so im getting rims in a few days and was thinking of painting the calipers red when i take the tires off... do any of you think that the dealership could void my warrenty because of my painted calipers?? im thinking of red. what do you all think?

:driving:

no, they can not void the warranty... just make sure you bleed the brakes properly when you put them back on, if you are taking them off that is...

crap, i will have to paint mine sooner then this weekend. i wanted to be the first with painted calipers hahaha. I am sure someone has done it, just not seen any pics.

no it will not void your warranty. go for it!

what color is your car? i think red front calipers look best on all colors. Thats what i am going to do. and you dont have to take the whole caliper off to paint them either.

Has anyone painted their calipers red on their G8 GT? If so, can you post pics so we can see what it looks like? (and prompt us to do the same during Memorial Day weekend when we realize how great it looks?)

someone has, b/c ive seen pics of it... i'll try to find it... try to get them powdercoated if you can, it lasts longer and looks tons better...

someone has, b/c ive seen pics of it... i'll try to find it... try to get them powdercoated if you can, it lasts longer and looks tons better...

Should I paint them myself? Or take it to a pro?

you can prob get em powdercoated in any color for $50 total... just look for powdercoaters in the phone book and call around...

There is a thread on 4-20-08 under Appearance/Detail CALIPERS that tells of what paint and how ZO6 did his calipers.

I can tell you how to paint your calipers. Its so easy and I am retarded when it comes to mechanical things. You DO NOT need to powder coat them, or take them off the rotor or do anything crazy. You get some duplicolor Hi Temp paint and a can of clear coat, masking tape, and your good to go. I am doing mine this weekend in RED and I will post pictures. I have done it on other cars and it looks great.

^if you want it to look the best and las the longest, powdercoat them, if you wanna save $20 now, but have to repaint them in the future, get the duplicolor kit... the eastwood stuff isn't bad, it'll last longer than any other caliper paint, but it still won't last as long as powdercoating... there are a few TBSS guys that have used the eastwood kit, and after three years, it is beginning to flake...

So what kind of shop will do this kind of work? What do I look for again in the yellow pages?

I find powdercoating to be a little bit overrating myself. Ok I admit that powdercoating will be the most durable out of the other options but you have to take off the calipers and dismantle everything. After the powdercoating you have to install everything back in place and bleed the brakes. Very time consuming and costly(depending on the shop). If someone decides to have them powercoated more power to them. You will get the best results and the finish won't get damaged unless you purposely scratch them.

As far as the flaking is concerned from painting i think that has a lot to do with bad preparation. If the calipers aren't cleaned properly prior to painting then the paint will be sitting on the dirt instead of the caliper in which yes will cause flaking. I've painted my calipers(with a brush) about 4 years ago on my Stang using a aluminum/silver heat resistant paint I bought from a hardware store and the finish still looks brand new. I have yet to do a touch up.

Here is a pic(btw in that pic the caliper was still dirty because I haven't washed it at that time I took the pic so that's why they look a little bit dirty).
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r166/Blackstang96GT/P1010649.jpg

Painting them would be the simplest and cheapest method imo and if you clean and prep the calipers properly the paint should hold for a long time. Any painter will tell you that there is no such thing as a bad paint job just bad preparation. :wink2:

@Attorneyguy: Any shop should be able to paint them for you. As far as powdercoating is concerned you might need to go to someone who does custom work but be careful because to powdercoat the calipers you will have to take everything apart.

This is all just my 2 cents of course.

yes, powdercoating is slightly more complicated than painting, but IMO it is better, both fiscally and aesthetic wise... if you know grease monkeys to help you take off and put back on the calipers, it will help... oh and attorneyguy, some paint shops will have powdercoating capabilities... again, it won't cost much more than $50, where as i got a quote to paint my calipers and it was $300, i dont know why though... still though, just look up the word powder coating in the yellowbook and go from there...

When I wanted to have my calipers painted I've considered having them powdercoated as well but I couldn't find anyone who would be willing to do it for me around here. That's when I got the tip from a friend of mine about doing it myself and using a special heat resistant paint at a hardware store. I would've had mine powdercoated if I would've found someone and it didn't cost a fortune. It is the best method if it is done right. If Attorneyguy can find someone who can do it he should definitely go for it but only as long as he doesn't let just any Joe mess with his brakes. I would only let someone do the work who has experience with that type of work and that goes with the taking apart of the brakes and powdercoating them. The brakes are just too vital of a system to be tampering with.

I have called around to a few local shops and they said they don't paint calipers. So I'm still looking...
The only quote I have gotten is from a friend's father who wants $200 to do the job (he said he would remove the calipers and clear coat them).
When you guys say they won't last as long if just paint them, how long do you mean? Also, are people adding decals to the calipers? I noticed there are some website that sell "Pontiac" decals.

I still would love to see what red calipers look like on a G8 GT!

this guy is quite possibly the best powdercoater out there: http://www.thepowdercoater.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2

if you can deal without your car for a couple of days, he is the way to go... i think he charges $150 for it and it takes 4 days for them to get back to you from when you sent them off... still compare that to any paint shop, which will charge you more to paint them, and it is a no brainer...

When you guys say they won't last as long if just paint them, how long do you mean? Also, are people adding decals to the calipers? I noticed there are some website that sell "Pontiac" decals.
I personally think that the better prepped the calipers are prior to painting the longer the paint will hold on them. How long can not be determined. For some people the paint holds for a short period of time and for some the paint holds forever. If your brakes cause a lot of brake dust that can also be an issue because brake dust could damage the finish if the dust is left on the calipers for a long time. If you prep the calipers properly and apply enough coats(at least 2) they should last a long time and shouldn't flake. You might need to retouch them in a couple of years depending on how often you drive just to refreshen the look but that you can do yourself if you prefer. The advantage of powdercoating is that you should never need to retouch them. You can put a decal on the caliper I think. On my Mustang I can because the caliper doesn't get that hot only the rotor does after driving. You can also create a template and use it to paint whatever you want on the calipers. That would work too.


One thing I will agree with Atlas though is if you want the best results and you're willing to pay to have your calipers done red then definitely get them powdercoated.
If you're willing to do them yourself grab some paint and a brush and have fun. :cool:

I have brushed my last 2 new cars. My 05 Magnum, I bought the caliper kit and did them when the car was new and the calipers were spotless. I still used the spray cleaner which came with the kit. I pulled wheels, used some painters tape and brushed away. I put on 3 coats. Just traded my MAG in on the G8, and the calipers still looked like I had just painted them. And I used red, which on dark blue Mag was hot.

I am doing my G8, but I don't know how red will look on my IOM car. Red onOrange vs. Yellow onOrange is what I'm down too.
Any ideas on what color would look best on the orange G8?

And I agree powder coating is the best, but it was too time consuming and costly for me. The paint kit is only around $15. Take your time, give it time to dry between coats and put on multiple coats, that's my vote.

And be safe! Especially if you pull the whells and crawl under and do the caliper all the way around.

DL

^color match your car, it would look amazing...

and i agree the DIY kits are the cheapest, but if you are looking to have them professionally painted, which i think what attorneyguy was getting at, it is far more expensive than powdercoating...

google eastwood for the best DIY kit... the duplicolor kits at AA and autozone are't bad, but be prepared to paint every other year...

http://eastwood.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=caliper+paint&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search

I have brushed my last 2 new cars. My 05 Magnum, I bought the caliper kit and did them when the car was new and the calipers were spotless. I still used the spray cleaner which came with the kit. I pulled wheels, used some painters tape and brushed away. I put on 3 coats. Just traded my MAG in on the G8, and the calipers still looked like I had just painted them. And I used red, which on dark blue Mag was hot.

I am doing my G8, but I don't know how red will look on my IOM car. Red onOrange vs. Yellow onOrange is what I'm down too.
Any ideas on what color would look best on the orange G8?

And I agree powder coating is the best, but it was too time consuming and costly for me. The paint kit is only around $15. Take your time, give it time to dry between coats and put on multiple coats, that's my vote.

And be safe! Especially if you pull the whells and crawl under and do the caliper all the way around.

DL

For IOM I would go with black calipers either flat or gloss. That would look best imo. :)

Good advice there man and good point about being safe when working around or under your car when it's lifted off of the ground. If anyone jacks up their cars please place jack stands under the car and do not work under a car only supported on a jack. I can't stress this enough. My father lost an uncle because he worked under a car with only the jack holding the car up. The jack let loose and the car fell on him killing him instantly. Please be careful everyone!

For IOM, I would go either orange with black around it or just brighten up the silver. Black I dont think you will see to well, but if you can find a paint close to the color of your car, I would def do it in orange. Only do the front brakes. I dont like it when all 4 brakes are jumpin out at you.

As for Attorney guy, I am 99.9% sure I am doing mine this weekend in Red. I was lookin at the PONTIAC decals as well but they wont get here in time. I can install them whenever.

If I were you, paint it yourself. I did my Cavalier, Camaro, Trans Am, and Neon and NONE have ever flaked off or anything. Like Rue said, just prep it right. Make sure you get them nice and clean, then spray a base coat such as black. Now after the black dries, spray your color on, for example, red. After the red dries, hit it again. After that 2nd coat dries, clear coat them. If you dont clear coat them, you just wasted all your time. While your at it, clear coat a bunch of things in there to keep them from rusting. Just mask off what you dont want painted then fill the wheel well with tons of newpaper to keep the spray from going anywhere. It really is very simple to do yourself and you will not have to do them year after year. They will stay nice. Hopefully this weekend I will have pictures up to show the before, prep, and after shots. Then you can drool and beg me to do yours hahaha jk.

I've used the G2 paint system in the past with great success. It's a brush on system that requires the paint to be mixed with the included activator.

I suggest mixing a half and half batch so you can keep some around for touch ups, etc. They give you way more than you need. When the paint dries it forms a hardened enamel that cleans up very easily.

It's not indestructable however, you do need to take some care removing the wheels as it can chip, but it looks better than spray on's IMHO.

I just ordered a set of PONTIAC brake decals in black. They are arched to go along with the lines of the brake calipers. Hopefully they get here by Saturday but I doubt it.

I just ordered a set of PONTIAC brake decals in black. They are arched to go along with the lines of the brake calipers. Hopefully they get here by Saturday but I doubt it.

Where did you order them from? Do they have other colors?

More pics plz if anyone has done this, I wanted to paint mine as well, probably an orange to go with the IOM

Wait until this weekend, prob Saturday.

I can find the site. They were $9 shipped. They came in like 20 different colors. You can get PONTIAC straight across or arched. I did arched since the calipers are curved.

Patience is a virtue lol

www.XenonMods.com

I think the website is temporarily down, but that is where I ordered the brake caliper PONTIAC decals in black.

They also give a write up of how to paint them yourself although I could easily do that as well for someone.

Can't wait to see the results nikeair.

When you figure teh cost of powder coating do include cost of caliper removal from car and filling and bleeding brakes, as well as the couple days you won't be driving the car. For eth mechanically uninclined painting at a minimum only requires removal of wheels, at most removal of caliper from mount, but not from car.

If you cannot find a powder coating facility nearby you can always buy a kit from Eastwood and send your wife on vacation while you tie up the oven in her kitchen.

Can't wait to see the results nikeair.

Thanks man.Yea its going to look sweet. I hope the decals get here in time. If not, I can just put them on between the rims and the caliper. The 19's 5 spoke is spaced enough to easily place them on then put clear coat over them to keep them held down. I am only going to do the front 2 because when you do all 4 it looks cheesy and over kill. Either red calipers with black outlining or red with silver outlining.:)

When you figure teh cost of powder coating do include cost of caliper removal from car and filling and bleeding brakes, as well as the couple days you won't be driving the car. For eth mechanically uninclined painting at a minimum only requires removal of wheels, at most removal of caliper from mount, but not from car.

If you cannot find a powder coating facility nearby you can always buy a kit from Eastwood and send your wife on vacation while you tie up the oven in her kitchen.

Lol! I don't know how the calipers are on the G8 but on my Stang I didn't have to remove the calipers at all. I painted them with a brush. There was enough room to work around everything. Spray painting them is a different story. You'll have to remove do exactly as you just mentioned maybe even just remove them completely and bleed the brakes later so that there will be no risks of getting paint on the car. Everyone will have to choose on their own what the best method is going to be for them. I will paint the ones on mine when I finally get it. I haven't decided how though. Since it'll see a lot of snow and salt in the winter I might have them powdercoated if I can find someone or paint them and spray some clearcoat on them for protection. We'll see.

Thanks man.Yea its going to look sweet. I hope the decals get here in time. If not, I can just put them on between the rims and the caliper. The 19's 5 spoke is spaced enough to easily place them on then put clear coat over them to keep them held down. I am only going to do the front 2 because when you do all 4 it looks cheesy and over kill. Either red calipers with black outlining or red with silver outlining.:)Sounds like a plan man. :) I'm going to make a template for mine and paint the letters on. I can make the template using Photoshop and then print it out. Cut out the letters and then presto. :cool:

Good luck with yours man. Spraying some clearcoat is a good idea. Just don't spray a too thick of a coat on them or your will end up with runs. Take your time and spray light coats. Either red/silver or red/black will look good so you can't lose with whatever you choose.

^if you want it to look the best and las the longest, powdercoat them, if you wanna save $20 now, but have to repaint them in the future, get the duplicolor kit... the eastwood stuff isn't bad, it'll last longer than any other caliper paint, but it still won't last as long as powdercoating... there are a few TBSS guys that have used the eastwood kit, and after three years, it is beginning to flake...


I didn't use there kit, just there pinstriping paint in the small cans. Works like a charm, costs almost nothing and does not flake off. I will do mine as soon as I get a G8! Just don't go wild with the paint, the body of the caliper needs to be red, the arms around it need to be black, not painted red. Will be the best look.

What about caliber covers? your thoughts. The glue on, I believe.

gay