Painting calipers

[rubberduckofdeath]

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[snoopy]

No.

Do not paint.

Have power-coated.

You will regret painting (I did).

[northwind]

But then again, he painted with really cack paint :) If you use stuff that's designed for the job- Halfords do a spray, or Foliatec (also available from halfords or demon tweeks) do a 2-part brush-on laquer that tolerates brake fluid better than the original finish, and also survived a trip into a gravel trap without a mark.

Powdercoating's better, no doubt, but it's more expensive and takes longer (you can do the paint in an afternoon, but most coaters will take a couple of days at least to turn the job around) and you should probably replace the seals as well, which is more cost. With the paint or laquer, you can still get an excellent finish if you're careful and take your time. Also, it's repairable, unlike powdercoat.

Both have their merits... Ask your wheel coater if they'll do you a discount for the calipers and it might work out to the good.

[TSM]

I painted mine with caliper paint and overall its in good condition but near the bleed nipples the paint has chipped a bit.

I had a pain of a time trying to paint them, if you do go slowly and remember to mix the correct amount of hardner into the paint (if you go for proper caliper paint it will be two part, paint & hardner).

Aparently even if you powder coat the calipers once they chip it will start commin off unless you coat the areas that have chipped with something like nail varnish. Water gets underneath the power coat and it all comes off.

[northwind]

According to the guy who coated my wheels, SV calipers should coat really well... But jaggy edged ones will probably chip faster. Powdercoat's not so good with sharp edges because of its softness.

[snoopy]

If you get it laquered properly it wont come off (and dare I say chip). It's not much more to have it done properly.

[northwind]

Nah, not so, even laquered powdercoat will chip if it's hit in the wrong place. It's tough, but it's not indestructible. Still, it should last very well unless you're unlucky.

[snoopy]

You'll regret it unless you laquer them properly. The road crap discolours them.

Oh and the paint I used was fine for them, its just you cant polish them up.

As I recall Northwind hasn't had his powercoated. I've done both.

[northwind]

If snoopy had used an appropriate paint, and prepped and painted it well, it just wouldn't have worn the way he described... He complained of serious wear after 2000 miles, mine's been on for 5000 and is still in excellent condition (apart from one ding which I made myself with a pair of grips- powdercoat would have damaged the same) He used Japlac which is a high gloss enamel designed for decorative work, and also IIRC didn't prime it with the recommended undercoat.

Not a very good pic but this is the caliper last week.
http://server2.uploadit.org/files/northwind-caliper.jpg

That's been removed and bled half a dozen times, been dragged through a gravel trap, been clattered off the rear wheel dozens of times during my rear wheel speedo project, and used daily through most of a scottish winter. Still looks lovely.

I've not powdercoated calipers, it's true, but I did coat the forks and rear torque arm at the same time as I did the calipers. Both professionally done with a clear coat... And the rear torque arm sustained a couple of chips in that time which led to subsequent peeling, while the caliper's still near mint.

Like I say, powdercoating's better, but painting them properly is a very good alternative and still long-lasting and durable. And as I've said, you can also patch it since all you need to do is mix up a little more paint- try that with powder coat.