I think I'm going to paint my calipers next week and would like to see pics of calipers painted silver. I know someone on here painted them silver a while back, but couldn't find the thread.

What do you guys think, silver or black? I had always thought about going with black because silver will basically look the same as it looks now, but I don't know now.

 

Looking for the same info. I have an 03/Satin Silver and I was planning to paint them Silver to match the wheel.

Any reason to prime before painting them?
What paint brand works best?

 

Come on, I know someone painted their calipers silver.

 

do black under chrome. no question...

especially under the se7ens.


just use primacolor brake caliper spray... from pep boys... like $5... lasts FOREVER and super easy to apply.

just spray on dirty ass caliper


my black looks great still after 2 winters.

 

Our Calipers are FUGLY. Paint them BLACK so they’re hidden best from view.

Shawn S

 

Just one can should do right?

 

I've seen both Blue and Red painted calipers. I like the sounds of black. Do you have a picture? I'd like to see how it looks. I was afraid black would stand out behind Silver, but your comments suggest otherwise.

 

I painted mine Silver. It looks good, but its just a matter of taste.

 

Hows that done? Paint the calipers black then paint the black chrome?


Could u plz post a pic of urs?




Juker008

 

Any pics?!

 

He means black calipers look better behind the chrome wheels.

 

Black calipers will run cooler as black is best color for heat transfer.

 

All of you guys are not gonna like this reply, but here is how you should do it. It will cost some money and take the car out of service for a few days. I am considered THE automotive paint expert at my company of 55,500 people, ITW (Illinois Tool Works), and we are thick as theives with all of the automakers.

The ABSOLUTELY CORRECT way to paint these calipers is to take them to a powder coating job shop and have them POWDER COATED. You CANNOT do this at home-it requires specialized electrostatic powder applying equipment that costs about $4,950 for one controller and one gun.

Look at the beautiful powder coated wheels on your car-that is powder coating! This is tough stuff! Most liquid paints are enamels, alkyds etc, pretty flimsy stuff, usually with a low film build of less than .001" With powder coatings the calipers will be encased in either an acrylic, polyester or polyester TGIC (triglyceride isocyanurate). These are all plastics and plastic NEVER RUSTS! Note: do NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES use an epoxy powder coating. Epoxy is the king of powder coatings regarding corrosion resistance, however they will chalk and fade due to poor UV (sunlight) resistance.

Bring your car to the powder coating job shop in your area, and tell them you want to powder coat the calipers. This cannot be done on the car. Why not paint the calipers to match the body of your car? Porsche does this. I know, because I taught them how to powder coat calipers. But a rule here; if you can't match, exactly, then contrast the color. Besides the color, don't forget to match the gloss as well. The job shop will probably have a color in stock that he could use if you agree. If not, ask to see supplier color charts, and when you find one you like, he will order a 3 pound, no cost (to him or you) sample. You will need about 1/2 a pound of powder to do all four. After he has the powder, do this:

Jack up all four corners of the car and remove the wheels. Remove the calipers and COMPLETELY DISSASSEMBLE them, leave no rubber seals in the caliper, they will probably melt. Take every component to the job shop and ask for a quick turn around. He will chemically clean them, and hang them on hooks that electrically ground the calipers. Then, they will be sprayed with the dry powder coating that is positively charged, thus attracting the powder to the caliper. Then, they go off to the curing oven to see about 375 f for about 30 minutes or so. When they are cool to the touch they are done. I figure this will cost you about $50 to $100. The powder will cost either of you nothing, his costs come from masking the piston bore (it MUST be done), hanging the parts and cleaning his painting equipment (no big deal, the "solvent" for powder coating is compressed air) before and after applying your powder.

Some final thoughts; recently, powder coatings have been developed that are metal flake chameleon powders. That is, they look green from one angle, red when dead on, and purple (or whatever) from another angle. The "stock" powders quoted above cost $2 or $3 a pound, so no big deal. But the chameleons cost about $30 a pound, so only get one pound. Use a high gloss white or silver as a base coat on the caliper though. If you put it on a bare, clean caliper, it will look like you just put lipstick on a pig. And whoever above said to "use the $5 liquid crap, and just spray it over the dirt has a head full of banana oil. Paints need to ADHERE to last. They need a CLEAN, DRY SURFACE THAT HAS "TOOTH" (painting slang for a rough surface, something the paint can grip. If you paint over shit, what you will get is painted over shit!

Finally, when you talk to the job shop, if you tell them "Oh yea. I know lots of people who want their calipers painted" it will help your cause. These guys are looking for work. Almost forgot, there are some mighty cool looking translucent (paints you can see through) available. Once again, use a white or silver base coat. As I have complete access to powder coating equipment and curing ovens, I will do my own for free. But not in Chicago in the middle of January. And by the way, the clear coat on the bodies of the BMW Z3 is a powder coating.

If you are near Chicago (Glenview), reach me through this post and I will do your calipers for free if your car is an RSX, CL, or TL.

 

Correction to Dfreder post: Do NOT take all caliper components (pistons, springs, etc) to the job shop to be powder coated. Take only the exterior components that can be seen from outside the car. What I meant was take the calipers, fittings etc. Powder coating will add about .002-.003" to all dimensions. Obviously, if the cylinder was not masked and painted, and if you had the piston painted also, you are going to have one hell of a time getting the brakes back together. Sorry.

 

BEFORE


AFTER

 

dfreder370, powder coating would be ideal, but I don't think it's worth wasting the time and money for this on our calipers which are ugly. Porsche color matches its calipers to the car's body because they have calipers worth doing this too, they look awesome. But on our cars the point is to actually hide the calipers instead of making them stand out.

 

good point, I couldn't see my self going through the trouble on these calipers