What do ya'll think about this???

[brojcol]

For my next bus, I'm thinking about getting it murdered out...

You know like on Rob and Big!

http://www.chevroletforum.com/m_32716/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm

Murdered out means it would be all black, with powdercoat black rims, black bumpers, headlight bezells, everything.  Then get really dark tint on all the windows!

What'chall think about that???

I think it might be cool.  Kinda like ACE'S bus before he painted it.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Jimmy,

Thats how my bus was before the paint, except I had chrome sims on the wheels.

Nick-

[brojcol]

Nick,

I kinda like it...

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Well,

I sure wouldn't change what I have now..... I have grown out of people thinking that I was Goverment/Tactical unit!  LOL

Nick-

[TomC]

Kinda hard to cool in summer?

[Sean]

It will look great.

It will also cost you a fortune to cool it.  Don't even think about traveling in the desert in the summer without at least 65,000 BTU/h of cooling capacity, either engine-driven or with your genny running full time to power it.

You can mitigate this a little bit without compromising "the look" too much by painting the roof polar white.

The dark window tint will help a bit, too, but remember that the windshield and the front side windows can't be tinted beyond a certain point in many states.  There is no exemption for out-of-state registered vehicles -- you can be stopped, cited, and even forced to fix it before moving further for unlawful tint in many places.  For instance, California law allows a maximum 12% tint (88% transmissivity), which is not enough, for example, to keep people outside from seeing you inside.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[HighTechRedneck]

Another factor you may want to research - Even if you can air condition the interior sufficiently, the outer skin is going to be much hotter.  It seems to me that significantly higher temperatures would cause a significant increase in expansion of large panels.  I don't know if it would be enough to cause ripples or waves, but you may want to get an expert opinion on it.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

You guy's bring up a good point..

Last summer before the paint job, while still in black primer, Bruce Knee and I did a temp gun test on my bus.

It was 90+ deg's outside under a hot sun and my bus read 186 deg's. The white car beside my bus read 122 deg's.  Big difference.....

Then we ate lunch in a real good steak joint.....Bruce, that was an awsome sandwich.. When can we go back there?  LOL

Nick-

[brojcol]

Nick,
So does the fact that the primer was flat as opposed to being reflective have any bearing on that heat thing?

I've read posts before that black is a bad idea, but I figured with enough foam insulation, it wouldn't matter too much.  But I never thought about it buckling.  That might be a problem...

Anyway, it was just a thought.  I'll probably end up going with something a little more traditional.  But imagine a PD 4107 "murdered out", it would be AWESOME!!!!

(Can you believe I'm almost 38 years old?)

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Nick,
So does the fact that the primer was flat as opposed to being reflective have any bearing on that heat thing?

I've read posts before that black is a bad idea, but I figured with enough foam insulation, it wouldn't matter too much.  But I never thought about it buckling.  That might be a problem...

Anyway, it was just a thought.  I'll probably end up going with something a little more traditional.  But imagine a PD 4107 "murdered out", it would be AWESOME!!!!

(Can you believe I'm almost 38 years old?)

Jimmy,

I guess you will have to show me some "Reflective Black" surface and we can do a temp test in the sun...lol

Yes, I can believe your "38" because I can't believe I'm "42"  Ha Ha Ha ....

Nick-

[gumpy]

Well, you asked, and keep in mind this is my opinion, not meant to be demeaning in any way, and is coming from someone who's decided if I never get my bus painted it won't really matter, but I personally think unless it's done "right", it would be ugly as sin. I think you could pull it off if you put chrome on in, and maybe some gold, red, or blue flake in the paint, or possibly some flames in pearl. I just don't think you can make an all black scheme work. And, Nick, no offense, but I didn't really like the look of the black, but the new paint it awesome!

It would be impossible to cool, also, no matter how many airs you put on it.

My bus is white topped, with primer grey sides, and dark tint windows. It's currently sitting in southern Colorado, where it was 101 deg today. I am plugged into a 20 amp circuit running only one compressor in my dual compressor basement air. I took a nap this afternoon, and when I woke up at 2:00, it was already 95 degrees inside with the one compressor running. We're going to hook up to a 50 amp circuit tomorrow so I can turn on the other compressor.

[Barn Owl]

There is an awesome senic that is mostly black that I have seen on this board. You can find it somewhere in the photo posts. So very, very cool!

[FloridaCliff]

Just an example;

Some of the electronic cabinets I deal with are about the size of a small van on the side of the road.

They are painted forest green, so as to blend in. LOL

One day we shot the top and they were 185 deg on a 95 deg day.

Painted the top of one white, where we had two next to each other.

Shot them on the next 95 +/- day and the white top was only 5 above air temp.

The green was still in the 180's.   You do the math.   

Cliff

[orfunauto/Darrell]

I've been watching this thread with interest, and curiosity got the best of me today.  I took my temp gun out to the bus at 4:00 this afternoon and measured the temps on the inside of the windshield and the outside.  With a 93 degree outside actual temp, the windshield measured 138 degrees on the outside surface.  I have the 1/4" foil sandwiched bubble wrap as an inside cover while the bus is parked.  The temperature on the inside surface of the insulation measured 77 degrees with my front Coleman roof air running on low.  I was amazed at the difference that thin Lowe's insulation made!  I checked the temperature on a couple other interior surfaces, and they were within a couple degrees of the insulation temperature.  So---- reflectivity really is an asset for keeping things cool in our buses.   

[gus]

White will be cooler than any other color every time. For some strange reason many think silver is cool, it just isn't so. Try placing your hand on top of a black car in the hot sun sometime, then try it on a white car. This convinces much better than any thermometer.

What's with this black or dark look anyway, is this a macho thing?? I see all these huge black SUVs in AZ and S Cal, makes no sense whatever to me??

I've lived in the tropics a bunch of times where white is the only way to go.