Thermochromic Paint on a Car

The guys at Dip Your Car tried an experiment in which they painted a car lime green, then added five coats of black thermochromic paint. Thermochromic means it changes color with the application of heat. After the paint dried, they threw buckets of hot water on the car to see what would happen. The black pigment disappeared and the five coats turned transparent to let the green show! Skip ahead to 5:15 to watch the fun. Then if you're interested, you can go back to the beginning to get a thorough explanation. It's fun to watch, but they really should have shown what engine heat does to the appearance. One suspects that they used a non-running car for the experiment. Would the air temperature have an affect? If so, the car would be green on sunny summer days and black at night or in winter or rain. Also, before you consider this for your car, keep in mind that the thermochromic effect is not all that durable over time. (via Boing Boing)