what color for my engine block?

[DNFXDLI]

Another vote for corporate blue.

 

[LEB Ben]

true....

im down to either silver or black.

mainly cause i cant find a place that sells color matched engine paints for electric currant red.

Tried a body shop?


I'm telling you, you might wanna give the Duplicolor stuff a chance...primarily the anodized line:

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/metalcast.html

 

[5.0Flareside]

alright ya guys.


Yall have convinced me...


its gonna be Ford Blue.

 

[gsxr1238]

Anything but black.As the other guys said,it makes it very hard to track a leak.Myself,I like the Old Ford Blue.

 

[5.0Flareside]

Anything but black.As the other guys said,it makes it very hard to track a leak.Myself,I like the Old Ford Blue.

thats what im gonna go with. i was convinced by everyone....

now i just gotta figure out what im gonna do as far as valve covers go cause im not gonna color match now.

 

[lil_dq]

I like WHITE Blocks, but then again I am kind of partial.....

 

[5.0Flareside]

obviously.....

 

[Fordzilla80]

Just go with blue for the valve covers.But don't you dare paint the upper intake plenum.Leave it the original color.I hate painted intake plenums.

 

[5.0Flareside]

Just go with blue for the valve covers.But don't you dare paint the upper intake plenum.Leave it the original color.I hate painted intake plenums.

haha. i was going to but i decided not to.

 

[LEB Ben]

alright ya guys.


Yall have convinced me...


its gonna be Ford Blue.

Good, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I like WHITE Blocks, but then again I am kind of partial.....

Wow...that really looks awesome. I never would have guessed. Maybe Red will get a white block with red accessories next time around...hmmm. But that seriously looks so good, it's convincing.

now i just gotta figure out what im gonna do as far as valve covers go cause im not gonna color match now.

I still say you give this a shot:

I'm telling you, you might wanna give the Duplicolor stuff a chance...primarily the anodized line:

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/metalcast.html

Worst case scenario you waste $20 on a couple of rattle cans if you don't like it.

 

[ctuckF150]

I prefer Duplicolor DE1635 Ford Semi gloss black. Engine builders have told me that the black helps to dissipate heat better than any other color & a flat black is preferred.

 

[LEB Ben]

I prefer Duplicolor DE1635 Ford Semi gloss black. Engine builders have told me that the black helps to dissipate heat better than any other color & a flat black is preferred.

Wait...how's that work? Black absorbs heat and white reflects heat I thought.

 

[5.0Flareside]

Wait...how's that work? Black absorbs heat and white reflects heat I thought.

idk. thats what ive been wondering. unless somehow the black is drawing the heat to the outside of the block? maybe?

 

[ctuckF150]

Wait...how's that work? Black absorbs heat and white reflects heat I thought.

idk. thats what ive been wondering. unless somehow the black is drawing the heat to the outside of the block? maybe?

IDK either. Our engine build at work paints our blocks w/ this same color. They make 1300+hp & live for 18 months. It was in the book, "How to Hot Rod Small Block Chevys". I think it said that it reflects heat better that bright, glossy colors.

 

[LEB Ben]

Here' we go...I came up with a couple good answers:

The reason black paint dissipates heat more than any other color is that black is the most capably dissipative color for infra-red (heat) wavelengths. As we all know, back is very absorbent when energy rays (visible AND invisible) such as sunlight hit it. It is also able to cast off the most heat energy, all of its radiation being in the infra-red part of the energy wavelength spectrum. Single colors tend to focus their ability to both absorb AND dissipate in the wavelength of their color, and far less in the infra-red compared to black. One last thing about black: It absorbs energy better than it dissipates it, which is likely why the effect of black dissipating heat is less known. Also, since it absorbs far better than it dissipates (as do all colors), it has a net gain, for example when your black car sits in the sun, until an equilibrium is reached depending on the heated body's ability to be cooled (like with a fender or hood, by the surrounding air). The ambient temperature of the air around the black fender keeps it from heating beyond a certain range.

and....

With the hood closed there are two aspects to look at.

1. With the engine running or while driving
2. With the engine off.

With the engine running or while driving, the wind circulating the engine bay will work primarily under convection, radiant heat will have little effect, so the color of the paint wouldn't matter.

With the engine off, and the car sitting still, with the hood closed, the black paint will have a high emissivity thus radiating more head than any any other standard color. The lack of air current reduces the effect of convection.

So to me, I'd say while you're driving, no effect, and if you have a good fan, no effect at idle either. After shut down, it appears it will cool faster. That being said, if you had an exposed engine, like on a motorcycle or somethin, black paint would be a bad idea because it would absorb more heat than it would release. So if I'm reading this correctly, black paint would only make a difference after shut down...and at that point, it doesn't really matter how quick it cools.

 

[73F100Shortbed]

I suggest Chevy orange

Blue is a good idea. I liked when my engine was blue. It looked really good. I painted the new one black though.

 

[5.0Flareside]

I suggest Chevy orange

i dont want my engine to look like a chebbies truck engine. i want it to actually run good.

 

[73F100Shortbed]

New:

Old:

I have since put the stock air cleaner back on. I liked the blue a lot but imprefections started to show up that drove me nuts. Now that it is black I could care less LOL

 

[5.0Flareside]

blue is much better.

 

[73F100Shortbed]

Yeah if I did it again I would probably do the blue, but I had to rush getting the engine back in the truck and just sprayed it black real quick.