Caliper Spray

[n/a]

Just wondering if the DIY caliper spray jobs that everyones been doing would hinder the caliper from releasing heat which could lead to cracking.

[panda[cRx]]

^ what he said. i don't think i've ever heard of a caliper on a street car (modified or not) cracking

[omgzilla]

The heat from the brakes gets dissipated from the pads and discs themselves. The calipers job isn't to release heat.

Painting the calipers is perfectly fine!

If it mattered even in the slightest you would see Brembo, Alcon, AP Racing etc calipers left unpainted!

Tip: Make sure you get the specified Brake Caliper Paint and not just a generic heatproof/fireproof paint - usually the generic heat/flameproof ones are very matte colour. The actual Brake Caliper Paint has gloss in it - which is far more resistant to brake dust

Make sure you clean the caliper extremely well, get rid of any trace of brake fluid and tape up all your piston seals and fluid line and bleeder fittings before you paint

[Boban]

^^what all of the above said, and also make sure you tape up your brake pad before you paint the caliper, looks really dodgy if you spray over the brake pad and the caliper. I removed mine when i did it, but that's just me. Also do a couple of coats, don't be stingy, good quality paint won't set you back more than $20 for a can, i did my brakes and 2 Rocker/tappets covers with one can

[n/a]

no worries, thanks for the info.

[JohnL]

On the road it's probably not a real issue, but if I were racing the car I wouldn't do it. The problem is that while most of the heat is dissipated by the disc, some heat (quite a lot really) does get into the caliper and then into the fluid. If the fluid gets hot enough it will boil, even new fluid with no water in it. Heat will be radiated and convected (to air) through the caliper itself, and really you do want to do all you can to encourage this.

If you paint the caliper the paint will act as an insulating layer, and in some degree (no pun intended) reduce the ability for heat to dissipate. It would be a bit less of a problem if you painted them black (and a bit less still if matt black), but the paint is still an insulator. If you paint air cooled kart engines I know there is a tendency for them to run slightly hotter, even with black paint.

Most coloured calipers I've seen (though I haven't paid that much attention to that many coloured calipers) have been anodised, which won't act as an insulating layer. Best would be black anodised.

[EuroDude]

Painting Calipers is perfectly fine. The calipers dont reach extreme temperatures anyway, unlike an engine rocker cover which gets much hotter, and that is painted from the factory.

Put it this way; Brembo, Porsche, and other performance brakes are all painted! No reason why you cant do the same on stock calipers
They wouldn't paint performance calipers if there was a heat problem.

[JohnL]

OK, but I did say it's probably no real deal on a road car, and it's probably not a big deal on a racer either, most of the time. I't's just something I wouldn't do myself because a heat retentive affect does exist, even if it's relatively slight. I do think calipers get significantly hot (burned my hand on at least one), just not nearly as hot as the disc.

[Feverpitched]

You'd burn your hand on most things in your car that have reached optimum operating temperature. I don't think caliper paint makes a difference worthy of consideration.

[EuroDude]

^ yes its different for V8 supercars and F1 cars since they reach 300km/h+ and brake like crazy, but for road cars and most performance cars (bar Ferraris enzo's perhaps) it not really an issue, a few degrees difference wont hurt.

Ive touched my euro's calipers after braking considerably, they were only warm to the touch.

[DreadAngel]

James is superman XD

[EuroDude]

btw if you have painted calipers, is there a problem using Wheel Cleaner?

Wheel cleaner is high in Alkaline and probably not good for paint I imagine. Has anyones paint peeled off or bubbled or anything?