HI GUYS LOOKIN TO CLEAN UP &PAINT CALIPERS
ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW &WHAT TO USE
ORHOW TO GET BEST RESULTS
ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW &WHAT TO USE
ORHOW TO GET BEST RESULTS
caliper paint
- Thread starter dg3967
- Start date
halfords... about £7 for their proper heat resistant caliper paint...
make sure the calipers are VERY clean before you paint anything... all flakes, oil, grime, etc scrubbed.... again, Halfords, etc have grease and break dust scrubbing solutions...
most people advise taking the calipers off and buffing with a drill and wire brush attachment, but that REALLY does depend on the state of the calipers already and would be overkill on a modern car (I'm talking 10+ year old calipers and even a few Mk2 Golfs!)....
Where they've had decent condition calipers to start, I've seen some very good results with a good hand-scrub, a very carefully prepped caliper, well taped and delicately brushed... maybe not careful show'n'shine judge perfect, but durable and fine to the naked eye from a couple of feet away... dig out one of the how-to guides if you're struggling, there's loads on vairous forums.
main thing I'd say: whatever they say about drying times, even in this heat... leave it at LEAST that long... if you're gonna leave it to autumn, double it and winter, quadruple it and hope!
make sure the calipers are VERY clean before you paint anything... all flakes, oil, grime, etc scrubbed.... again, Halfords, etc have grease and break dust scrubbing solutions...
most people advise taking the calipers off and buffing with a drill and wire brush attachment, but that REALLY does depend on the state of the calipers already and would be overkill on a modern car (I'm talking 10+ year old calipers and even a few Mk2 Golfs!)....
Where they've had decent condition calipers to start, I've seen some very good results with a good hand-scrub, a very carefully prepped caliper, well taped and delicately brushed... maybe not careful show'n'shine judge perfect, but durable and fine to the naked eye from a couple of feet away... dig out one of the how-to guides if you're struggling, there's loads on vairous forums.
main thing I'd say: whatever they say about drying times, even in this heat... leave it at LEAST that long... if you're gonna leave it to autumn, double it and winter, quadruple it and hope!
What colour you going for?
I am going to do this sometime soon, so lots of pics of the process please
I am going to do this sometime soon, so lots of pics of the process please
CALIPER PAINTING!
Here is how I did it on my old TT!
I couldn't decide on a colour for a while and thought about gloss black, blue or even graphite grey - I just had to go with red as really lifts the silver.
I started by jacking the car up on axles stands and giving the callipers a really good clean. I also popped off the springs and gave them a good rub down with wirewool till they looked new again.
I started with break cleaner, then hit them with a wire brush to remove all loose rust and moved onto Fairy Liquid and a green scrubbing pad to make sure the area was free of any grease! I'm a real perfectionist!
I used paint from B&Q called Japlack. It is cracking stuff and I managed to get a really good finish with two thick coats applied with a paint brush about 10-mm in size. The surface dries smooth and has a real deep shine. I used this paint to do my partners GTi callipers over a year ago and they still look perfect and take regular abuse from Alloymagic and the jet-wash!
I bought some four-rings stickers from a guy on ebay for a few quid and applied them once the paint had started to harden - although it was still sticky! Sorry about the pics here, it was starting to get dark by this time!
I gave the alloys and really good clean including the backs and the next morning I took some better pics. I'm very happy with the result, and although I was worried the calliper stickers would look cheap, they really set the wheels off.
8)
AudiSport - how long did the paint take to dry?
any tips on jacking a car on gravel? my whole drive is deep gravel... picture Juss's red A4 pic in his sig... just sat an inch deeper in the gravel
any tips on jacking a car on gravel? my whole drive is deep gravel... picture Juss's red A4 pic in his sig... just sat an inch deeper in the gravel
any tips on jacking a car on gravel? my whole drive is deep gravel... picture Juss's red A4 pic in his sig... just sat an inch deeper in the gravel
Should be ok with a trolley jack, just make sure it's seated well into the gravel before you start lifting, thats all I ever do.
Get a steel plate and jack of that to spread the weight of the jack.AudiSport - how long did the paint take to dry?
any tips on jacking a car on gravel? my whole drive is deep gravel... picture Juss's red A4 pic in his sig... just sat an inch deeper in the gravel
so you reckon 4 axle stands and a trolley jack?
I'll gie it a try.... better than putt the front on the pavement, doing those, then turning the car around and starting again....
but paint dry in < 1 day?
I'll gie it a try.... better than putt the front on the pavement, doing those, then turning the car around and starting again....
but paint dry in < 1 day?
Scoop the gravel away a bit to set the trolley jack on the sub-base, and it should be fine. By all means use a metal plate if you have access to one (upside down manhole cover?) - but all you are doing is lifting the car up to get the stands under so it won't be up there long.
You could always just do two at a time, I probably will as I won't get time to do them all in one day, and I wouldn't want the pressure of time making me rush
You could always just do two at a time, I probably will as I won't get time to do them all in one day, and I wouldn't want the pressure of time making me rush
I'll try... on the Golf, I could scarlcely get anythign under the car on the gravel, so never go to it properly, so all that research and materials to waste... I already have the paint, cleaning kit, everything, all ready to go!
I used Foliatec heat resistant caliper paint (only because my brother has some left over) I have always used hammerite and had no problems.. I did mine gloss black and added the Vinyl logos..
I found them on ebay and emailed the guy and asked for S6 ones, had the same ones on since xmas and they are fine.. his website is here www.qhstore.co.uk charged me £5 for 6 of them posted.. worth a shot..
The decals mentioned above are great and all heat resistant.
I used to do work on a gravel drive, which is hard work. However as mentioned above - I just used large bits of wood. Usually cut-offs from my Dads old scaffolding.
I painted the above TT calipers in one day with lots of tea breaks and talking! I fitted the stickers around 6pm and the paint was still tacky! However - it was winter and damp... So you will have no problems in this weather!
The key is all about nice even brush strokes with a well loaded paint brush. Don't be afraid to go over the surface again and again to get an even finnish as the paint levels it's-self out naturally. Great stuff! Oh - and plenty of cleaning before you start!
J.
I used to do work on a gravel drive, which is hard work. However as mentioned above - I just used large bits of wood. Usually cut-offs from my Dads old scaffolding.
I painted the above TT calipers in one day with lots of tea breaks and talking! I fitted the stickers around 6pm and the paint was still tacky! However - it was winter and damp... So you will have no problems in this weather!
The key is all about nice even brush strokes with a well loaded paint brush. Don't be afraid to go over the surface again and again to get an even finnish as the paint levels it's-self out naturally. Great stuff! Oh - and plenty of cleaning before you start!
J.
silversurfer
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from the look of my rear calipers (A4 1.8T Avant) there isn't enough room for stickers. I can only get the s-line decal's I want to fit on the front.
thanks for the tips guys... day off next Monday.... most of the raw materials the "abandoned projects"* drawer in the garage.... hmmmm
*it's a BIG drawer!!
apols to DavidG for hijacking the thread, but it'll all been reasonably generic and on-topic
*it's a BIG drawer!!
apols to DavidG for hijacking the thread, but it'll all been reasonably generic and on-topic
the shop link above does multiple sizes.... but only the four ring or RS6... since it's clearly NOT an RS6, I went for the Audi four rings option: £3 for £2 for postage: I ordered 2 packs of the "4xsmall and 4xlarge" in the hopes that even if I'm completely ham-fisted, I'd have enough to do something for the front and rears... £8 for 16 decals....
And then it looks like they went a step further (although no guarantee they'd do this for everybody):
"....
Thank you for your order, these have just been posted to you by 1st class post, I also sent you 3 different sizes in each set: 4x 90mm, 4x 75mm and 4x60mm
Total of 24 decals.
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.
Kind regards
Mark
QH Store
www.qhstore.co.uk"
So looks like I will definitely have enough!!
I'm guess the 75's for the fronts and 60's for the rear....
And then it looks like they went a step further (although no guarantee they'd do this for everybody):
"....
Thank you for your order, these have just been posted to you by 1st class post, I also sent you 3 different sizes in each set: 4x 90mm, 4x 75mm and 4x60mm
Total of 24 decals.
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.
Kind regards
Mark
QH Store
www.qhstore.co.uk"
So looks like I will definitely have enough!!
I'm guess the 75's for the fronts and 60's for the rear....
yeah, I actually drew my S6 logo and emailed it to him and told him to make it 50mm long.. a few days later 6 stickers arrived in the post all for £5 delivered. hard to beat..
When i did my last car i used a wire brush and de-greaser to clean, hammerite 'smooth' and a normal brush to apply and got a finish. Hammerite is also heat resistant
Hi all, I just signed up to say thanks for the comments and orders from you guys, I also have the S Line decals if anyone is interested www.qhstore.co.uk
