Caliper Painting

[Camaro4-2]

I plan on painting my calipers this week. My friend just did his on his SS. He didn't mask anything of on the caliper he just kind of shot them. I plan on masking the pucks off. I bought Caliper spray paint from Pep Boys. Is there anything I need to be really careful of when I paint them?

[SteveH37Formula]

Some 'prep sol' or wax and silicone remover or a paint prep cleaner that you use just before painting should clean the calipers nicely. Let the stuff evaporate before painting though.

[Jeff95TA]

I Dremeled mine with a wire brush. Note that it is hard to keep them clean. Mine are red and turned dirty pretty quickly.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

The pads have a lot to do with how clean the calipers & wheels stay. There are a lot of pads out there cleaner than the GM ones. When I did the C5 conversion, I used the stock Vette pads, but they were very dirty and i switched to Hawk pads which seem to stay much cleaner.

[Camaro4-2]

Thanks for the pointers everyone...I will be painting them this weekend. My WS6 is black and I am going with a Red Paint. I let you know how it turns out...I might change my brake pads while I'm there too...thats a good point with the "keeping them clean "thing. Thanks!

[Kevin M]

Careful of wheel cleaners too. I painted my calipers with some good stuff from Eastwood Co. But after using Eagle 1 wheel cleaner, some of the paint started to flake off. It's not too bad so I haven't repainted them. But I stopped spraying the cleaner on the calipers and just use a nylon brush and soapy water.

[Flash 97 WS/6]

I used some 1200 degree red grill paint for mine about a year ago and have no problems, but my car dosen't see much road either. I just wiped down the surfaces to be painted with some carb cleaner and a rag and masked off what I didn't want to paint. I used about a TON of news paper to fill/cover the entire fender and inner well cause I hate overspray. Just take your time and get about 8-10 thin coats applied and you should be ok.

I did my intake the same way later...lots of tape and paper, but I was able to do it on the car without removing much.

[Jeff95TA]

And make sure you don't get brake cleaner on them during brake work.

[Camaro4-2]

came out great...now just gotta get the decals.

[Flash 97 WS/6]

Looks nice! One word of advice...do some heavy braking to heat them up at least three or four times before using any cleaners or blasting them at the car wash. Especially if that is a ceramic paint, this should help "bake on" a good hard finish.

[Black97]

I red on other forums that they placed the decals on after painting and then used a temp. resistant clear coat to protect it all.

Haven't done it myself but am thinking about it come spring.

[Joe 1320]

Search for Ceramic High Temperature Caliper paint. I used it and this stuff is pretty good. I only did the front calipers, I prefer the bare aluminum look to the rear PBRs. The best way to do this is to sand the exterior surfaces smooth, thoroughly clean them, remove the pads and hang them on coat hangers for the final painting. Plan on your car not moving for a couple of days. Paint in 5-6 light coats, until each coat is dry before the next coat is applied. Do the final coat a little heavier and again wait to dry completely. You can follow it up with clear if you want the ultimate protection. I did mine a few YEARS ago and they still look great. In the pic below, was the original silver I did after the stock Cad plating wore off. I actually think the couple of coats of silver made the red turn out a little better. Must be the multiple coats.

[katman]

Has anyone tried powder coating? Harbor Freight has a powder coater for $56.00. You could remove the calipers, disassemble them, clean and smooth, then powder coat and bake in the oven. Any thoughts?

[Camaro4-2]

sounds like a lot of work....

[Joe 1320]

Originally posted by Camaro4-2
sounds like a lot of work....

Not really. All it involves is jacking up the car, remove the wheels, unbolt the two bolts that hold the caliper in place, unclip the pads, clean and paint. You'll spend more time for parts to dry.