I found a few products that seem pretty straight forward and it sounds like and easy afternoon job on a weekend as long as it doesn't have to go anywhere for the weekend.
I am thinking red brake calipers would look sharp with my chili red '05 cooper.
I am not sure if this is what he means, but the bright attractive red calipers will allow the dirt to stand out more. Everyone sees dirty calipers and no one pays attention to it, but when the red catches your eyes you look, then see the caliper all full of brake dust and what ever else it picks up along the way. Also regardless of the paint, the temps get pretty high and the paint fades quickly, maybe 6-8 months and chips, then you have a caliper with faded paint chipping off covered in dirt. Best bet is to get them power coated, they wont fade, they keep a nice shine to them and stand up to a power washer once a week for $2.00 in quarters to keep them looking as best as possible on a daily basis. There are always the JCW brakes all ready to go in red.
I used specialized brake caliper paint to paint mine black. Not especially difficult to, but it takes time to do an adequate job. The paint I used goes on very thin but dries to a very smooth epoxy-like finish and almost 3 years on there hasn't been any chipping, etc. Stands up to road salt, forceful blasts of water during washing, etc. The black looks very subdued, doesn't really show any brake dust. While this paint in red would likely hold up as well as the black, brake dust would be pretty obvious. You could always hit the calipers with a strong blast from the hose and a lot of the dust would likely wash away.
I read about the specialized brake caliper paint and that is what I was thinking of using. It said it was rated to hold up to 900 degrees, that should be enough right?
I also would like to know if I can do the self paint thing and then if need be later on get the power coating?
I understand the red will draw attention to them and the dust may be obvious, but I have always liked the look of red brakes also I personally would rather have dirty red ones than corroded, just for the preservation aspect.
All I can tell you is that the system I used has held up quite well over what is close to 3 years. I think I used a kit from G2. It's a 2 part epoxy paint in which you add an activcator to the actual paint, mix it up and wait a few minutes before starting painting. As mentioned, it goes on pretty thin but covers the surfaces very well. When dry it is quite smooth and forms a seal. Before mixing, be sure you have cleaned the calipers well. Use a wire brush and spray brake cleaner to get the surfaces as clean as you can.
The instructions say after mixing, the paint has a relatively short working life. I, and several others I've spoken with, found that you actually have a good deal more time than the instructions state. You also have more paint than you need. I painted the calipers and rotor hats (central portion of the rotor) and still had enough left over to do at least another set of calipers. It's not an especially difficult job and can be done without removing the calipers. Only the insides of the rear calipers are a little fussy and are a little more difficult to get to, but that's not visible, so if that part isn't painted it's nothing to be concerned about.
I'm not positive about powder coating calipers once they have been painted with this paint. I understand that one of the keys to success is excellent preparation. I'd imagine you'd have to get the calipers sandblasted to rough the surface up enough for the powder to set. Instead of powder coating I'd think you could always repaint them though if they got really rough and not have to go through the chore of removing them from the car.
Finally, even though brake dust will accumulate and be be more visible on red calipers, you can spray it away. I've used spray on brake dust remover which is pretty agressive on the painted calipers and then just washed it off with a strong stream from the hose. You may need to scrub them a little, but that's always worked on mine. Plus even after using that stuff the paint has not flaked off, bubbled up, etc.
Thanks, hopefully over the week after Easter it will be warm enough I can do this. I think the G2 is what I had seen before and will probably order. I will probably spend quite some time cleaning them since that sounds like the trick to having a nice smooth coat.
