Duplicolor Caliper Paint kit

[talontsiawd]

Price: $30
Purchaced: Neds Autobody (should be at any store that carries duplicolor paint)

Rating: 6/10

Ok, so i was planning to paint my calipers as they look dirty unpainted. My mindset is, it should look stock, my options where black or silver, i went with black. So i went to the local automotive store to buy some high temp spray paint and saw some caliper paint. Interesting. Very little masking should be easy. Well, it ended up taking about the same time, maybe more. With spray paint, you just mask and can spray, this was a bit more involved. It wasn't hard but i'd rather spray, depsite my other complaints. Overall i wasn't very satified with this product. For the price, it should have been better. For $5, the cost of a spray can, i still wouldn't do it this way again.

Pro's: All in one kit (this is sort of a con, read later), you don't need to buy more than the kit. Color is spot on. It says "black" i don't know if it was supposed to be gloss but it's a nice semi flat that looks stock. Now if you wanted red, blue, whatever, and it came out the same, you probably wouldn't be happy. Relatively easy to use, if you can move a paint brush you can do it.

Cons: The all in one kit ended up just costing me money. The masking tape was awful. It takes alot for me to hate tape but this just bonded to whatever it touched. The brush was poorly made, fell apart. I was lucky to salvage it, i know how to from my job, i recommend you buy a better one. Brake cleaner isn't enough, i got through two and i'm almost done. So the all in one cost you in the end as you could buy this stuff seperately and save money. Or, if you are like me, you already had most and stop using what you paid for.

The paint looked "brushed". It didn't level like it should. It's not bad but i expected better for $30.


Anyway, i found this to be pretty average, with sub par materials that cost you in the end. I love duplicolor to be honest. I have painted many calipers using their engine block paint with great results. If you have masking tape, newspaper, plastic bags and some break cleaner, you can do this for $5 and get better results.

 

[cliffsta]

Thank you so much for doing this write-up, my next mod is going to be new rotors and painting my callipers... and I was considering purchasing this kit. I'll be sure to just buy a second can of Engine Enamel and use my leftovers from blackhousing and save some dough.

 

[HomerJay]

I have the black kit. I have yet to use it. It sounds like it's a little lacking......thanks for the heads up! Since I can't return the kit (I found it online for $19 a couple of months ago), I'll be sure to pick up an extra can of brake cleaner and a new brush before I start.

The site I ordered it from did list the color as flat black. I, too, was looking for something that would look nice but not an obvious change that stands out (blue, yellow, red).

Hopefully, a better brush minimizes brush strokes. I'm still a bit weary of using spray paint in such a confined area. Although, I might just give it a try now. Thanks for the review.

I figured I'd mention that I've seen red used on a Corvette...and it looked HORRID. I don't know that it was this kit or not. The car was parked and I couldn't help but notice they didn't put any time into masking. I find it funny when that passes...for a Corvette... From what I saw, it looks like it would be much more difficult for a clean application with any of the colors (without sufficient, well-done masking).

 

[talontsiawd]

Well, don't get me wrong, it's not god awful by any means. It looks fine, it's just not quite as good as i would expect. Money plays into alot of that rating. For $30, i expeted a better brush that wouldn't fall apart (i would clamp it if you plan to use this kit before you start), better masking tape, etc. I figure what it contained outside the paint would cost about $7, making the actual paint almost $25. So, again, it's not that bad overall, but i did feel a bit ripped off.

If you plan to rattle can your calipers, make sure to mask very well. You don't want any overspray. Or you can take them off the car, probably better, i don't like haven't to bleed my brakes just to paint them. I would say it took me a bit longer, only slightly. Masking takes alot longer but then spraying takes seconds to do.

 

[ryon527]

I just did the calipers today on my g35. All I did was take the wheel off, used a brillo pad on the caliper, masked, then spray painted. I used the duplicolor caliper spray paint. It seems to dry faster than the engine paint. If you're worried about overspray go to home depot and get a plastic sheet like they use to throw over furniture when painting a house. Cut it to like 4 by 4 feet and center it over the caliper. Tape the corners of the sheet to the car with blue painters tape then just rip a hole in the sheet in the center and push it over and behind the caliper and hub.

 

[dynasty]

Any pictures of the results?

 

[talontsiawd]

I can take some pics in accouple days. First, i need to find a digicam, mine broke (shouldn't be too hard). Second, i'm refinishing my wheels so you can barely see them with the stockers.

 

[HomerJay]

I just did the calipers today on my g35. All I did was take the wheel off, used a brillo pad on the caliper, masked, then spray painted. I used the duplicolor caliper spray paint. It seems to dry faster than the engine paint. If you're worried about overspray go to home depot and get a plastic sheet like they use to throw over furniture when painting a house. Cut it to like 4 by 4 feet and center it over the caliper. Tape the corners of the sheet to the car with blue painters tape then just rip a hole in the sheet in the center and push it over and behind the caliper and hub.

Even though I have the kit, I think this is what I'll ultimately do. If it's a windy day, I'll find something else to do...

 

[talontsiawd]

Any pictures of the results?

It's really hard to make black easy to see...Don't mind my mooninite..

 

[F23Coupe]

Nice wheels. Can't really see the calipers but better than the dingy steel color.