Ok I have an aluminum hood for my wagon. Now I would love to polish is up so it looks all pretty, but I am wondering if I do that would it simply reflect heat back to the engine? So would I be ok polishing it of should I paint it black?

 

I would think that it would reflect heat but I am not sure if it would raise temps too much. Most cars come with hood insulation pad. Mine did not have one when I got it , the guy had repainted car as well as under the hood and when I got it the paint was peeling off the underside of hood from center out. I have repainted it but I also ordered the insulation pad so that the paint will stay on. i think that you would need a way to clear the heat from engine bay especially if you plan on driving for any lenght of time on hot days.

 

i don't think it would make a difference. a black hood (on the outside) i would think would get hotter on the inside than a polished hood. while sitting at an idle in the hot sun i know that a black hood would be worse. on a second thought aluminum is like a sponge with heat. i would think it would take heat away from the engine bay. all in all i just cant see there being a difference.

i have seen people build street rods with polished stainless on the bottom of there hoods with no problems.

 

Heat wise I don't think it would make a difference. But i would think about upkeep. If this is a daily driver you will probably spend alot of time keeping the aluminum shining. I had an aluminum firewall on a 40 coupe and was always cleaning it. You could think about getting the aluminum clear coated.

 

I read something dealing with a similar issue some 15+- years back. Assuming what I read was correct and I remember accurately. You will probably want to leave the hood alone on a driver Maintenance issues aside. The more reflective the color/material the less heat transfer. Being a large engine bay you imo will likely have enough air flow to keep her cool, but why put the effort into it to discover otherwise? Its your car, but if it were me, I'd be spending the time elsewhere. Especially on a driver.

 

Along these lines of underhood color......What is the correct "black" for fenderwells, frame, and bottom side of a hood?

 

Well my fenderwells were plastic and I repainted with a gloss black paint for plastic. my frame I did with a semi-gloss black. My underside of the hood was painted the same color as the car but I added an Underhood insulation pad which is a flat black.