Brake Caliper Paint

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rhyary

rhyary

Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Threads
167
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Location
Albany, NY
Can someone recommend which paint i should buy for painting my front calipers?

I have never done this and have no idea which company has better paint and specifically for the high heat the caliper generate.

I am mostly going to spend the morning cleaning and prepping, but hopefully will get to the painting this afternoon.

Advise on the process and how many coats is welcomed. Spray or brush?

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I sprayed mine blue with caliper spray can from Autozone last week when I did the caliper rebuilt. One can is good for a few coats on all 4 calipers but I bought 2. I soaked the calipers in Rust remover, they had some rust around the seals and pistons, that I bought from home depot in 1 gallon bottle . Then I wire brushed, washed with water, dried, then sprayed with brake cleaner to prep for paint.

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Any brand will work fine. Just pick your color and use a good primer. I like self etching primers. Wire brush the caliper to remove any rust dust and dirt. Clean really good. I've had success with brake cleaner. Mask rotor & pads. Primer. Paint. Repeat every 3 years depending on road salt.
 
Spray can of etching primer is $7-8 and spray can of silver caliper paint is the same price. I think my paint is duplicolor. I just grabbed whatever from the parts store.
 
Brake calipers don't actually get THAT hot. I used plastic-kote brand of paint and regular etching primer.

Rotor hats, otoh get *really* hot. I used BBQ paint for those but still had them blister. Even cad plating doesn't seem to help that much.
 
Got Duplicolor red caliper paint from NAPA Spent all day cleaning and wire brushing. Really not sure if this worth it. Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

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Last edited:
rhyary said:
Got Duplicolor red caliper paint from NAPA Spent all day cleaning and wire brushing. Really not sure if this worth it. Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD
Click to expand...

They'll look great behind some dubs rollin on low-pro's.
 
rhyary said:
After a week, scraping paint from the pistons area. Paint still somewhat soft

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What solvent did you use to clean the calipers? I used alcohol once and had the same results. Paint won't cure over alcohol, needs to be acetone, or MEK.
 
Watching paint dry, or cooling off. This should be hardening the paint, but at the moment, while hot, still more like rubbery compound. Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

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Bet the wife loves truck parts in the oven.
 
I typically sand blast the calipers to clean off all the junk, etc. Plus this gives an awesome finish for the paint to adhere. Once that is done, wash it down with lacquer thinner and let dry. When done coat with plain ole caliper paint (brand doesn't seem to matter). Let the paint dry and move into your shop oven (you do have one of those right?). I bake them at 350 for a while. I don't ever set the timer, just crank it up and let it run. Could be several hours, it doesn't seem to make a huge difference. Let them cool completely and proceed with reassembly.

I also take the pistons and tape the sides and back off, and blast the tops. Coat them with a high temp white header paint. Follow the directions explicitly on the can when you bake them in your SHOP oven. I have melted the boots on calipers and yet the paint on both the calipers and the pistons lasts with no problems on one of my track toys. It will definitely hold up fine on your stock production calipers.
 
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