Trying to paint my calipers..
Trying to paint my calipers.. and WTF?
Ive looked at writeups, is it not as easy as its written or am I just retarded?
1st of all Ive been working on taking my brakes off and getting my rotors cut since about 12. Ran into a bunch of problems for that. (ie. RUST holding the rotors in, ******* like 3 twist clamp things (will take a pic later) on the bolts of the rotors which i am pretty sure NOT supposed to be there)
Now I am cleaning up my calipers, 98k miles lot of crap and rust, im using the brake cleaner, wire brush, and it just seems hopeless. 2nd of all, this wire hanger "holding" the caliper up, is ****. It does nothing, the brake line just moves it back, so the caliper is like turned 90o from where it originally is supposed to be on the rotor.
How the hell am I supposed to clean and paint this crap if I can barely get the caliper in the proper position. I do not want to take the calipers off. I been cleaning up one for about 30minutes, and im pissed and taking a break now
Does anyone have any tips for this process, it is really frustrating
Ive looked at writeups, is it not as easy as its written or am I just retarded?
1st of all Ive been working on taking my brakes off and getting my rotors cut since about 12. Ran into a bunch of problems for that. (ie. RUST holding the rotors in, ******* like 3 twist clamp things (will take a pic later) on the bolts of the rotors which i am pretty sure NOT supposed to be there)
Now I am cleaning up my calipers, 98k miles lot of crap and rust, im using the brake cleaner, wire brush, and it just seems hopeless. 2nd of all, this wire hanger "holding" the caliper up, is ****. It does nothing, the brake line just moves it back, so the caliper is like turned 90o from where it originally is supposed to be on the rotor.
How the hell am I supposed to clean and paint this crap if I can barely get the caliper in the proper position. I do not want to take the calipers off. I been cleaning up one for about 30minutes, and im pissed and taking a break now
Does anyone have any tips for this process, it is really frustrating
lol no need to get so upset about it man. i painted my calipers when they were on the rotor. just wait until your rotors are done, and paint them when its back togehter. everything is super easy to tape off. i did my this way, even used a gun, and they look as good as any calipers youll find. if you dont want to spray it with a gun, you can just dab it on with a foam brush. be sure to use a high temp primer. i used high temp primer (duplicolor), and single stage reg car paint. after 2 years its still holding up fine and shines like my exterior paint.
Ive heard I shouldnt be painting the calipers with the rotors or pads on, but maybe it was just the pads? Do people recommend putting the rotors and calipers back on WITHOUT the pads in, then paint, then put pads in?
I painted the ones on my Z28 years ago on the rotors as well. The main reason people don't like it is because it looks funny if the pads backs are painted too. If you tape them off it's fine. As for the rotors one good touch of the brakes going down the road will take off any paint that happens to land on them lol.
I painted mine with the pads in and attatched to the rotors. I just taped everything up. I did another set for a member here and we removed them because he was changing pads and rotors. I took 2 days to do mine. He needed his car for work so we had done in a day. Also be sure to cover the car, the overspray is worse than you think.
Wow, I knew I had to cover a lot of the car but if ya say so I will cover the whole thing. I just cleaned and painted my brackets black since they were off, probably not the greatest job.. but :\
I will wait for them to dry, install rotors and everything else, then clean and paint the calipers. 3 days for a few hour project :< fail
I will wait for them to dry, install rotors and everything else, then clean and paint the calipers. 3 days for a few hour project :< fail
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Verdad Gallardo If you cover the entire car, your safe. I didn't and had to clay bar the car. Didn't think the overspray would be that bad. Second time around, wrapped the car in a cocoon, no probelms. I can't find the pictures of all the masking I did. It was alot because of the two colors. I used painters tape for the calipers, brackets, etc and used plastic bags(grocery store type) and newspaper to cover everything else. Here is a picture of the masking process for the second time around. I just folded the plastic in and around, added newspaper and taped it off. It was much easier removing the calipers, brackets and rotors.
I highly recommend removing the caliper for the best result. It only takes an extra hour to remove and install. While you bleed the brakes you can flush out all the old brake fluid thats probably never been fully flushed.
The end result is worth it because you can sand off the imperfections, and really get a smooth look. I'm not saying it isn't possible to do this on the car, but you can really do a better job with them off. Just an F.Y.I. I spent about 6-8 hours sanding the calipers, and brackets. Another 3-5 hours applying paint, and polishing. These were done with SPRAY PAINT
A few pics putting everything back together. I used a mighty vac to flush out the lines. This thing is amazing, I didn't even need an assistant to pump the brakes.
The end result is worth it because you can sand off the imperfections, and really get a smooth look. I'm not saying it isn't possible to do this on the car, but you can really do a better job with them off. Just an F.Y.I. I spent about 6-8 hours sanding the calipers, and brackets. Another 3-5 hours applying paint, and polishing. These were done with SPRAY PAINT
A few pics putting everything back together. I used a mighty vac to flush out the lines. This thing is amazing, I didn't even need an assistant to pump the brakes.
I highly recommend removing the caliper for the best result. It only takes an extra hour to remove and install. While you bleed the brakes you can flush out all the old brake fluid thats probably never been fully flushed.
The end result is worth it because you can sand off the imperfections, and really get a smooth look. I'm not saying it isn't possible to do this on the car, but you can really do a better job with them off. Just an F.Y.I. I spent about 6-8 hours sanding the calipers, and brackets. Another 3-5 hours applying paint, and polishing. These were done with SPRAY PAINT
The end result is worth it because you can sand off the imperfections, and really get a smooth look. I'm not saying it isn't possible to do this on the car, but you can really do a better job with them off. Just an F.Y.I. I spent about 6-8 hours sanding the calipers, and brackets. Another 3-5 hours applying paint, and polishing. These were done with SPRAY PAINT
If you cover the entire car, your safe. I didn't and had to clay bar the car. Didn't think the overspray would be that bad. Second time around, wrapped the car in a cocoon, no probelms. I can't find the pictures of all the masking I did. It was alot because of the two colors. I used painters tape for the calipers, brackets, etc and used plastic bags(grocery store type) and newspaper to cover everything else. Here is a picture of the masking process for the second time around. I just folded the plastic in and around, added newspaper and taped it off. It was much easier removing the calipers, brackets and rotors.
^thats because his are in primer in that picture. you arent gonna get all the stains off of them. just clean it to the point you can run your finger across it and not come up with dirt. then prime it with high heat primer of some sort.
FWIW...I would recommend using a 2 part Epoxy Paint like G2 or Foliatec if your painting your calipers.
For temp, durability, high gloss finish and ease of use at a cost of about $40, it is a wise investment.
They go on with a brush so you dont have to worry about overspray and excessive masking!
For temp, durability, high gloss finish and ease of use at a cost of about $40, it is a wise investment.
They go on with a brush so you dont have to worry about overspray and excessive masking!
TECH Regular
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 439
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From: Edison, New Jersey
X2. I took mine off and it was done with engine enamel. VERY happy with the way they turned out. I went and took these quickly to share so they aren't the best pics plus it was dark and in my lightless shed so flash kinda washes contrast out. New pics will be posted soon once I get the car cleaned and it stops raining everyday.
