Caliper painting

[98blackbeauty]

no problem did mine over 5 years ago and still look great! (no brush strokes). for the small view between spokes its still not worth powdercoating effort. LOL (sorry Ken)

[masterfab]

no problem did mine over 5 years ago and still look great! (no brush strokes). for the small view between spokes its still not worth powdercoating effort. LOL (sorry Ken)

its kool everyone has an opinion. great thing about these forums is you get to share and list to many of them and pick the one that works best for what you want.

[1quickTA]

You don't need to powdercoat them. Save yourself the money. Mine have been painted for years and still look perfect with a very deep gloss and they clean perfectly when washing my car.

1. Clean them thoroughly with a strong degreaser and a stiff brush.
2. File the casting lines away as someone else said! This is very easy and makes a huge difference in both appearance and keeping them clean (no casting roughness to catch grime). I used a metal file then some sand paper.
3. Use the caliper specific spray paint in your color of choice. You don't need primer. Spray 2 or 3 extremely light coats (just a light dusting so that you can still see metal). This base layer will allow your paint to hold well without running in future coats.
4. Add as many coats as you feel appropriate, going slightly heavier each time.
5. *Add your decal of choice if you want one on there*
6. Add several coats of clear going progressively thicker each time until you achieve your desired gloss.

Sit back and enjoy!

Other people will say you must prime or you must powdercoat for good results but this isn't true (mine are proof). Powder coat is more durable than paint, but unless you hit your calipers with hammers for fun or put your wheels on blindfolded on a regular basis, this spray paint method is great. Properly prepped and applied paint is very durable.

[sman]

Exactly what I did. The key is the tack coat, if you get this stuff to stick and use a quality high temp clear, it will last years. I did mine in '07 IIRC. Looked pretty good when I took them off (only to upgrade to vette brakes)

You don't need to powdercoat them. Save yourself the money. Mine have been painted for years and still look perfect with a very deep gloss and they clean perfectly when washing my car.

1. Clean them thoroughly with a strong degreaser and a stiff brush.
2. File the casting lines away as someone else said! This is very easy and makes a huge difference in both appearance and keeping them clean (no casting roughness to catch grime). I used a metal file then some sand paper.
3. Use the caliper specific spray paint in your color of choice. You don't need primer. Spray 2 or 3 extremely light coats (just a light dusting so that you can still see metal). This base layer will allow your paint to hold well without running in future coats.
4. Add as many coats as you feel appropriate, going slightly heavier each time.
5. *Add your decal of choice if you want one on there*
6. Add several coats of clear going progressively thicker each time until you achieve your desired gloss.

Sit back and enjoy!

Other people will say you must prime or you must powdercoat for good results but this isn't true (mine are proof). Powder coat is more durable than paint, but unless you hit your calipers with hammers for fun or put your wheels on blindfolded on a regular basis, this spray paint method is great. Properly prepped and applied paint is very durable.

[Hugger Z]

I painted mine back in 99' with the high temp engine orange. Cleaned the parts well, sprayed a few light coats and then the heavier coat. After 12 years on the car I am finally seeing some flaking of the paint. But for the most part they have been just fine. Can't complain and definitely an easy upgrade for anyone. Thought about repainting them but would rather upgrade my brakes so dealing with them for now.

[blacklt1firebird]

what would u guys suggest to clean them off before painting? The guy who had the car before half-ass spray painted em so there not lookin to good anymore lol. i was thinkin paint thinner and brake clean?

[Hugger Z]

what would u guys suggest to clean them off before painting? The guy who had the car before half-ass spray painted em so there not lookin to good anymore lol. i was thinkin paint thinner and brake clean?

I put my car up on jackstands and washed all 4 brakes really well with old tooth brushes, etc. Let them dry well. Yeah brake clean would work too just to be sure. I would scuff the calipers just to be sure to get any loose paint off. As long as you do the light coats to cover them as mentioned. The old paint shouldn't be a problem if you cover over it well and get any loose stuff off.