NEWS

Cerakote® LR-200 Ultra Low Reflective Black Shows Strong Solar Absorptivity and Emissivity

October 20, 2026

Intro

When a coating is designed to reduce reflection, appearance is only part of the story. It is also important to understand how the surface handles incoming energy and heat.

Recent independent third-party laboratory testing of CERAKOTE® LR-200 Ultra Low Reflective Black produced the following results:

• Solar Absorptivity (ASTM E903): 0.9699
• Emissivity (ASTM E408): 0.9482

These two numbers tell us how well LR-200 absorbs energy from the sun and how effectively it releases heat.

What Is Solar Absorptivity?

Solar absorptivity measures how much incoming solar energy a surface absorbs instead of reflecting away. The closer the number is to 1.0, the more energy the surface absorbs.

LR-200 achieved a solar absorptivity of 0.9699, meaning the tested surface absorbed approximately 97% of the solar energy represented by the test. For an ultra-low reflective black coating, this is an important result because it confirms that very little of that incoming energy is being reflected.

What Is Emissivity?

Emissivity measures how effectively a surface can release heat through thermal radiation. Again, the closer the number is to 1.0, the more effective the surface is at radiating heat.

LR-200 achieved an emissivity of 0.9482, showing that it is also highly effective at releasing thermal energy.

Why Do Both Numbers Matter?

A surface that absorbs energy well does not automatically release heat well. These are two separate properties.

LR-200 combines:

• 0.9699 Solar Absorptivity
• 0.9482 Emissivity

In simple terms, LR-200 is very effective at absorbing incoming solar energy and very effective at radiating thermal energy back out. For aerospace and space applications, that combination can be important when engineers are managing both light reflection and heat.

More Than Just a Black Coating

CERAKOTE® LR-200 was developed as an Ultra Low Reflective Black coating for applications where minimizing unwanted reflected light is critical. These independently tested ASTM results provide additional performance data for engineers evaluating LR-200 for optical, aerospace and space applications.

Whether the goal is reducing unwanted reflection, controlling stray light or managing how a surface interacts with radiant energy, LR-200 offers measurable performance backed by standardized testing.

To learn more about CERAKOTE® LR-200 or discuss a specific application, contact the Cerakote team.