What are new calipers coated with?

[rs6er]

Since they are cast iron, they have to be coated or would rust. I bought a new one last year and it was silver. The remanufactured one I just got is gold— cadmium-plated I believe. What are the new ones coated with?

[Bill Verburg]

older calipers were anodized, race Brembos are the same, production are painted

[rs6er]

So if I wirebrushed the finish off one of my calipers prior to rebuilding, I'll have to paint it, right?

[Bill Verburg]

iron will rust w/o a protective coat. aluminum will build up a patina of aluminum oxide.

Yes, it's best to seal them some how unless they are disposable

[David]

You can buy caliper paint, probably from Pelican, that's made to handle the heat and fluids.

[EarlyPorsche]

I just used some engine paint from my local parts store with great sucess. I bought semi-gloss black and taped off what I wasn't spraying and let it rip.

[84toy]

Before disassembly, I screwed in a used brake line and installed a cap on the end. Then I glass beaded the entire caliper, tore them apart, honed the bores and finally put them back together after a good cleaning.. I used caliper paint and it stuck well to the glass beaded finish. They look new.

Caliper paint is designed to be tolerant to amount of heat generated by a brake system.

[schleg79]

The caliper paint kits are also really handy if you just want to paint the calipers while they are installed.

The kits come w/a cleaning substance of some sort, as I recall. Also, the paint is intended for use w/included paintbrush (mine had a smooth finish, no runs at all) so there's no taping req'd, etc...

I went w/silver on my previous SC and they looked terrific! Considering gold on my current ride.