Brake Caliper Paint
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 403
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville Alabama
Brake Caliper Paint
I know some of our support vendors sell a 2 part caliper paint. Has anyone used a hi temp sray from the local auto parts houses? What were the results? Did you remove the caliper totally or just a way from the rotor? How did you clean/prep caliper Thanks in advance
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,290
Likes: 6
From: St Marys GA
I've used the Caliper Paint from Advance Auto, and it works ok. It chips, but I do a lot of spirited driving, so I'm not surprised. I fully prepped them (removed from the car, cleaned, sanded what I could, masked off all fittings/cylinders/whatnot), then sprayed 4 coats on them. Not sure what the results of the "2 part" caliper paints are, but I don't think any paint will last indefinitely on a brake caliper. Powdercoating would be the best route.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,050
Likes: 147
From: Phoenix AZ
2021 C4 of the Year - Modified Finalist
Checker-O'reilly's sells a great caliper paint, but the red is not the correct color.
The silver and the black are fantastic paints, They are :
high temp resistant,
chemical and fluid resistant,
cure in 4 hours,
dry to the touch in 15 minutes,
stay nice on exhaust for over a year,
cover the rust on rotors,
paintable with a brush if you spray it into the cap,
don't streak when brushed,
nice silver, not "hyper" silver.
The black will dress up the semi gloss areas,
great stuff.........
The silver and the black are fantastic paints, They are :
high temp resistant,
chemical and fluid resistant,
cure in 4 hours,
dry to the touch in 15 minutes,
stay nice on exhaust for over a year,
cover the rust on rotors,
paintable with a brush if you spray it into the cap,
don't streak when brushed,
nice silver, not "hyper" silver.
The black will dress up the semi gloss areas,
great stuff.........
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,939
Likes: 1
From: Vero Beach Florida
I have to say I used just the standard safety red rust-oleum oil based, brushed on, calipers removed from disc but not off the car. Turned out fine I don't see any reason to use special paint that really dosen't do any thing special. 
Last edited by floridamale; Nov 22, 2009 at 06:10 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
Likes: 487
From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
DupliColor has a good caliper paint kit and it should be available at almost any of the chain parts stores like Shuck's, Kragen, AutoZone or O'Reilly's. It has a cleaner, paint and a small brush. Comes in 4 colors and the red is fairly close to the C5 Z06 red.
You can clean the calipers while they are still on the car, but it's easiest to remove the caliper for cleaning. You don't have to disconnect the brake line, just support the caliper to prep it. Cover the rotor and control arms with plastic and use non-chlorinated brakes part cleaner and a stiff brush to remove old brake dust and grime. Buy a couple of cheap toothbrushes for this.
After everything is clean and dry, use the small brush in the kit to paint the caliper. Once the paint is dry, reinstall the caliper.
You can clean the calipers while they are still on the car, but it's easiest to remove the caliper for cleaning. You don't have to disconnect the brake line, just support the caliper to prep it. Cover the rotor and control arms with plastic and use non-chlorinated brakes part cleaner and a stiff brush to remove old brake dust and grime. Buy a couple of cheap toothbrushes for this.
After everything is clean and dry, use the small brush in the kit to paint the caliper. Once the paint is dry, reinstall the caliper.
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Michael S. Palmer
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 240
Likes: 0
From: San Diego CA
I went to auto zone and got some hight temp caliper spray paint. Took some steel wool to the calipers and cleaned them up. Then i took some zip ties to hold them in place while sitting on the rotors. I painted the bracket separate.
You can see i took some time wrapping everything with garbage bags to make it easier.
Before
Prep
After
You can see i took some time wrapping everything with garbage bags to make it easier.
Before
Prep
After
Last edited by dmukina; Nov 23, 2009 at 03:02 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 11,470
Likes: 764
dont fall for the high temp caliper paint marketing hype. any quality enamel paint (e.g. sunrise red rustoleum) works just fine. the key is in the prep. remember, if your calipers get hot enough to damage the paint, your brake fluid would probably start to boil, and the paint would be the least of your worries. i paint my 85's calipers years ago with rustoleum, and they still look good today. brake rotors are a different story...
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,945
Likes: 41
From: Corinth TX
dont fall for the high temp caliper paint marketing hype. any quality enamel paint (e.g. sunrise red rustoleum) works just fine. the key is in the prep. remember, if your calipers get hot enough to damage the paint, your brake fluid would probably start to boil, and the paint would be the least of your worries. i paint my 85's calipers years ago with rustoleum, and they still look good today. brake rotors are a different story...
To the Op, look at some of the Duplicolor kits or else the VHT kits. Both are great and in fact I think Duplicolor owns VHT. The good thing is that you can spray the VHT rotor/caliper paint on. I just went through the process this weekend on one of my other cars and it looks great.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,305
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From: Sussex,Wi
2023 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Winner - Unmodified
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 21,490
Likes: 3
From: Detroit MI
I bought the duplicolor kit and have enough left after my Miata to probably do my Corvette. I'm not sure how the "California license plate" blue will look on my Ruby Red, so I'll probably get silver or black...any recommendations?
Dave
Dave
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 12,742
Likes: 43
From: Color my life with the chaos of trouble.
Looks good... but in the amount of time it took you to mask everything, wouldn't have just been easier to take the calipers all the way off? Makes it a lot easier to clean and spray. Only takes a couple of minutes to bleed the brakes when you are done.
Last edited by RedLS1GTO; Nov 24, 2009 at 12:04 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,945
Likes: 41
From: Corinth TX
I would say go with the silver. I would also say do the hats silver as well to totally make that area look clean and blend in nicely with the wheels.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 11,470
Likes: 764
Actually this is not true. Anyone who tracks their car or drives relatively spirited will boil the fluid in their brakes. And there is a big difference between high temp caliper paint and regular paint. I have painted mine before with regular spray paint and had it look like crap. Proper prepwork was done before hand. I then cleaned it and prepped again and used the Duplicolor kit and to this day it still looks good. In fact. Anyone who does any tracking or spirited driving with high braking will experience brake boiling. Once your brake fluid boils it starts to break down.
To the Op, look at some of the Duplicolor kits or else the VHT kits. Both are great and in fact I think Duplicolor owns VHT. The good thing is that you can spray the VHT rotor/caliper paint on. I just went through the process this weekend on one of my other cars and it looks great.
To the Op, look at some of the Duplicolor kits or else the VHT kits. Both are great and in fact I think Duplicolor owns VHT. The good thing is that you can spray the VHT rotor/caliper paint on. I just went through the process this weekend on one of my other cars and it looks great.
Last edited by Joe C; Nov 24, 2009 at 09:43 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 403
Likes: 0
From: Huntsville Alabama
Hey redls1gto I don't disagree about extra time required to mask off areas however masking off I know how to, bleeding brakes... mmmhhh... best left to those that know how. About a hundred years ago I could bleed the old shoe brakes. A hundred years later I really don't want to fool with getting fluid in the garage or driveway but your idea is correct and much faster. To me it's a wash. What method popular or otherwise do you use to prep the calipers? Do you use an etchant?