Engineering and fabrication

At what temperature does metal change colors?

I saw a car the other day that's body wasn't painted, the body had been brought down to metal and the heated to change colors (that purple, green, blue, etc color that seems to flow together), then sprayed with clear coat. How do people get the metal to change colors, at what temperature does it change? I'd probably be doing a motorcycle fender.

Public Comments

1. Below is a website with a list of colors and their temperature for steel. You'll have to take those numbers as a rough guide though because it's unlikely that you have just steel. It's more likely to be an alloy and that would change the characteristics.


2. The heat involved may distort the metal such that it doesn't fit quite the way normally does. so get a spare before you try this. You will just have to experiment.

   Also, realize that applying heat can change the temper of the steel making it either soft or brittle which can be a problem if you ride on rough roads.