My experancing painting my calipers.
07-22-2014, 09:30 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
My experancing painting my calipers.
Was replacing my brake lines the other day I decided to pain the calipers while I was at it.
I removed the rear calipers from the car cleaned them with caliper cleaner and proceeded to paint. The first caliper I used the Dupli Caliper paint in a spray can. I found this method to be a pain, needed several coats and was easy to get runs in the paint. Not to mention if you don't clean all the dirt and grease off the caliper the paint wont stick.
For the second I used the Dupli brush on caliper paint. I still removed the caliper from the car to paint it. The paint covered much better then the spry on paint and it also has clear coat so it shines when dried. The down side is the paint is soft. I let it dry for 12 hrs and when I went to install it back on the car I was able to smudge the paint and left finger prints as well so I had to touch it up once I had the caliper mounted on the car.
All in all the results on each calipers look good from a distance but up close you can see brush strokes and finger prints. I am going to paint the front calipers while they are on the car which should help with the finger print issues.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have just spent the money and went with the powder coated calipers.
I removed the rear calipers from the car cleaned them with caliper cleaner and proceeded to paint. The first caliper I used the Dupli Caliper paint in a spray can. I found this method to be a pain, needed several coats and was easy to get runs in the paint. Not to mention if you don't clean all the dirt and grease off the caliper the paint wont stick.
For the second I used the Dupli brush on caliper paint. I still removed the caliper from the car to paint it. The paint covered much better then the spry on paint and it also has clear coat so it shines when dried. The down side is the paint is soft. I let it dry for 12 hrs and when I went to install it back on the car I was able to smudge the paint and left finger prints as well so I had to touch it up once I had the caliper mounted on the car.
All in all the results on each calipers look good from a distance but up close you can see brush strokes and finger prints. I am going to paint the front calipers while they are on the car which should help with the finger print issues.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have just spent the money and went with the powder coated calipers.
07-22-2014, 09:37 PM
#3
Pro
Member Since: Jul 2010
Location: western springs illinois
Posts: 666
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Was replacing my brake lines the other day I decided to pain the calipers while I was at it.
I removed the rear calipers from the car cleaned them with caliper cleaner and proceeded to paint. The first caliper I used the Dupli Caliper paint in a spray can. I found this method to be a pain, needed several coats and was easy to get runs in the paint. Not to mention if you don't clean all the dirt and grease off the caliper the paint wont stick.
For the second I used the Dupli brush on caliper paint. I still removed the caliper from the car to paint it. The paint covered much better then the spry on paint and it also has clear coat so it shines when dried. The down side is the paint is soft. I let it dry for 12 hrs and when I went to install it back on the car I was able to smudge the paint and left finger prints as well so I had to touch it up once I had the caliper mounted on the car.
All in all the results on each calipers look good from a distance but up close you can see brush strokes and finger prints. I am going to paint the front calipers while they are on the car which should help with the finger print issues.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have just spent the money and went with the powder coated calipers.
Attachment 47813981
I removed the rear calipers from the car cleaned them with caliper cleaner and proceeded to paint. The first caliper I used the Dupli Caliper paint in a spray can. I found this method to be a pain, needed several coats and was easy to get runs in the paint. Not to mention if you don't clean all the dirt and grease off the caliper the paint wont stick.
For the second I used the Dupli brush on caliper paint. I still removed the caliper from the car to paint it. The paint covered much better then the spry on paint and it also has clear coat so it shines when dried. The down side is the paint is soft. I let it dry for 12 hrs and when I went to install it back on the car I was able to smudge the paint and left finger prints as well so I had to touch it up once I had the caliper mounted on the car.
All in all the results on each calipers look good from a distance but up close you can see brush strokes and finger prints. I am going to paint the front calipers while they are on the car which should help with the finger print issues.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have just spent the money and went with the powder coated calipers.
Attachment 47813981
07-22-2014, 10:34 PM
#4
Instructor
I'm going to do mine hopefully next weekend.. bought all the stuff.. just need to get some time to do it. At least if I leave prints mine won't be the only ones like that! haha
07-22-2014, 10:50 PM
#5
Administrator
Member Since: Mar 2001
Location: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
Posts: 343,032
Received 19,309 Likes
on
13,980 Posts
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-
'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Looks good in the pic, but if you left fingerprints in the finish then good luck getting it smoothed out. I used Dupli-Color caliper paint on a previous car and was not really impressed with it - paint was pretty thin and like yours, was easy to mess up. I painted my C5 calipers with a product called Folia Tec, which is an epoxy based paint. Once you brush it on, it dries to a hard finish. I've had mine painted for nearly five years and the finish on the calipers still looks great.
But I would agree with you that a great alternative to painting the calipers yourself is to get them powdercoated.
But I would agree with you that a great alternative to painting the calipers yourself is to get them powdercoated.
07-23-2014, 11:13 AM
#6
Melting Slicks
Used Duplicolor brush on about 6 years ago and calipers still look fine
The secret with Duplicolor brush on is applying about 5 or 6 coats about a half hour apart and then letting the calipers dry at least 24 hours.
The instructions tell you that if you wait over about an hour you have to wait 24 hours to apply another coat.
I used the crappy brush they supplied and with the first coat it looks kinda crappy. After about 3 coats they start to look good. There is pleanty of paint to do all 4 calipers and probably a second set also.
The brush strokes disapear after a few coats if you are careful.
Calipers must be really clean before doing the job. I was replacing the pads so I could really clean the calipers. They give you one can of brake cleaner but I used another can and a brush to remove the crud before painting the calipers. I also touched up a few places I scratched when installing the calipers with them on the car. I used some white paint on the CORVETTE letters on the front calipers.
Take your time and you can do the whole job for under $20.
The instructions tell you that if you wait over about an hour you have to wait 24 hours to apply another coat.
I used the crappy brush they supplied and with the first coat it looks kinda crappy. After about 3 coats they start to look good. There is pleanty of paint to do all 4 calipers and probably a second set also.
The brush strokes disapear after a few coats if you are careful.
Calipers must be really clean before doing the job. I was replacing the pads so I could really clean the calipers. They give you one can of brake cleaner but I used another can and a brush to remove the crud before painting the calipers. I also touched up a few places I scratched when installing the calipers with them on the car. I used some white paint on the CORVETTE letters on the front calipers.
Take your time and you can do the whole job for under $20.
07-23-2014, 01:27 PM
#7
Racer
I used the kit with the brush that you get from ecklers. Mine turned out great. Kept the calipers on the car...prepared the calipers for painting by simply spraying the crap out of them with the cleaner that comes in the package....I went and bought an extra at advanced auto to make sure that it was thoroughly cleaned. even though painting with brush I taped it off. started on one caliper...went to next...and so on...kept putting additional coates until ran out of the paint. They look fantastic!!!!!
For some reason I cant upload pics on this site or I would....remember that paint hardens fast so you have got to have your vette on jacklifts and all calipers ready for paint before you put the mixture together!!!!
Worth the effort!!!!
For some reason I cant upload pics on this site or I would....remember that paint hardens fast so you have got to have your vette on jacklifts and all calipers ready for paint before you put the mixture together!!!!
Worth the effort!!!!
