I am thinking about painting my calipers black with white lettering. I have searched a lot of other posts and concluded on VHT Caliper Cleaner, Gloss Black Caliper Paint, Flameproof Clear Coat with Rust-Oleum Primer. I am looking for feedback from the experts who have experience with these. Let me know your thoughts.

I'd prefer to have someone else paint them, but the only place I have found that will do it estimated $1,000 to remove, paint and replace the calipers. That seems crazy. If you know someone in Illinois, let me know.

 

i'm in IL. Where are you located?

 

Southwest suburbs near New Lenox but work in Downers Grove. I can travel almost anywhere in Chicagoland.

 

It's not difficult to do yourself and the calipers do not need to be removed. Even if you have a wheel style that really allows visibility of the caliper, I still say no need to remove. I've done this on my last four vehicles (Acura, BMW and now Lexus) and used the same paint & clear coat each time. The only change was the logo/lettering.

Like you, I did black paint with white lettings (except for the Acura). The Acura was around for four years, the two BMWs were only owned for about two years each. All calipers still looked great when they left my ownership.

 

Here was my process for the existing Lexus (and I just did the rear ones last week):







Here are the newly completed rear:

 

Here's the paint/clear. These plus the vinyl lettering/logo (from eBay) of your choice.

 

Hey Dave,

This is Thao, the guy that bought your door sills haha. Did you paint the inside part as well? Also did you remove the brakes before painting? I'm trying to figure out most efficient way to paint my calipers. Thanks, man!

 

No, not the inside of the calipers...just the front and top/side. And no, I didn't remove them. Look at the photos above and you'll see that I just used paper and masking tape to keep paint off of the rotor and fender. It's really easy to do, just take your time and allow the paint to dry between coats.

What color are you going with?

 

DallasDave - how long ago did you paint them and how have they held up? I have been going back and forth on spray versus brush. I'm thinking about a blue for mine. Also, it didn't look like you covered the entire car but just the area around the wheel area. any issues with overspray?
Thanks

 

It's been several months since I painted the Lexus calipers. The photos I posted above were my previous cars. The calipers paint still looked fresh even after a year. You should also know that I routinely take my car through the local car wash...with no ill effect.

Over-spray shouldn't be a problem, I did mine in the garage each time. Never noticed any overspray (although I did get some paint on my garage floor once). I'm telling you this is VERY easy and straightforward. Just make certain to get "caliper" paint so it will hold up against the temperature and elements.

 

Dave, that looks great! I plan on doing the same thing to my wife's car this spring. I already bought the ebay logo's but haven't decided on what brand of paint to go with. Sounds like VHT has been holding up nicely for you so I might give that a go.

 

I am still debating what color would look best for my car. I think red is played out so either fiery orange, lime green, or metalcast blue (conservatively). I think my main concern is the actual prep and cleaning of the calipers. I've read that people use brake cleaner to prep, but I would think doing so will liquid paste between the brake and caliper. What do you think? I will be doing this in a few weeks when I have more time!

 

It's super easy! Do it yourself and enjoy.
Just remember to sand the whole caliper in advance to make the final paint smooth. (That's the most important part I think....)

 

I am going to do this at the end of this month, I will be buying the supplies in a couple of days. I am thinking about doing 3 coats of primer, 4 coats paint, and 3 coats of clear. How many cans each would you say that I need? One or two cans? Thanks!!

 

2 coats of primer is quiet enough. I suggest you buy 1 primer, 2 paint and 1 clear coat.