (much more info out there if you want to get into the weeds). How to Get Great Results with an Infrared Thermometer
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IR temperature readings are impacted by the emissivity of the surface. See point #4 in the attached. (much more info out there if you want to get into the weeds). How to Get Great Results with an Infrared Thermometer
Yeah, I read the stuff linked below after posting the link. I suppose the right way to test is air temperature inside the van.
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