How Much Does It Cost to Paint Calipers? DIY and Pro Costs Listed

Professional Caliper Painting Cost

If you aren’t comfortable painting your car’s calipers yourself, or if you don’t have the space or necessary tools, you may want to consider a professional paint job.

We called and researched several auto body shops to get a price range for painting calipers, and we found that prices range from $200 to $800 for painting four calipers.^[1][2] Prices include any necessary prep work; higher-priced paints and the addition of decals can add to the overall cost.

National auto parts retailers like Pep Boys, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Advance Auto Parts do not offer this service; therefore, you may be best served by locating a small chain or local auto body shop near you. You can start with a Google search for “caliper painting near me.”

DIY Caliper Painting Cost

Painting calipers yourself can be much cheaper than a professional paint job. If you already have the tools to partially remove the calipers, you can buy caliper cleaning supplies and paint for under $50 total.

Painting calipers is relatively simple compared to most other car modifications. To paint the calipers, you have to remove them from the wheel (but leave them attached to the brake lines), cover everything to avoid paint overspray, and then clean the calipers before painting them. You can typically remove all four calipers from the wheels in under half an hour.^[3]

When choosing paint, be sure to buy high heat paint, as calipers are exposed to high temperatures during the braking process. High heat spray paint is also affordable — you can buy a can for around $10 on Amazon. You might also want to consider buying a basic face mask and protective eyewear to protect yourself from paint fumes while applying the spray paint.

If you want to save yourself the trouble of buying supplies separately, you can buy a complete caliper painting kit. While these are a little more expensive than buying supplies separately — between $20 and $60 on Amazon — you’ll be sure that all of your painting supplies are suited for caliper painting. Note that cleaning supplies are often not included in these kits.

There are several online resources and step-by-step guides for caliper painting. For a visual explanation of how to paint calipers yourself, you can use the following video:

While painting your calipers, if you notice your wheels could use some attention, we also have information about rim repair costs.

Caliper Powder Coating Cost

Powder coating is an alternative option to traditional painting that you can use to paint your car’s calipers. Powder coating provides a durable, professional finish that resists chipping and scratching better than regular paint. You can choose to get this done professionally, or you can do the work yourself.

Note that most professional companies do not remove calipers before painting — you will need to remove them yourself, and for powder coating, you will need to completely remove the calipers from the wheel and brake lines (and clean them). You can then either take them into a paint shop or mail them to a powder coating specialist.

If you wish to simply buy new calipers to powder coat, you can get them for anywhere from $40 to $400 each, depending on the car.^[4] A small car (which is lighter and usually has smaller brakes) will be on the lower end of this range. Calipers for a heavy truck or SUV will be far more expensive — labor for installing them starts at around $120.

Our article has an in-depth breakdown of the cost of DIY or professional powder coating for parts of your car, including calipers. The article also provides video resources with instructions for doing the work yourself. Note that DIY powder coating can be much more expensive than a professional job if you do not already own a sprayer and oven in which to cure the calipers.