Caliper Paint- Good idea or waste of money?

Originally Posted by rossisboss

Painting them will keep them from rusting and looking like crap, I know it's pricey but the G2 kits are very durable. Normally calipers look rusted and crappy after 1 winter in Ohio... 2 years now with no difference in color or finish. just only mix half the kit to begin.

I painted mine orange, go ahead and flame lol. I plan on adding very small touches of orange throughout the interior and possibly some extremely small touches on the exterior to match.

Haha I painted mine's orange too

I did mine black on my 05 m3 looks sick

Originally Posted by BBBoy323i

Haha I painted mine's orange too

Your not the only one! I did some on my caps too.

I wanted to highlight how awesome my wood trim is, so got some of that polyurethane that has stain built in...did them in walnut with highlights in maple and oak. They look like real wood and I get compliments on them all the time. Guy came up to me just the other day and asked, "dude, are those calipers wood?" Getting my hard work noticed is all I want.

(My way of answering your question, OP--I think it's a waste of time)

Rice

Originally Posted by dmax

I wanted to highlight how awesome my wood trim is, so got some of that polyurethane that has stain built in...did them in walnut with highlights in maple and oak. They look like real wood and I get compliments on them all the time. Guy came up to me just the other day and asked, "dude, are those calipers wood?" Getting my hard work noticed is all I want.

(My way of answering your question, OP--I think it's a waste of time)

You have go to be shiting me! If this is true, that is most ridiculous/amazing thing ive heard in awhile.
But perhaps im missing the sarcasm...

Originally Posted by TynWarrior

You have go to be shiting me! If this is true, that is most ridiculous/amazing thing ive heard in awhile.
But perhaps im missing the sarcasm...

You must not know dmax very Well..

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Bimmer App

Any color is better than rust.
I am gotta paint them when I refinish my rims this summer.

Rust is one of my favorite colors, Merc! I'm just not seeing it. Mostly, I think it takes the eye of that hot babe that wants you and gets her wasting her time looking at your yellow/red/black/silver/green/pink/woodgrain calipers. You've got a whole fn bmw right there...with you in it. Why build a distraction?

Your goal is to make your car look nicer for other guys? Not me, thank you! Well, whether it's guys or gals you want, it's distracting them.

With my matte rust finish, one can take in the car/wheels/driver in one fell swoop.

Is all this caliper painting going on to make your car look nice for meets? If so, I understand. I think it's silly, but I understand.

In maybe 5 years or so, when an e46 comes to a meet, I think it will get a far better reception the more authentically e46 it is. Maybe that's just me. Probably is!

I saw a 507 a 3.0csl (think that's right)...gorgeous cars from the factory...and they were that way last year. I love that look because I think it shows good stewardship.

But, I'm trying hard not to sound like a hater. I understand you who view the car as just an appliance and you want to spruce it up.

Okay...I'm done...just telling you guys what you'll think in about 30 years or so!

Funny how only the newest members thinks this looks good.

If you're going to paint stock calipers, black or silver is okay. Red, yellow, etc. look silly unless you've got a BBK.

Originally Posted by jiggz

Funny how only the newest members thinks this looks good.

If you're going to paint stock calipers, black or silver is okay. Red, yellow, etc. look silly unless you've got a BBK.

So flashy is okay if you spend $1500 on it? but if you just want to make your car a little more unique and "your own" while preventing ugly rust then it's a waste of time or rice?

ok.

Originally Posted by rossisboss

So flashy is okay if you spend $1500 on it?

Yes, because its performance matches its looks.

Painting our dinky single-piston calipers red looks lame.

Originally Posted by jiggz

Funny how only the newest members thinks this looks good.

If you're going to paint stock calipers, black or silver is okay. Red, yellow, etc. look silly unless you've got a BBK.

not all of us! haha. even for rust prevention, I think it's just to much work to be worth it.

But I do think Dmax has something with the wood painted, I foresee a trend!

Originally Posted by Zell

Yes, because its performance matches its looks.

Painting our dinky single-piston calipers red looks lame.

A principle for designing/styling anything, is that the styling needs to match the performance.
This I believe is why many find ricers so distasteful.

Fast cars yo, look at the styling, 0-60 5 secs or less:

To the original poster, that posed the question: it is worth it to paint the stock calipers, so much better looking that dirt and rust! Doesn't matter that they are the stock ATE/Girling calipers, doesn't even matter how noticeable the paint will be depending on which wheels you have on, it gives the calipers a finished look. Brembo calipers are usually red, unless you are talking about some of the newest Ferrari's which have yellow painted Brembos. On my '03 325 xi which is black over black, black Beyern 17" Mesh wheels, blacked out grill and roundels, I have painted the stock calipers red, the non-braking surfaces of the cross-drilled rotors black and the calipers pop behind the wheels. This would be much to the distain of some of the members of this forum. On my '03 330xi sport, which is platinum silver, again, the non-braking surfaces of the cross-drilled rotors has been painted black and the calipers have been painted yellow with silver 17 inch wheels, blacked out grill and roundels black and silver. Again, this would be to the distain of many members of this forum. My point, OP, if you want to paint your stock calipers, do it! To hell with some of the opinions of members of the forum. Either red or yellow will look nice behind your black wheels. Just make sure that you clean your calipers well before painting and if using spray paint, you may want to give them several thin coats. My 2 cents worth, lets see how beat up I get over it, LOL.

I just found a picture of what my caliper looked like before and another pic after. the op's wheels are black so black calipers dont really go well with black wheels maybe silver would be better or what ever the op like's, it would still look better than rusted calipers.

Originally Posted by mbnz230

I just found a picture of what my caliper looked like before and another pic after. the op's wheels are black so black calipers dont really go well with black wheels maybe silver would be better or what ever the op like's, it would still look better than rusted calipers.

See, that looks fine. You want the wheels to stand out, not the calipers. They're not good to look at Black stock calipers will make your eyes more drawn to the wheels.

If I cared to have painted calipers on an E46 they would definately be painted black.

I've done several sets of calipers for friends and family, with great results. I prefer the more subtle colors, but in some cases the brighter ones don't look bad.

In all cases I either removed the calipers or started with new ones. I also ground them smooth to get rid of all casting marks, etc. Even cheap Ford stock calipers look good when done well.

Again, my personal preference is to do them black or silver. It makes for a nice detail, that doesn't jump out at you. It's the way that they 'should' have come from the factory.
Honestly, if you were building a car from scratch, would you put anything on it that was just bare steel?