Any recommended places that powder coat calipers in the Baltimore area?

[LouValencia]

I want to get the calipers powder coated red in my 2021 Model S LR, but am very new to that type of thing. I was wondering if anyone had experience with a good shop in the Baltimore, MD area.

 

[mswlogo]

Check out TWRAPS

 

[2101Guy]

Powdercoating can be quite pricey, as the calipers need to come off, brake system bled, etc.
I have (on my own)painted about 3 sets of Tesla calipers at this point. My prior S, current Y, a friends X, and several other non teslas. All with great success long term. With calipers still on the car. Plenty of youtube vids on how to do it but in general:
- Wheels off car
- Thoroughly clean calipers with one can of Brake Kleen per two calipers
- Lightly (2000 grit) sand the calipers down to rough up a bit/prep for painting/remove the decal
- Wipe down the caliper well with water/rubbing alcohol mix and let dry thoroughly
- Several light coats of VHT Caliper paint. (Follow the directions on the can to the letter. Key is to ensure ambient temps are not too cold, so that the spray comes out of the can in a nice fine mist vs thick/heavy when its cold outside)
-After paint dries thoroughly (in about an hour), apply the TESLA or BREMBO decal (Can get them cheap on ebay) to the caliper
-Spray 2-3 light thin coats of clear coat in the can onto the caliper

Done. From that point forward, use NO harsh wheel cleaner on your wheels. I only use car wash soap to clean the wheels. Harsh cleaner can attack the caliper paint. Plus, with no brake dust generated due to regen braking, your wheels shouldnt get that dirty to require harsh cleaners anyway.

Following the above process, the paint on my calipers have looked new literally for years until I ended up selling the cars. Prep is key. Surface MUST be completely clean and free of grease/dirt, etc.

Many places will paint calipers using above process for MUCH cheaper than powdercoating, in case you dont want to paint yourself.

 

[patgilm]

Subscribed. I live close to Baltimore and would love to get my calipers powdercoated red as well. The black calipers just blend too much with dark colored wheels.

 

[LouValencia]

Powdercoating can be quite pricey, as the calipers need to come off, brake system bled, etc.
I have (on my own)painted about 3 sets of Tesla calipers at this point. My prior S, current Y, a friends X, and several other non teslas. All with great success long term. With calipers still on the car. Plenty of youtube vids on how to do it but in general:
- Wheels off car
- Thoroughly clean calipers with one can of Brake Kleen per two calipers
- Lightly (2000 grit) sand the calipers down to rough up a bit/prep for painting/remove the decal
- Wipe down the caliper well with water/rubbing alcohol mix and let dry thoroughly
- Several light coats of VHT Caliper paint. (Follow the directions on the can to the letter. Key is to ensure ambient temps are not too cold, so that the spray comes out of the can in a nice fine mist vs thick/heavy when its cold outside)
-After paint dries thoroughly (in about an hour), apply the TESLA or BREMBO decal (Can get them cheap on ebay) to the caliper
-Spray 2-3 light thin coats of clear coat in the can onto the caliper

Done. From that point forward, use NO harsh wheel cleaner on your wheels. I only use car wash soap to clean the wheels. Harsh cleaner can attack the caliper paint. Plus, with no brake dust generated due to regen braking, your wheels shouldnt get that dirty to require harsh cleaners anyway.

Following the above process, the paint on my calipers have looked new literally for years until I ended up selling the cars. Prep is key. Surface MUST be completely clean and free of grease/dirt, etc.

Many places will paint calipers using above process for MUCH cheaper than powdercoating, in case you dont want to paint yourself.

Thanks for the great breakdown. That's good to know. I have a paint kit I bought from Amazon, but wasn't sure if it would last. Do you have any knowledge/experience with this?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BQ87YK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[patgilm]

Thanks for the great breakdown. That's good to know. I have a paint kit I bought from Amazon, but wasn't sure if it would last. Do you have any knowledge/experience with this?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BQ87YK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I’ve used the G2 kit on three of my cars. I’ve done red on one car and black on two cars and it works very well and levels itself out well. It’s easy because you just paint it on but you have to do all of the calipers at once because the paint hardens pretty fast.