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So I'm cleaning my calipers, getting them ready for paint. I noticed it looks like they almost have the same undercoating that the wheel wells have on them? I assume this isn't critical to the performance of the caliper?
Also, when people paint their calipers, do they paint the whole thing, including the inside of the "U" where the rotor and pads usually sit? Or do they just do the outside?
The undercoating on the caliper is over spray, and has nothing to do with caliper performance. I would get as much off as you can. I used a wire brush on a die grinder and polished 95% of the caliper that way. Then finished the rest with a small "tooth brush" size wire brush. I also bought caliper rebuild kits so I pushed my pistons out removed all rubber and O rings, then painted the entire caliper. Finally I used acetone to clean the calipers just before paint.
The undercoating on the caliper is over spray, and has nothing to do with caliper performance. I would get as much off as you can. I used a wire brush on a die grinder and polished 95% of the caliper that way. Then finished the rest with a small "tooth brush" size wire brush. I also bought caliper rebuild kits so I pushed my pistons out removed all rubber and O rings, then painted the entire caliper.
Wow, that's a really great cleaning job! I left the calipers on the car and just cleaned them up with brake cleaner and a wire brush. Dried them off real well, bagged and taped up the rotors and sprayed them. I didn't use 'caliper paint' but used engine paint instead. It was cheaper and knew it could take the heat. I put a few coats of clear on as well.
It's been two years and they still look good (sorry, don't have pics at the moment). I painted the entire caliper except for the back where you can't see anyway.
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Cleaning calipers 
