Hello all,

Something I've been wondering about for a while now maybe one of you all know the answer:

Back a few months ago when I was looking at SL55's for sale more than a few times I came across cars that had Red calipers as opposed to the traditional Silver. Was this an option or, are these people who must have changed the color of their calipers themselves?

Thanks,

Brian
2005 SL55

Brian,

Red calipers is the one of the MB performance packages,, buyer can also choose the calipers colors (as spec. optional),,

some guys change the color from their own choice....

ZAYED,,

I'm not sure if it was an option or not, but if it was MB would prob charge you thru the roof for just some paint lol, Most people just do it themselves. I'm actually in the process of changing mine from silver to red

Great info guys thanks!

I'm thinking I'll have mine changed from Silver to Red in the not too distant future. My SL55 is Silver.

Brian
2005 SL55

Hey vtvette - when you finish with your conversion to red pls post some pics. I have a silver 05 65 and I'm thinking on changing caliper color during winter storage - not sure to red or blue. With my BBS-GT wheels, I'm leaning towards a blue...
Any specific brand of caliper paint recommended?
Thanks!
FYSA - if you check the DIY section, there's an article on repainting calipers.

I'll get some pic's posted once I get this done. Problem is, I love driving the car so much I don't want to take her off the road!

There are essentially three options for changing caliper colors - Powdercoat, Professional paint and the DIY kit's at the parts store.

Powdercoat - this is the most durable and likely the best solution. The calipers are removed from the car, cleaned, disassembled (or possibly taped with special heat resistant tape) then lightly scuffed and powder coat applied. I've had many calipers powder coated in the process of restoring cars over the years but, I have always stripped them down to the bare caliper housing (removed all pistons, seals, etc) then rebuilt them after they are coated. I don't plan to do this with my SL calipers so I would have to talk to the coaters but I am sure they can be coated with pistons and seals in place. Powder coat is extremely strong and very durable - much more so than paint. The only issue with powdercoat is that as far as I know there is no clear powered coat that can be applied over it. It would be ideal to poweder coat the calipers, place the AMG logo decal on then clear over the decal. Powder coat technology has come a long, long way in the past 10 years so, it may be possible there is a clear coat available. I will check with my coater and see.

The 2nd option is base coat/clear coat the calipers. The calipers would be removed, cleaned and sanded then masked and sprayed with a base coat of color, AMG decal applied, then clearcoat applied. Base/Clear is the same paint system used to paint a car so, a body shop would apply the paint. I've base/cleared many calipers in the process of restoration as well. Base/Clear gives a brilliant shine and luster, deeper and shinier finish than powdercoat. Unfortunately, paint is not as durable as powder coat when it comes to chips and scratches so, considering the harsh environment calipers live in on a street driven car this is a real concern. Also, automotive paint is more expensive than powder coat so the cost is a factor as well.

The 3rd option is the kit's sold at the parts store. I used this once on a pair of rear calipers on a Corvette I was selling to match the red color of the uprated calipers I installed on the front of the car. The paint is a 2 part epoxy so it will be quite durable. It was easy to work with as well. The kit I used was by Dupli-Color (that's what the parts store up the street had but any of the 2 part caliper paint systems should provide similar results). As with any recoating project prep is the key so, use plenty of brake clean and degreaser before applying. The biggest drawback to a kit like this is it's brushed on as opposed to applied through atomization like a spray or powdercoat gun so, it can be more difficult to get an even finish. There are two things I would do to help in this area if this is route you decide: 1) before adding the hardener mix the paint well then place the can of paint in a pan of warm tap water. This helps the paint thin out a little and flow better when applied. 2) In the kit they give you a cheap Acid brush. I would go to a hardware store and buy a small very good quality paint brush. It's definitely worth the money. Epoxy paint that comes with the kit is very sticky and the Acid brush kept loosing it's bristles so you end up picking them out of the paint (not good!). Also, a good quality paint brush will flow the paint much better reducing the chances of streaks or lines in the finish.

All this said I will likely go with Powdercoat even if it means I have to stick an AMG sticker on over the finish with no clear.

Hope all this helps,

Brian

Yeah Powdercoat is prob your best bet, you don't want that paint to chip off and redo it every year or two. I know putting the sticker I was thinking it would look like crap, but turns out you prob wouldn't be able to tell, every time I go to EC/DC and look at RAW AMG's red brake calipers, they always grab my attn and they look amazing

I've done three sets using G2 caliper paint and they all turned out great and have held up well. One set currently has about 120,000 miles on them and look like the day I did them. Super easy to do and can do all four while on the car in about 2 hours. Have used silver, black and red and all have ended up looking great.

Here's a link:http://www.g2usa.com/

The key to the sticker issue is lots of clear! When you run your hand across mine you will find they are smooth because they ave been cleared then sanded several times until they were smooth. If you do this they will feel almost like a factory finish

I don't think one could leave the calipers assembled for powder coat. I worked in a shop as a kid where we would apply powdercoats, and the temps would ruin any seals....ditto for any decal you may think would withstand the prolonged heat of the bake oven.
Also, at the time (technology may have advanced), a 'Lightly scuffed' part was of no use to the pc process. it needed to be blasted to bare metal, so the powder would be bonding to the bare metal, as most paints would start to bubble at the cure temp of 400f, I also think it had to be bare due to the static charge process that would attract the powder to the surface prior to the bake.
We did offer clear, so that guys could get their exhaust manifolds media blasted, then high heat clear applied; and the part would looks like brand new bare metal..guys loved it on the exhaust manifolds on day 1 restos of old muscle...It is a tough coating, but from what i saw was labor intensive, as you would have to strip the caliper, mask ANY surface that didn't want coating with high heat tape, then re-assemble....

I too have painted several sets of calipers on my Porsches with the G2 two component epoxy paint. Did them in red. One set is on a street/highway usage 928 GTS, and have been in service for about 3 years. Still look exactly like they did when I finished painting and re-installed the calipers.

Second set were on a 928 that was only driven to and from various race tracks in the east. After about 6-7K miles of driving, including about 20 days of track driving (about 100 miles per day), they too still look as bright and shiny as they did when I re-installed them. As you know, track driving produces LOTS of brake/rotor dust, and gets the rotors/calipers to MUCH higher temperatures than street/highway driving. These are red as well.

When I paint the calipers on my SL55, I will definitely use the G2 paint. Yes - it is brush applied, but flows to a very smooth finish and bonds beautifully IF you prepare the surface it's being applied to well.

Gary-