fullsized
Member
So the car is a post January1965 build New Yorker wagon and I got the replacement A/C condenser but need to paint it or not? And did the car get a "Air Condition by Auto Temp" decal on a window? I know 66 and up did but 65?
Paint or no paint on the Air Condistioner condenser?
- Thread starter fullsized
- Start date
darth_linux
Senior Member
My original condenser was painted black from the factory. '66 Chrysler. I've since replaced with a modern style condenser, and it too got the black paint treatment.
I had a full semester of Heat Transfer in engineering school and I can tell you this: Paint it semi-gloss or matte black. Everything in industry that needs to "radiate" heat (like a radiator!) is black. The condenser is just another radiator, getting rid of the heat in the compressed Freon.
From the web: The rate of heat transfer by emitted radiation is determined by the Stefan-Boltzmann law of radiation. The symbol e stands for the emissivity of the object, which is a measure of how well it radiates. An ideal jet-black radiator has e = 1, whereas a perfect reflector has e = 0. Real objects fall between these two values. Take, for example, tungsten light bulb filaments which have an e of about 0.5, and carbon black (a material used in printer toner), which has the greatest known emissivity of about 0.99. Black items emit (radiate) heat.
Mick Jagger and I advise you to "paint it black".
From the web: The rate of heat transfer by emitted radiation is determined by the Stefan-Boltzmann law of radiation. The symbol e stands for the emissivity of the object, which is a measure of how well it radiates. An ideal jet-black radiator has e = 1, whereas a perfect reflector has e = 0. Real objects fall between these two values. Take, for example, tungsten light bulb filaments which have an e of about 0.5, and carbon black (a material used in printer toner), which has the greatest known emissivity of about 0.99. Black items emit (radiate) heat.
Mick Jagger and I advise you to "paint it black".
For that matter, I don't understand why the folks who use those (ugly) aftermarket aluminum radiators don't paint them black. All that shiny metal HATES to radiate heat into the air stream. A little rattle-can black would greatly improve the cooling capacity, my guesstimate is 15-20 percent.
There's a reason that pot-bellied stoves have been black for the past 200 years.
There's a reason that pot-bellied stoves have been black for the past 200 years.
Aside from the engineering reasons, there are also cosmetic reasons!
The condenser and/or radiator should be black so as to NOT detract from the brightwork that is the vehicle grille. Same reason the sides of the core support are (sometimes sloppily) painted a dull-to-satin black, rather than body color. To let the brilliance of the silver grille be the dominant thing seen on the front of the car . . . NOT the silver a/c condenser or brass radiator core.
Thanks @Trace 300 Hurst for the comments!
CBODY67
The condenser and/or radiator should be black so as to NOT detract from the brightwork that is the vehicle grille. Same reason the sides of the core support are (sometimes sloppily) painted a dull-to-satin black, rather than body color. To let the brilliance of the silver grille be the dominant thing seen on the front of the car . . . NOT the silver a/c condenser or brass radiator core.
Thanks @Trace 300 Hurst for the comments!
CBODY67
wyrmrider
Member
flat black bbq black not enamel
darth_linux
Senior Member
what else is there besides enamel and lacquer?
Similar threads
