Reference

Heat Colour Temperature Chart

Drag or click the bar to identify temperature from colour. Based on black body radiation — with process notes, steel phase data and aluminium/titanium alloy status.

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Heat Colour Temperature Chart

Drag or click the bar to identify temperature from colour. Based on black body radiation.

20°C — Ambient 700°C — Red 1100°C — Orange 1400°C+ — White

Temperature °C

Reference Colour Bands — click to set temperature

200 – 300°C

Faint / Invisible glow (dark room only)

Tempering, pre-heat

400 – 500°C

Black heat / very faint red

Stress relief, tempering

500 – 650°C

Dark / faint red

Pre-heat, scale formation

650 – 800°C

Cherry red

Annealing, normalising, Curie transition for steel

800 – 950°C

Bright cherry / orange-red

Austenitising — hardening window for most steels

950 – 1100°C

Bright orange

High-temp hardening, forging start, Ti alloys

1100 – 1200°C

Yellow-orange

Forging, billet heating

1200 – 1350°C

Yellow / light yellow

High-temp forging, near solidus for steel

1350 – 1450°C

White-yellow

Approaching steel melting point

1450°C+

White hot / blue-white

Melting zone — steel, stainless, superalloys

Selected Temperature

20 °C

Ambient / No glow

°F 68 °F

K 293 K

Colour band —

Typical process —

Steel phase —

Al alloy status —

Ti alloy status —