Calipers.. coatings or sealant?

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whytlotus

New member
New car coming with red calipers. With the heat generated, any sealants or coatings recommended for a higher temp application?
 
What type of car is it? Do you know if the paint is single stage or clear coated?

On my MK6 GTI, the calipers are painted in a single stage red paint unlike other Germans like Audi, Mercedes, or BMW`s with the upgraded brake packages. I`ve hit them with a AIO with a sealant about once every two years and that has kept them looking OK, but I`m sure the protection was short lived. I`m not sure a coating would be worth it on the single stage paint and am now looking at hitting them with some G2 brake paint.
 
Accumulator said:
I`d send them to Goldline for proper coating instead, but eh...easy for me to spend your money.
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Do they powder coat? Not familiar with the company. Since the car`s my daily driver, I can`t pull the calipers and ship them off. Painting them back to the original color should suit my purposes just fine.
 
Desertnate- I hear you on the impractical nature of shipping them off...gee, guess why I haven`t done mine on the Tahoe yet!

But no, they don`t powdercoat, and they have some (IMO) compelling arguments why the stuff they use is better. (Heh heh, why of course they do huh? ;) )

GoldLine *is* the place for getting calipers done though, everybody I know who`s used them just *raves* about how good they are.

I did use the G2 on the Tahoe`s rear drums, and while those don`t really get hot it`s held up *great*, so I bet you`ll be happy with your results. Sorry if I got all, uhm...Accumulator...about the GoldLine idea :o Some might say I oughta just G2 those calipers on the front of it and just be done with it, instead of thinking how I`m gonna pull/ship/reinstall `em, huh?!?
 
I used G2 paint for the calipers on my Trans Am. Never felt a need to use anything else on them. The stuff is bullet proof.
 
Desertnate said:
What type of car is it? Do you know if the paint is single stage or clear coated?

On my MK6 GTI, the calipers are painted in a single stage red paint unlike other Germans like Audi, Mercedes, or BMW`s with the upgraded brake packages. I`ve hit them with a AIO with a sealant about once every two years and that has kept them looking OK, but I`m sure the protection was short lived. I`m not sure a coating would be worth it on the single stage paint and am now looking at hitting them with some G2 brake paint.
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It`s a Mercedes. Was just wondering if higher brake temps have any effect on any coatings.
 
I painted mine two years ago with G2 color match and coated with McKees wheel coating to include over a white decal. Looks just as good today as when I did it two years ago and it sees plenty of spirited driving.

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whytlotus said:
It`s a Mercedes. Was just wondering if higher brake temps have any effect on any coatings.
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I`ve been able to keep the S8`s calipers nice despite some awfully hard use, and did so on my M3s before that, using just BlackFire`s sealant. Did need redone more than a coating though...but I guess my point is that some stuff holds up better to the (presumably/supposedly) high temps better than one might expect.

[EDIT: just look at how well the McKees is working for SgtMajUSMC]
 
I think it simply comes down to maintaining them, regardless of what you use. Lets face it, most cars with the nice painted calipers on this board are owned by those that think nothing of pulling the wheels to give them a proper cleaning. I have friends that think I`m totally nuts. Most owners out there are hard pressed to clean the face of the wheels much less anything behind them.
 
whytlotus said:
It`s a Mercedes. Was just wondering if higher brake temps have any effect on any coatings.
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The higher temp wheel coatings might do better than a standard one from a heat perspective, but I`d wonder if it would last more than a few months. A couple of track days would probably shorten it even more. All of the Mercedes I`ve looked at appeared to have calipers which were both painted and clear coated, so hopefully coating them will keep them looked good for a long time.

rottenII said:
I think it simply comes down to maintaining them, regardless of what you use. Lets face it, most cars with the nice painted calipers on this board are owned by those that think nothing of pulling the wheels to give them a proper cleaning. I have friends that think I`m totally nuts. Most owners out there are hard pressed to clean the face of the wheels much less anything behind them.
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I don`t know if that`s always the case. My VW`s calipers were painted in single stage paint from the factory, and it isn`t very durable. After a track day they faded even more an became a lovely shade of pink. Fortunately, they are also very easily to polish and returned to their original shade of red, but it does fade over time and heat from hard driving like a track day or back road run accelerates the process.
 
Desertnate said:
What type of car is it? Do you know if the paint is single stage or clear coated?

On my MK6 GTI, the calipers are painted in a single stage red paint unlike other Germans like Audi, Mercedes, or BMW`s with the upgraded brake packages. I`ve hit them with a AIO with a sealant about once every two years and that has kept them looking OK, but I`m sure the protection was short lived. I`m not sure a coating would be worth it on the single stage paint and am now looking at hitting them with some G2 brake paint.
Click to expand...

Our GLI came from the factory with single-stage red front calipers, while the rear ones (I think these are TRW-made) seem to have been powder coated. I usually just clean and seal the rear ones. I don`t make a big deal of doing the fronts, but just do a quick Iron X application and cleaner wax once in a while, which brings back the shine.
 
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