Not too sure about this...but after reading a thread on here about powder coating tinware,is it safe to do it any colour or is it meant to be black for 'heat dispersion' ?...
I know that theres reports of aircooled engines running cooler with black rocker covers when compared to chrome ones Im unsure about tinware Ive painted mine grey but i think having complete tinware as vw intended will make more difference than the colour its painted in
As tinware doesn't really get that hot if everything is as it should be then imo colour isn't going to make a noticeable difference...my bug tinware will be brilliant orange when I eventually get round to painting it..
Most of the heat gets blown under and out the back. In an ideal world no heat would get transferred to the tins at all. So get em gold plated.
I read somewhere about the reason for tinware being black, all to do with emissivity of the colour and its ability to absorb heat and wick it away. All very sciencey. It is true that black will do that but how much effect it will really have? I guess vw knew what they were doing. For esthetic reasons I kept mine satin black and just painted the fan casing in an outrageous colour. The last thing you will want to do is paint the tins which are shrink wrapped around the engine white as white reflects heat
When the engine is running you should be able to touch any of the tins and components in the engine bay and they will be cold. This shows the air is being circulated properly. No matter how far you've driven it should still be cold. The minute you switch the engine off it will heat up to the point where its too hot to touch.
VW designed these vans to be driven all over the world, including death valley and equatorial countries. The temperatures we get in the UK and even Europe won't stress them too much, so sticking to the original specs isn't that crucial I would have thought.
I agree Drew. Also, it's the inside of the tinware that would be absorbing any engine heat. Unless you're planning on painting the inside it shouldn't make any difference.
I nearly wet myself reading that. Word has it your chop will only be finished when the messiah himself walks into your shop and asks for his split window beetle to be restored.
Personally, as an alternative to powder coating you could try VHT Wrinkle Finish, I think it looks great - got the idea from CSP - they had a type 4 engine on display painted with is stuff - I used it on my van and I really like the finish - Ferrari use it on their rocker covers.....
It's to do with heat dissipation... so black is better as it absorbs the heat from the engine when it is off, allowing it to cool quicker!! This is where the chrome tin comes into effect... as it's reflective, it'll keep the engine hotter for longer...
