How to Paint Your Brake Calipers: Colours + Method

Over time, your car's brake calipers may become rusty; the once-silver appearance now looks tarnished, patchy, and dark brown. Painting the brake calipers not only makes the car look smart, but it can also increase the lifespan of the calipers and value of your car. What brake caliper colour should you choose, and what's the best way to paint them?

Can I Paint My Brake Caliper Different Colours?

You can paint your brake calipers whatever colour you like. Many people choose black or silver to maintain a uniform look with the rest of the parts or to recapture the original aesthetic. However, there are no downsides to brighter colours, so long as the correct type of paint is used.

Caliper paint is a unique formula that can be found sold in auto centres, garages, and certain online stores. It differs from house paint, craft paint, or other forms of paint in its chemical makeup. It's designed to better adhere to metal, resist the wear and tear a car will experience both on the road and from weather conditions, and it has extreme heat-resistant properties. This not only allows it to protect your calipers, but avoid flaking off over time.

Standard colours offered by commercial caliper paint range from black and silver to red and blue. Some brands offer brighter colours as a specialty, like yellow and pink, or even glow-in-the-dark varieties for aesthetic appeal. You can search online or get in contact with a garage like Autofusion to see what options they have available.

No matter your choice, when painting the calipers, be sure to avoid painting the brake discs or surrounding areas. Doing so may impact the functionality of your brake discs, making it hard to stop your car once it's in motion. Likewise, splashing paint on the surrounding parts can lead to jamming or an unclean appearance.

To prevent this, you can either apply tape to cover these parts or remove the brake calipers altogether, so they can be painted individually.

How To Paint Brake Calipers

You can visit a garage like Autofusion to have your brake calipers painted, or you can do it yourself at home. To handle it personally, follow these steps:

Step 1: Jack The Car Up

Before you can start cleaning or painting the calipers, the car should be jacked up so that you can access the parts. After it's securely elevated, loosen the nuts on the front two wheels. You can pull both of the tyres off at once, or do one and then the other. Remember to keep the wheel nuts safe, as you'll need them later.

Step 2: Clean Your Brakes

Now that you've exposed the calipers, you should clean them and the brake discs. If you paint over the dirt and rust already present on your calipers, the paint may not stick and the finish won't be as smooth.

You can use a wire brush to remove the worst of the rust and then scrub the caliper with a damp cloth. Alternatively, you can use a special brake cleaner and a small brush, such as a toothbrush, to remove the dirt from your brake discs and calipers.

Step 3: Prepare The Calipers

This is an important step - the more time you spend preparing the calipers, the better and neater the finish will be.

• Firstly, take off the front retainer clip and then cover the bleeder valve using masking tape to protect it
• Ensure the valve is completely covered. Overlapping the layers of masking tape may help to keep paint from leaking into the joins
• Then, cover the brake hose fittings with tape
• Once this is done, take a large plastic sheet or bin bag, and use it to cover the brake rotor entirely.
• If you choose a bin bag, rip it at the seams so that it turns into a large, square shape.
• Apply the sheet carefully and precisely, so that there are no gaps where paint could leak onto the rotor.
• You may need to spin the rotor so that it seals the plastic between the brake pads and the rotor.
• Use some more tape to keep the plastic sheet from moving.

Step 4: Start Painting

Now it's time for the paint. Regardless of colour or brand, apply the paint evenly by spreading on one thin coat at a time.

Avoid doing one thick coat, as this will result in a patchy finish with drip marks. Multiple thin coats are more efficient, with 10 minutes in between each layer to ensure it dries before the next layer is applied.

Once 3-4 layers have been applied (perhaps more, until the paint is evenly coated), leave the paint to dry fully. This could be up to 24 hours, depending on the paint you've used.

Once it has, you can remove the plastic sheet. Do not put the wheels back on until you're confident the paint has thoroughly set and cured.

Step 5: Take The Car Off The Ramps

Finally, put the tyres back in place using the wheel nuts. Then, unjack your car. If you're doing the rear wheels, these can now be jacked up and the process repeated.

Step 6: Evaluate The Finished Look

Now, your calipers should gleam and shine with their brand new paint. To finish off the look, you could clean your alloys and tyres.

How Long Does Caliper Paint Take To Dry?

Caliper paint must fully set and cure before you begin driving. If it doesn't, the paint may smear, flake off, or leave blank patches on the brake calipers. Worse yet, damp paint is not completely heat resistant. Your brakes get very hot as they're used, and while dried paint can withstand temperatures of up to 300 degrees Celsius, wet paint cannot.

The time required for paint to dry will depend on the manufacturer. For instance, Rust-Oleum pain is touch-dry in 2-4 hours, but will not be fully dry for 24 hours. The brand recommends waiting at least 5-9 hours before reattaching the wheels. Meanwhile, Foliatec states that you can reattach the wheels after just 2 hours.

In any case, wait at least 24 hours before you drive the vehicle. Foliatec even says that the full hardening of the paint won't be complete until up to 7 days after it's applied, depending on your climate. Always read the label carefully to ensure the car is safe to drive.