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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 08:59 AM
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Default paint or powder

Which looks better on the brake calipers? Paint or powder coating? which holds up better?
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 09:03 AM
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Powder coating is tougher than spray-on or brush-on paint, in general. It's baked on at about 400 deg. F. I have to say that the Foliatec epoxy paint I used on my calipers is very durable though. Looks the same as the day I applied it 3 years ago. Properly applied, both types of paint look great.

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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 09:37 AM
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Patches, where did you get your epoxy paint? Did you have to buy a large quantity (gallon) or is available in small brush-on cans or even spray?

Thanks.
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 09:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Patches
Powder coating is tougher than spray-on or brush-on paint, in general. It's baked on at about 400 deg. F. I have to say that the Foliatec epoxy paint I used on my calipers is very durable though. Looks the same as the day I applied it 3 years ago. Properly applied, both types of paint look great.
How did you account for the letters, that is, mask them off or paint over them then lightly sand the paint off the raised letters?
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 10:17 AM
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I got the Foliatec from one of our vendors but you can find cailper paint at most auto stores now for less than what I paid.

You can coat the letters with grease, Vasoline, chapstick etc. to keep the paint from sticking then just wipe them off when the paint is dry. Or you can use a sharp razor like I did to shave the paint off. Some use sand paper or a dremel tool to sand the top of the letters free of paint. Many apply clear coat to the letters after. I didn't and they still look good. The pic above is one I took recently.
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 11:00 AM
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Patches your calipers look great!! But everytime I hear someone talk about painting there own it brings a tear to my eye. Most people just don't take the time or have the ability to make them look good! To me nothing looks worse that a Corvette with poorly painted calipers. I happen to be one of those people so I spent the $350.00 and bought the Z06 reds. And they look great!!Just my .02

Last edited by Z0SLIK; Dec 3, 2004 at 07:03 PM.
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 11:12 AM
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Thanks. I did the job while I was swapping out my rotors and brake lines. Just pulled the calipers and went to town.

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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Patches
Powder coating is tougher than spray-on or brush-on paint, in general. It's baked on at about 400 deg. F. I have to say that the Foliatec epoxy paint I used on my calipers is very durable though. Looks the same as the day I applied it 3 years ago. Properly applied, both types of paint look great.
I used Folia Tec paint too on my calipers about that long ago. Still looks great. I got my Folia Tec from Xtreme Motorsports. The kit is plenty for all four calipers.
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 09:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Bad 2004
Patches your calipers look great!! But everytime I hear someone talk about painting there own it brings a tear to my eye. Most people just don't take the time or have the ability to make them look good! To me nothing looks worse that a Corvette with poorly painted calipers. I happen to be one of those people so I spent the $350.00 and bought the Z06 reds. And they look great!!Just my .02
I just did mine today and it was a MAJOR F*ing PITA! Someone mentioned WalMart paint caliper paint, so off I go... That stuff was absolutely horrible to work with.

Cleaned the calipers with air compressor and siphon nozzle on and blew 1/2 gal of Varsol on them, scrubed them down with a stiff brush, then used thier cleaner. Then, start putting the stuff on. Didn't take in some places, and by the time it was all done their are at least 4 coats of that goo crap on them. They look OK at a distance, but nothing I would show. I can only imagine what it would be like to try to get all that s*it off and do it right!

What I DID do right was to paint the hats w/ high heat paint - 6 coats, then per direction, put in the oven for 2 hours at 400 degrees. They look nice!

DON't Use WalMart Paint - or maybe I just didn't do it right?
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Old Dec 3, 2004 | 09:11 PM
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Originally Posted by diyguy
I just did mine today and it was a MAJOR F*ing PITA! Someone mentioned WalMart paint caliper paint, so off I go... That stuff was absolutely horrible to work with.

Cleaned the calipers with air compressor and siphon nozzle on and blew 1/2 gal of Varsol on them, scrubed them down with a stiff brush, then used thier cleaner. Then, start putting the stuff on. Didn't take in some places, and by the time it was all done their are at least 4 coats of that goo crap on them. They look OK at a distance, but nothing I would show. I can only imagine what it would be like to try to get all that s*it off and do it right!

What I DID do right was to paint the hats w/ high heat paint - 6 coats, then per direction, put in the oven for 2 hours at 400 degrees. They look nice!

DON't Use WalMart Paint - or maybe I just didn't do it right?
That's a real bummer after all the hard work and effort. If the stuff is hard to take off don't sweat it, there are alot of nice painted calipers for sale in this site for really good deals.

Tino
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