Jim, you can use the dtm for primer on the bare castings. then top coat with the gloss.  Beadblasting will get them like new after degreasing and wire brushing.  If you're going to attempt more cars like this resto, you might consider buying a blast cabinet from Harbor Freight or a used one.  I'm thinking you already have a decent compressor.

For chromate you can always acid wash or sandblast the parts.  Chromate is relatively thin compared to other coatings.  As for pictures... I painted my calipers with "cast blast" which is a variety of detail grey paint.  You won't really notice paint on my car's brakes.  They just look like castings.

What has been found to keep paint on zinc dichromate parts or the gold color plated parts? I have never had good luck painting them.

And how about some photo's of your paint work.

Too bad I didn't get to read the cleaning process before I starting painting the calipers.

I will tell you how I cleaned mine. First this mini sat outside about 6 years. It had pitted rust.
I wired wheeled, then coated with rust dissolver, washed that off,
Took the dremel tool with a small grinder and went over the entire surface.
Final coat of rust dissolver.
3 coats of oil or alklyd paint.

After you get the callipers clean, a light spray of etch primer will enhance the final outcome... (works on blocks as well).

Cheers, Ian

I would start cleaning with spray brake cleaner.  After that I like using ZEP Industrial Purple caustic cleaner (available from places like Home Depot).  Spray or brush it on, scrub it in, rinse it off. 

What is good to use to clean the calibers before painting?

I would disagree...  Its no where near as good as ceramic coating .... but then, its no where near as expensive...

Properly applied exhaust paint (VHT in my case) will last 20 years on a header as long as A. you get the unit properly clean before application ..and B.  don't touch the painted surface with bare hands before you've cooked it properly as per the instructions...

The biggest problem is getting the unit attached to the engine without touching the (unheated) paint before you run the engine up to heat the exhaust.......  Nitrile (or similar) gloves are a must.

Which is a good reason to use "ordinary" paint on engine blocks etc... They don't get hot enough for the VHT to be properly activated.

Cheers, Ian

Thanks Mike, I value your opinion a lot. I did get the gloss. Looks great. I'm doing 3 coats.

The gloss will fade on the calipers if you use regular paint eventually. But the sun will also fade the gloss and you'll have a semi gloss finisih eventually.  The super spec it good if you use high gloss. the semi, IMO, is not the right paint for this job.  I use the super spec on al the iron outdoor furniture I do. Good coverage, flow and shine, and it's marine spec so it's gonna last.
The DTM is not high gloss.  I'd go over it with at least one coat of gloss.  Nice thing is that you can touch it up when needed but with gloss paint, you need to paint the whole item to avoid the touch ups from showing up differently. Not a big deal under the car on the axles or frames.

I understand it's unnecessary to use high temp paint, but the VHT paint is the same price as cheap Rustoleum without a need for a primer, and for 6464 they have red......

I started painting the suspension parts with Benjamin Moore Alkyd super-spec direct to metal (DTM) color Deep silver, Black on subframe and thought a splash of  bright red for the calipers. 

+1 to what Doug says. No need for high heat paint, either on the brake calipers OR on the engine/head.
I've had regular rustoleum paint hold up better than the fancy pants high temp paints bought at automotive stores.

Oh, and as for exhaust paint-- don't bother. Total waste of money. HOWEVER, getting someone to hot coat / ceramic coat your headers-- which pretty much doubles their price-- is totally worth it if engine bay appearance is important to you.

You do NOT need high temperature paint.  Calipers get hot but if they got hot enough to damage the paint... you have much more serious problems to worry about than how the paint is holding up.

As with all painting, the key to success is good prep work.  While some like radical colors, I still paint brake parts with "cast blast" or detail grey so they look like fresh cat iron.

I've used the black VHT caliper paint with pretty good success, prep as with anything painted, is key. I got around 5 years out of my last caliper paint job, I just recently cleaned them and touched them up the look pretty good still. I think I got it at Autozone or some place like that.
https://www.vhtpaint.com/high-heat/vht-caliper-paint

Yes use high temp paint.

I paint all mine ( other than alloy ) most auto parts stores here offer caliper paint. Steve (CTR)

I would like to paint the brake calipers. Do I need high heat paint? Any recommendations?