Thanks for the write up. Debating on painting my calipers either dark blue, or bright red when I go to install my wheels... Obsidian Black coupe with fresh Alien Silver VVCV1's going on it this winter.

 

Has anyone tried painting their calipers with the calipers still on the car? (Masking off bolts and such and and covering rotors etc.)

 

Yes I have. As you can see this forum is not alive like it use to be.

You have to clean them really well with brake cleaner. But when doing so use a microfiber cloth and spray the cloth and wipe it clean. Too much break cleaner can wash away the anti-squeal grease on brake pads.

Here is what I did. I didn't paint the entire caliper. Reason is the back part is never ever seen. I taped up the front half of caliper to where it joins in the middle. Then I sanded it with 800 grit down to the primer layer. Once done Use 90% rubbing alcohol to clean it well. Re-tape any areas that the sandpaper may have roughed up.

Then next;
1 first coat of primer - let dry 10 minutes
1 second coat of primer - wait 20 minutes
1 first coat of paint - wait 10 minutes
1 second coat of paint - wait 10 minutes
1 third coat of paint - wait 20 minutes
1 first coat of clear - wait 10 minutes
1 second coat of clear - wait 10 minutes
1 third coat of clear - wait 10 minutes
1 fourth(final) coat of clear wait - 10 minutes

Wait a couple days for it dry well, then remove the wheel from car and wet-sand with your finger using 2000 grit. Then use Meguiars ultimate compound with a wax sponge(important you use this) and finger buff it out. Use a clean microfiber cloth to polish it. Wet-sanding gives it that glass look and gets rid of orange peal(common in paint if not wet-sanded) which is dull.

Then you can apply the decal after. Others put the decal on before the clear coat. Don't do that!

Simply use 3M vinyl since it withstands heat,yellowing etc. well. I have the template for the AKEBONO Sticker decals if you want it IM me for the file. Then take it to any good sign shop will have the 3M vinyl in many colors. I choose silver.

Trust me, my calipers look as good as day one. And that's at least 2 years on my car no issues. Its as good as you can paint them. I get a lot of complements on them and some even think I had it powder coated. Just a chip from mechanic working on my car

This took me my about 3 hours per side to do ,including wet-sanding about 4 hours each side. I did the front one Saturday, then the rear another Saturday. You can drive the car after about 4 hours, the heat from brakes will heat up and bake it. Just don't get it wet for 2 days!

I used:
Duplicolor Hi-Temp Primer
Duplicolor Hi-Temp Paint (Plum Purple, my choice of color)
Duplicolor Perefect Match Clear ( no its not hi-temp and you don't need it, this stuff is so glossy)

If you not tracking the car or plan to, then use the non hi-temp clear coat.
The Dupli-color clear coat in hi-temp isnt as glossy and I have had it turn yellow on me in the past. But the Duplicolor perfect match clear looks as good as day 1.

 

Thanks for the detailed write up. What color did you close? Do you have pictures?

 

What color is that called if you don't mind me asking

 

Has anyone done custom decals on their calipers? As in not Aekbono, Infiniti, Nissan, or IPL

 

I had a place make "Superlite 4" for my Wilwoods, still holding up great after I applied a couple clear coats over them



Here's the place I got them from

Tuner Decals, Brake Caliper Decals, Aftermarket Decals, Custom Decals, Window Decals, Car Graphics, Vinyl Graphics

 

Front caliper


Rear caliper

While still on the car...
-Used a wire brush on my rotary tool to clean the caliper surface to bare clean metal
-brake cleaner, isopropyl, dry
-taped off all the non-paint areas, plastic bag covered larger areas just in case
-Gloss black caliper brush paint kit, wait a day to cure
-High temp vinyl decal

 

Powder coating is best else use high temp engine paint it comes in tons of colors even metallics

 

Has anyone actually powder coated their calipers? Any advantage or disadvantage over painting?

 

Many go with powdercoating, it's a harder shell, and now there's plenty of color options available. You will have to dissasemble the caliper internals prior to powdercoating and reassemble when complete. If you want the absolute best finish that should hold up better over time, powdercoating is the way to go, but a quality paint job should suffice for most.