Black, gray, white: how different cars heat up in the sun

As a rule, black cars are rarely used in southern countries. Most of us know why this is so from the school curriculum (or from personal experience). Dark paint absorbs heat, while white paint reflects it.

It is easy to verify this. It is enough to put the black car in the sun, and then sit in the leather interior heated in the sun. Or you can touch the hood of a car that has been in the sun for some time.

However, how big is the difference between identical cars, only with different body colors? Consider this figure based on a test of four cars.

Experiment on Toyota Highlinder

The answer to this question is given by the blogger from the YouTube channel MikesCarInfo. The experiment was carried out at 1 pm in the coastal town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

“Armed” with a Flir ONE thermal imager, the operator approaches several parked Toyota Highlander SUVs. These are identical models, differing only in color.

The gap in performance between a car with a black and white body is decent - about 25 ° C. The hood of a black car heated up to 70,6 ° C, and a white one - up to 45 ° C.

What about gray?

Of course, these two colors are at opposite ends of the light spectrum. The thermal imaging camera now measures the heating of the gray and silver crossover. It was assumed that the temperature readings will be the average between the data obtained from the black and white cars.

However, it turned out that the gray car was almost as hot as the black one: the sensor showed a level above 63°C! Silver also has a high rate, although lower - almost 54 ° C.

As you can see, there are significant differences in heating temperatures for cars that are painted in colors of opposite spectra. Shades have minor differences. But blue, green, red, yellow and other bright colors look much more interesting. Although this is a matter of taste.

Questions and answers:

What is the blackest car color? Vantablack is the latest development among paints and varnishes. The paint absorbs up to 99.6 percent of the light. The first car with this paint is the BMW X6.

How to paint with black metallic? It is important to thoroughly degrease and blow off the body before applying the base coat. Apply the primer as evenly as possible. It is better to paint with metallic paint in a special chamber.