From here
Thanks for all of the replies above, very informative…………
Another question popped into my head this morning. My Engine only has 600 hours on the clock/ 5 years since rebuild and the black paint is flaking off the cylinder head fins here and there. At every Annual one of the jobs is to scrape this off and re-spray as best as possible to eliminate corrosion. It is impossible to do the job perfectly as as it’s obviously done without removing the heads etc.
So would there be any “theoretical” implications if the cylinder head fins were black anodised? I presume the colour has an effect on heat dissipation otherwise electronic heatsinks would not all be black!
Would getting rid of the thin layer of paint also help? I am only asking from an Engineering point of view.
Thanks – Archer-181
This is the most amazing paint I have ever used, for sheer durability under heat and other conditions. It is designed for red hot chimney stacks while in driving rain
I did my rocker covers with it in 2003 (a year after the Lycoming plating all came off) and when my engine went to the USA this year they still looked like new. It still exists – here. Like all paints that actually work, it is highly toxic 
I sprayed it with a spray gun; the tin on the right is the solvent which is required if you spray it. The finish was ok but nothing like as smooth as with automotive paints etc.
As regards the black colour on cylinders, I would not think the colour matters much because
Archer-181 wrote:
So would there be any “theoretical” implications if the cylinder head fins were black anodised?
IMO, anodizing is generally something for “furniture and windows”. Places where structural strength and fatigue plays no major part, but where corrosion resistance and/or looks are important. At some places it’s just impossible. Just think about boats that need to be re-painted every year under the water line. Cylinders get very hot.
Also, the cylinders are steel, which can’t be anodized. It’s interesting to consider what plating could (in theory) be applied if allowed by the maintenance manual. The cylinder heads are cast aluminum, a porous alloy, which doesn’t anodize well.
