Thoughts on painting stock calipers?

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 02/28/2014 at 11:13 • Filed to: None

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I'm going to be pulling the wheels off of my car (hopefully) soon in order to finish painting the wheels black (with maybe a red pinstripe at the very edge of the rim, because the car needs a splash of color) and I'm considering painting my calipers red.

I'm not trying to make it look like I have Brembos, but the original color of the calipers was dark red (now faded) and dammit the car needs some color to it.

Yay/nay?

This isn't even close to the kind of wheel I have, but this is the look I'm going for with the pinstripe.

Jayhawk Jake > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:15

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I did it. It's your car, if you like it then do it.

Make sure you use caliper paint, and do plenty of coats. I only did 2 and it's starting to chip, I really need to add another coat.

Pixel > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:17

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I vote Nay as it might end up looking like you were trying to pretend you had fancier brakes than you do.

If you do paint them any color, take them apart and paint them right, nothing looks worse than someone who sprayed everything(calipers, pads, bracket, etc.) one color.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:18

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I'm painting the calipers on my 944, it's a complete pain in the ass if you do it right, but it looks good. Get caliper paint, or paint that is rated to withstand at least a good 500 degrees Fahrenheit, otherwise it will just be cooked off. And for good measure, (I'm painting my calipers now) I also am doing a clear coat on them as well. I think I did 3-4 coats of the red, and 1 coat of clear. Besides giving your wheels that extra pop, it also helps protect your calipers from rust and crap, and also makes them a lot easier to clean. Do it!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:19

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If you paint the rotors red, you'll look like you have Brembos that are on all the time. RAD

Also, you can paint holes and slots on your rotors to improve heat transfer.

Also this:

Depends a lot on just how hideous your calipers are.

titsinmymitts > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:20

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I'd leave the brakes as is. I just ordered black wheels, but I'm not a fan of the pinstripe look on the car. Think it looks a little too ricey/import tuner/stancenation.

Casper > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:21

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Eh, I only every paint calipers dark colors. Even my Wilwoods are black with polished letters. I don't see a reason my brakes should draw attention other than I hate rusty rotors.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Jayhawk Jake 02/28/2014 at 11:24

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Assuming "Caliper paint" is just a high-temp enamel of some sort?

Can you use "barbecue grill paint" if you want flat black calipers?

Jayhawk Jake > Pixel 02/28/2014 at 11:25

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Why is that where everyone goes with this?

'It might look like you're trying to pretend you have fancier brakes'

Why? To me it looks like he wanted his car to look nice, not like he's a poser.

Jayhawk Jake > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 02/28/2014 at 11:28

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I think it's a ceramic paint.

I suspect any high temp paint would do the trick.

Pixel > Jayhawk Jake 02/28/2014 at 11:34

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Because it is really, really, really common among posers. Even if you don't intend to be a poser, doing something they commonly do is more likely to get you lumped in with them.

Not saying you can never do it, just be aware of the impression people are most likely to take from it.

It's a "Porch-uh" > Jayhawk Jake 02/28/2014 at 11:38

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The "brake caliper paint" seems to be a bit thicker so it makes your calipers nice and smooth/shiny. You can also use high-temp engine paint, but it might not smooth out the surface as much (though it will still make it shiny).

MIATAAAA > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:48

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I think it depends what the brakes look like. What kind of car is it?

If they're really big calipers, it doesn't bother me much. If they're like the calipers on my Matrix, I wouldn't do it. Just draws attention to how bright a tiny those little red brakes are.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/28/2014 at 11:53

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Those rotors look awesome, but wouldn't the paint wear off.. immediately?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom 02/28/2014 at 11:55

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Hmm. So this spare can of red Rustoleum won't cut the mustard? Good to know.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 11:56

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My brain is only half working today, no idea what you are talking about, cut the mustard?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Pixel 02/28/2014 at 11:56

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Yeah, that's what I was thinking. There's a very fine line between "poser" and "ricer" that I don't want to step across, at least not until I've got the budget to start doing performance mods to my car instead of just fooling around with LEDs and $12 cans of spray paint and such.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom 02/28/2014 at 11:57

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Not sure if it's a regional thing, but "won't cut the mustard" means that something is inadequate. Won't get the job done.

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 12:01

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Ahh, alright, I literally have never heard that expression.

But either way, yeah the Rustoleum probably won't do it. The good news, is that the paint I am using comes in the form of a aerosol spray, made by duplicolor

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…

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It isn't absolutely perfect (10 bucks a can it's a decent bargain), but it does the job, and if you do it right and don't spray so much that there is a bunch of run off, you won't really have to wet sand.

If I were to do it again though, I would buy these products instead of duplicolor, rated at almost double the temperature

http://www.amazon.com/VHT-SP730-Glos…

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And they offer more colors, but I had already bought 2 cans of duplicolor red, so might as well use them.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 12:06

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It's a long-standing joke 'round these parts. Painted rotor surfaces, unless some type of compound designed to burn off cleanly, would be a near-perfect way to emfucken your pads, and is always advised against.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/28/2014 at 12:10

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"emfucken" is my new favorite expression. Also, I just went out and looked at my car and the front calipers are only slightly smaller than the ones in that picture you posted, for what it's worth. Uploading a picture...

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > MIATAAAA 02/28/2014 at 12:14

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The calipers are actually surprisingly large. That explains why my face falls off when I "test" the brakes.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 12:14

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The Bim in the pic has a partly-exposed pad design and a floating caliper - aspects when combined with size and painting *all* pieces rather than just the permanent ones or some of them makes for a very ugly look. It'll depend greatly on, well, what your calipers look like of course.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/28/2014 at 12:17

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Looks like mine is the same way as that bimmer. Hmm.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 12:27

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I'd say paint the bracket black, caliper red if you have to have red. Otherwise gloss black will look good, be more tasteful, and will not highlight a "naturally ugly" caliper.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 02/28/2014 at 12:30

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I'm going to rotate the tires and paint the silver part of the wheel gloss black. I'll take a look at what the calipers actually look like then and make a decision, I suppose. Thanks for the advice :D

MazdaMonkey > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 13:01

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Painted calipers can look great, but you have to take the time to do it right. I recommend a high quality caliper paint (high temp) and at least 3-4 coats. I usually spend a solid 5-6 hours reapplying the paint until my back can't take it anymore. Paint stands up well overtime, and only chipping resulted from banging them with a wheel during removal/installation.

I have never had someone think that my car has Brembos. That was never my intention. But, I usually just buy a $2 sticker with the manufacturer's name from Ebay to put on the calipers for the factory look!

Examples using G2 paint kit and stickers:

NaturallyAspirated > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 14:06

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I've been considering painting my calipers too, just to try and stop them from rusting. Flat black would be my color of choice, as I've read that flat black paint radiates heat better than bare metal.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > NaturallyAspirated 02/28/2014 at 14:26

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I painted my entire car flat black to avoid rust. And because... flat black is awesome. There need be no other reason.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > NaturallyAspirated 02/28/2014 at 14:40

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You might want to look into barbecue grill paint. I don't know if it works well for brakes, but you can be the guinea pig.

Echo51 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 15:18

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Depends on if there's anything worthwhile behind to show off... and 17" rims with 240mm brakes, not recommendable! :)

Also red "pinstriping" is A-GO! i love it so much on my rims! Too bad the paint was shitty and it's all pitted and rusted underneath now :(

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Echo51 02/28/2014 at 15:50

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Yep yep yep yep yep that's exactly how I'm wanting to paint my rims with the red. That is gonna look slick.

Echo51 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 02/28/2014 at 16:48

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It really looks slick!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Echo51 03/01/2014 at 10:09

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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS