Painting Brake calipers

[SoobyDoobyDoo]

Gonna be doing brakes here soon before winter and thought while I was at it I’d paint the stock calipers. Just wondering if anyones done this, what did you use? Seems like duplicator, vht, and G2 are all decent paints, each with their own quirks. Really leaning towards G2….just cause it’s an expoxy-style paint that stand up to salt and other junk from the road better (so they say…also downside is it’s more expensive than vht or duplicolor). Would prefer to brush it on, too, not spray. Been thinking of painting the calipers black…but also joked around with a few people on here about having gold calipers (brembo gold). Kinda on the fence about gold. I think it’d look great with the car (RBP) but would also prefer to have actual brembos, but at this point the financial commitment needed for that is a long ways away. Running stock wheels so I just want to make the calipers look decent. Thoughts? TIA…

Edited September 21, 2022 by SoobyDoobyDoo

[shralp]

Seems like spraying would be better? I painted new GT OEM calipers flat black with brake paint, can’t remember the brand. Just spent time wiping them down isopropyl alcohol and masking the pistons/boots/ mating surfaces. Still looking good on year 3 on my Outback. This was a nice upgrade to the weak Outback brakes

[seanyb505]

Sorry I don't really have a product recommendation, though I'm interested in what's out there for curiosity's sake.

As for color I'd stick with black for stock calipers. Personally, sliding calipers aren't something to draw attention to, especially when upgrades exist in both oem and aftermarket varieties. Think sti sticker on a non-gt base model legacy. For me the next step after brightly colored sliding calipers are those plastic caliper covers. But ultimately it's your car and you're super free to do what gives you the fizz. 

Nothing wrong with protection from rust, but I personally probably wouldn't do joke gold for something so permanent/inconvenient to revert. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by seanyb505

[Max Capacity]

Next time it comes to replacing the calipers, you can buy black ones from the auto parts store that stay black for many years.

[Rusty9]

I've used the epoxy G2 kit before with good success. It has good coverage brushing it on. The other lacquer style paints (nail polish type/smell) usually require 2-3 coats for a smooth even finish.

Otherwise bring them to a pro... 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Rusty9

[kzr750r1]

Have had good success with VHT. Just like any paint job it's all in the prep.

[SoobyDoobyDoo]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I’m gonna just go with the duplicolor brush-on kit for now. Since I have a 2nd set I may revisit in the spring and completely rebuild the fronts. Don’t know yet if I’ll powder coat or do G2. Right now with winter coming and time constraints, I’ll be lucky to just get new pads and rotors and paint…

Rusty, are those STi calipers? They look really good….

[Rusty9]

Yes...the rebuilt ones from Rock Auto. They were like $150ish each...beats $1200+ for old beat up BremBROS with stripped threads, bleeders, and need rebuilt anyways. Painter charged about $300 to paint all 4. I did the decals since I own a sign shop.

I think I got the '06 sti fronts and '04 wrx 2 pot rears, or vice versa. I can look through my old emails to get the part numbers if you need them. All the info I got was from the forums here about brake upgrade options. 4 pot fronts are direct fit (with new sti rotors), 2 pot rears need adapters which are still available from various sellers.

I would still recommend the G2 epoxy kit, I tried the duplicolor shit on these first and they looked like ass. Might as well have used my GF's nail polish. Last calipers for my old car I did with G2 and they came out great, smooth even finish in 1 brush-on coat.