I've painted several calipers with mixed results, but none have lasted more than a year or two.
Typically I'm using brake cleaner to degrease the caliper, high temp primer + VHT high temp brake paint. Sometimes I'll get saucy and sand in between coats.
Inevitably, the paint will chip, flake, or fade. Should I just throw in the towel and get them powder coated?
I have had decent luck with really well prepped calipers and the rattle can high temp paint. Powder does much better but only if they use a high temp version.
calteg said:Should I just throw in the towel and get them powder coated?
Yes.
I use engine paint (and not the flaps store stuff) and it holds up well. Did the calipers on the S4 over a year ago and they still look great.
I used Por-15 caliper paint and its solid so far after two years.
Shadeux said:I used Por-15 caliper paint and its solid so far after two years.
Same here, same long lasting results both with gloss black and gloss red
I must be the only person who has terrible luck with powdercoated calipers.
The surface seems to bond to brake dust making it impossible to clean. Also, guess what chemical powder coat is particularly soluble by?
Brakleen.
Why this coating became the standard for calipers is beyond me.
For ferrous calipers I opt for nickel plating. For aluminum I go anodized
I too have good luck with the POR-15 caliper paint kit.
If satin black is okay I've been happy with the Rust-o-leum BBQ paint I brushed onto mine after just wire wheeling off the rust.
Alright, I'll try POR-15, didn't know they made caliper paint
In reply to adam525i :
How long has it been since you did that?
Satin black would look better than oxidation.
Not intending to belabor this point. I just opened up a drawer and saw the calipers waiting to be installed on the Caddy and it reminded me of this thread
Napa sourced reman calipers and carriers for an A1 VW. They showed up with some sort of black paint poorly applied. This is after a quick strip in the blast cabinet and then sent off for nickel plating. The cost was $65. The powder coaters around here would charge over $100 for these 4 pieces.
Long lasting, impervious to pretty much any chemical other than strong acids (I mean, it would have to be able to dissolve metal) inexpensive, all the heat resistance. I fail to see any downside.
If you have a local plating shop I highly recommend it. Zinc with a yellow chromate is also a nice looking option. Zinc with black chromate (think ARP hardware black sheen) is also a thing but my shop charges a bit more for that.
The previous owner painted the calipers on our M3, and it's holding up. Let me see if I have his notes on the paint used.
BRB.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to adam525i :
How long has it been since you did that?
Satin black would look better than oxidation.
I did them back in late 2016 but this is on my track/autocross/fun car so not a daily and not a car that sees any salt. Those brakes do see a lot of heat though and the finish hasn't needed to be touched since. Satin black matches brake dust nicely too 
Okay, I'm back.
The previous owner painted the M3's calipers with Duplicolor paint back in 2009–some 50,000 miles ago. (The joy of buying a documented car from an old friend.)
This photo is current as of about 5 minutes ago:
I like anodized calipers as well. One thing to know is that the dye can cook off, turning black calipers into a nice pinkish color. I was working on the track Miata the other day and thought "I didn't know I'd put red calipers on the back...Oh."
I just use Rustoleum black. Lasts a couple years. The can lasts several coatings on 2 cars and costs me $6. Only time it didn't hold up was the caliper that stuck, burned the pads off and turned the rotor a beautiful blue. Held up all last season on track pretty well.
In reply to Trent :
Can they be zinc plated different colors?
I'm trying to do some fake Polestar calipers on the Volvo. Typically I've done bright colors (orange or red) on track cars and had the paint fade pretty badly after a year. This will be a darker color on a street car, so maybe it will last longer. Any tips about applying stencils and having them last as well?
You guys are overthinking it. I used to be in the "prep and sweat" camp. Then my buddy shows me what he does.
If its just something you are prettying up to look nice, I wont even mask anything. Hit it with brake cleaner, paint it the color you want, maybe roloc some of the paint off the rotors, and get back to it. If you are doing pads and rotors, clean and paint the calipers first, then swap the pads and rotors, then touch up any gaffes before the wheels go back on.
No sense thinking too hard for anything but a concourse build. All the coatings will fade over time, but if you didnt spend a lot of time on it, its a lot easier to stomach the fade and hit it with another coat when it starts looking shabby. Its not like they are too easy to see anyway.
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