NZ951

Avoid VHT if you can, it makes them so much harder to keep clean over powdercoating. If you can, powdercoat. Mine are in VHT at the mo and will move to powdercoating when I can be bothered.

hosrom_951

Well, mine were painted silver by the PO and they are chipping.

So, i would remove the oil paint with paint thinner (carefully, watching out for the pistons and seals), clean the up, then prime them and apply the aerosol? can't i just apply the paint after removing the old one? what are the effects?

No, unfortunately they are not available in Dubai, i don't think they ship anything in compressed cans overseas........any alternative? how about those regular paint cans available at hardware stores??

Techno Duck

Hosrom, the paint would need to be of the high temp variety. Not sure what the hardware store would carry.

I painted the calipers on my 924S red, it was alright looking i guess. I would never bother doing it a color that stands out again though. The PO of my 944 painted them silver and it looks alright, though the paint is beat to hell and starting to chip (well most has chipped off already). If anything, i plan to either paint them silver again or flat black.

hosrom_951

So, just as long as the paint temp is rated high, it's all good?

NZ951

If you have them off to paint, get them powdercoated, mine are VHT'd and its a pain to keep clean, impossible in most areas. With powdercoating, it washes off easily...

hosrom_951

Im either going to use the aerosol paint can or the laqcuure (sp?) since i would like to keep them on the car while painting...........must be careful though

tifosiman

Paint thinner will not remove oil-based paint once it has cured. You will need some sort of stripper.

I don't know what NZ is talking about regarding the spray on Hi-Temp paint getting "too dirty" compared to powder-coating. Provided that the paint is applied properly, and you have a smooth even finish, it should clean up the same. Powder-coating will be more durable in the long-run, though, as far as scratches, chips, etc.

The brush-on caliper paint that mid-america and other places sell is also a good product. It flows well and will give you a decent, hard finish on the calipers. This is a good option for those who do not want to remove their calipers prior to painting.

As with anything, prep is the key to any good finish.......

(please note that I had 13 years in the paint industry as a background to the statements above, so I may not be as much of an expert as NZ, so take what I say with a grain of salt)

NZ951

I will clear this up for you Tifo as you seemed to have missed the point... obviously dirt will be equally applied to any coloured caliper, the difference is how easy it is to clean off. If you think cleaning VHT paint is easier than a powdercoat, then you didnt learn much.

ODUporschegurl

SILVER is an excellent idea. you read my mind.
ps. great minds think alike

NZ951

Once I get my Simmons OM's on I will be going silver powdercoat to monochrom the car colour and rim centre colour... Should be sweet!

Serge944

Prep is everything, as Tifo stated above. One of my friends painted his whole 944 with duplicolor spray paint and I think maaco would be hard pressed to come close to the quality of finish.

400, 600, 1000, 2000 grit sanding (with water!!). Tedious, but thats all it takes.

As long as the paint isn't pealing or has other serious issues, you dont need to strip it all. Get all the clearcoat off and you're ready to repaint.

Jakerx

i think i'm going to get my 951 calipers soda blasted and then i'll have 'em powdercoated. are the "porsche" decals for the calipers available from the dealer?

tifosiman

Didn't learn much? Yet another typical NZ shot acrossed the bow.

Like I stated, if painted properly and a smooth finish is applied, it is still a hard, smooth coating, it will clean up easily. The dirt won't care if it is on smooth powder coating or smooth paint. It's all the same.

If you take an appropriately applied flat coating and an appropriately applied gloss coating, and look at them in a microscope, you will see that the flat coating looks like a mountain range with a lot of peaks and valleys in it. These are the places that dirt can collect and stick to. That's why, in an oversimplified explanation, why dirt and crud doesn't clean off the flat paint on the inside of a house. Now, when you take a gloss paint and look at it under the microscope, there will not be the same peaks and valleys. It will probably look more like "rolling hills". This means that there are less areas for dirt to get into and stick. The more the gloss, the flatter the profile of the paint. This is why you wet sand a car when doing the final steps in a proper paint job before buffing it. You are sanding out the hills and valleys and trying to get it into as flat of a profile as possible, so that when the buffer hits it, it has the ability to hit all of the areas of the paint and make it shine. And it will shine more than if you buffed the paint without wet-sanding it.

Thus, if the calipers are prepped properly, and the VHT paint is good quality, applied properly, and has a the same degree of gloss as the powder-coated product...............the dirt will wash off just the same. Of course, it you do a shoddy job, no, it will not clean up well.

Of course, in general practice, the powdercoating will be harder and more durable as far as scratches and chips.

NZ951

No shot, just like your grain of salt comment

tifosiman

I hope you learned something then from my comments on paint. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Have a nice day.