View Poll Results: What Color should I paint my calipers?
STOCK - leave it the way it is
19
33.33%
White - Match the car's color (gluck cleaning)
7
12.28%
Red - Classic and sporty
17
29.82%
Blue - Unique and sporty
1
1.75%
Black - no explanation needed
13
22.81%
Voters: 57. You may not vote on this poll
Should I paint my calipers?
#26
paint it bronze! looks clean, not ricey. i painted my calipers on my Z about 20,000 miles ago and no chips yet. did 3 coats though, but looks clean. stands out. if it looks good, no one can talk mess. it looks good.
#27
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Chino Hills, CA
Mercedes C300 Sport, BMW 745Li, VW Mk6 Golf TDI
Hmm, couldn't find a better shot and don't have my camera on me, but here's a pic of the caliper painted white prior to applying the decal. As you can see, it's subtle and I don't think too ricer. The contrast with the white caliper will be even greater once I get black wheels though.
#29
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: N. California
2008 Arctic White C300 Sport 6M
I've seen AZN-C300's painted calipers in person at a N. California meet. It looks great. I salivated.
I personally like red, and I think it'd be striking on a white car, but the color is indeed quite played out. Too bad.
Yellow would be okay too. I actually thought about orange calipers to match the side markers. They seem to be at similar heights. With orange calipers, I wouldn't have to switch out to clear markers.
This is technically true. Paint has weight too. But on a normal street car, I think the effect that painted calipers would have is minimal.
I personally like red, and I think it'd be striking on a white car, but the color is indeed quite played out. Too bad.
Yellow would be okay too. I actually thought about orange calipers to match the side markers. They seem to be at similar heights. With orange calipers, I wouldn't have to switch out to clear markers.
This is technically true. Paint has weight too. But on a normal street car, I think the effect that painted calipers would have is minimal.
#30
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 19
From: Mississauga, ON CA
15 Mercedes C400, 12 Mercedes C250 coupe
call me a newb but paint on a caliper degrade performance? has this been proven cuz that sounds far fetched that painting calipers will add any weight that could impact anything
#31
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,131
Likes: 8
From: Chicago
2004 E320, 2006 Audi A6, 2008 C350 W204, 2010 BMW F10, 2012 Porsche Carrera S 991, 2014 E350 W212
Hmm, couldn't find a better shot and don't have my camera on me, but here's a pic of the caliper painted white prior to applying the decal. As you can see, it's subtle and I don't think too ricer. The contrast with the white caliper will be even greater once I get black wheels though.
how come you still have the 18" on? did you lower it? I expect you to do more than that already!!! but still a nice car. i like it. it's the same color as mine. Well, honestly, White caliper isn't my taste. I will just keep my gray with MB logo. not gonna do anything with them.
my next things are, Silver Carbon Fiber door pillars and the roof spoiler.
By the way, I am helping a guy to get the MB roof spoiler made. So, that should come out in about a month. if you are interested, let me know.
#32
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Chino Hills, CA
Mercedes C300 Sport, BMW 745Li, VW Mk6 Golf TDI
AZN.
how come you still have the 18" on? did you lower it? I expect you to do more than that already!!! but still a nice car. i like it. it's the same color as mine. Well, honestly, White caliper isn't my taste. I will just keep my gray with MB logo. not gonna do anything with them.
my next things are, Silver Carbon Fiber door pillars and the roof spoiler.
By the way, I am helping a guy to get the MB roof spoiler made. So, that should come out in about a month. if you are interested, let me know.
how come you still have the 18" on? did you lower it? I expect you to do more than that already!!! but still a nice car. i like it. it's the same color as mine. Well, honestly, White caliper isn't my taste. I will just keep my gray with MB logo. not gonna do anything with them.
my next things are, Silver Carbon Fiber door pillars and the roof spoiler.
By the way, I am helping a guy to get the MB roof spoiler made. So, that should come out in about a month. if you are interested, let me know.
#34
The day my Obsidian Black 2009 C350 shows up it will be on jack stands with the calipers removed... Taking them right over to my local powder coating shop for a nice gloss black coating... OMG it will look so perfect behind the sexy 18" AMG wheels... I will post pics once its done. Ive always disliked that MB didnt give the factory calipers any coating... they look like any other cars stock zinc coated calipers.
But if you go with ANYTHING other than BLACK or SILVER it will look RICE... especially yellow, blue or red.
But if you go with ANYTHING other than BLACK or SILVER it will look RICE... especially yellow, blue or red.
Last edited by jorantes; 08-15-2008 at 01:20 AM.
#35
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Chino Hills, CA
Mercedes C300 Sport, BMW 745Li, VW Mk6 Golf TDI
#36
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,131
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From: Chicago
2004 E320, 2006 Audi A6, 2008 C350 W204, 2010 BMW F10, 2012 Porsche Carrera S 991, 2014 E350 W212
dude
i am sure it's gonna look good. have you seen them on a W204?
better take some pictures when you get them on. 2pm!!
i am sure it's gonna look good. have you seen them on a W204?
better take some pictures when you get them on. 2pm!!
#37
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Mississauga, ON CA
15 Mercedes C400, 12 Mercedes C250 coupe
thanks for all the replies, looks like i will prob do black calipers, dont think they would look too tacky, and blend well with all my other black accents.
#38
I put clear on mine. To me, the only reason to paint them is for easy cleaning. I think they look good as is. I painted the calipers on my Passat for that reason. I used red on that car. It was too lat to clear them. I found that black showed dirt and, for some reason, silver didn't shed dirt as well as red. I guess it's not glossy enough.
#40
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Chino Hills, CA
Mercedes C300 Sport, BMW 745Li, VW Mk6 Golf TDI
I put clear on mine. To me, the only reason to paint them is for easy cleaning. I think they look good as is. I painted the calipers on my Passat for that reason. I used red on that car. It was too lat to clear them. I found that black showed dirt and, for some reason, silver didn't shed dirt as well as red. I guess it's not glossy enough.
#41
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,809
Likes: 4
From: Chino Hills, CA
Mercedes C300 Sport, BMW 745Li, VW Mk6 Golf TDI
#44
yep, bronze i have seen too. looks good on a dark grey C. I will do mine that color too.
#45
I've never seen information that mentioned that paint degraded performance because of added unsprung weight; that's just plain silly.
But I've seen the recommendation not to paint factory or aftermarket painted calipers with more paint, because it could affect heat dissipation by holding the heat in, causing brake fade. This is an old issue though, goes way back, and I don't know it it's actually true. I doubt that it would be for a street car, but it might affect things when track racing.