Painted My Calipers!! (Eventually)

Ultra Violent

Ultra Violent

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Hi Folks.

Finally got round to painting my calipers, they've been bugging me for a while, just grubby and dark.
I know theirs probably a hundred different threads on site already about this, but I was quite chuffed with myself for doing it so I thought I'd stick this up.

Started off as expected, jack it up and put in the axel stands, first time I've used them so was a bit apprehensive but worked fine.
Covered them in Gunk Degreaser and left to soak, then used a powerdrill with small wire brush attachment and some brass and steel brushes to take off most off the crap on the calipers, you'll see in the pics before and after.

Time to mask up, and a quick wipe with a paint prep wipe, just to take off the loose burrs and flakes.
Then time for paint, I used Halfords Brake Caliper paint, you can use it without primer, which is cool.
I put on two coats per caliper, waited a bit then applied the third coat.
went on really well and hardened up nicely giving a nice enamel type finish.

I know theirs a lot off people that think doing both calipers is a bit boy racer, but I couldn't go through all that and not do both.
Plus I think it would make the back one stand out if it wasn't done as well.

Hopefuly my pictures will show up okay, any questions or comments are welcome.

Cheers Guys.

Scott.
 

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​Looking good Scott, will see them in 2weeks at the show. Job well done. :) x
 
Re painted mine after taking a grinder to the front calipers to get the Lm's on
 
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Ultra Violent said:
Hi Folks.

Finally got round to painting my calipers, they've been bugging me for a while, just grubby and dark.
I know theirs probably a hundred different threads on site already about this, but I was quite chuffed with myself for doing it so I thought I'd stick this up.

Started off as expected, jack it up and put in the axel stands, first time I've used them so was a bit apprehensive but worked fine.
Covered them in Gunk Degreaser and left to soak, then used a powerdrill with small wire brush attachment and some brass and steel brushes to take off most off the crap on the calipers, you'll see in the pics before and after.

Time to mask up, and a quick wipe with a paint prep wipe, just to take off the loose burrs and flakes.
Then time for paint, I used Halfords Brake Caliper paint, you can use it without primer, which is cool.
I put on two coats per caliper, waited a bit then applied the third coat.
went on really well and hardened up nicely giving a nice enamel type finish.

I know theirs a lot off people that think doing both calipers is a bit boy racer, but I couldn't go through all that and not do both.
Plus I think it would make the back one stand out if it wasn't done as well.

Hopefuly my pictures will show up okay, any questions or comments are welcome.

Cheers Guys.

Scott.
Click to expand...
look good can you come and do my rear ones ? Lol
 
TDI140 said:
look good can you come and do my rear ones ? Lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, no sweats TDI, I've got better rates than the dealers as well, my prices are high, but my standards are low. Lol.
It was quite satisfying to get it all done yesterday, its the motivation thats the hard part I find.
 
Hi,

Did you use spray paint or paint from a can? Also have you covered them in clear high temp lacquer too? If not might be worth doing as the paint will flake / chip off. The lacquer will keep them looking fresh. - only ask as I will be doing this myself soon and not sure if I want to use a spray can (mask up everything) or use a paint brush from a can.

Also - looking at your pics - the axle stands are suppose to go on the axles not the sills. That's how sills get damaged. Jack it up and then place them on the axle / subframe weight points.
 
great job, mate. I will do mine when I get a chance. I think red looks great with a black car. My Mk5 gti callipers came red as standard and I miss them on my S Line
 
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what parts do i need to cover? Going to get a set of axel stands soon and spray mine red :D
 
sliced said:
what parts do i need to cover? Going to get a set of axel stands soon and spray mine red :D
Click to expand...

if your spraying them and not painting them, you need to cover up alot more than I did.
I would cover all the disk and the panel around the wheels as well, just encase you get blow back, dont want it on your paint.
I'd recommend doing what I did and painting them, lot less masking up and more precision.

I just covered up what you see in the photos, used 2 different sized brushes, and painted 1 then painted the other.
gives the first one a chance to dry, 3 or 4 coats and they look bang on.

Here's an artsy fatrsy shot off mine now. Best of luck.
 

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Top tips from a lazy man.

1. No need for caliper paint, any auto paint will do (had standard halfords spray on my celica gt4 calipers with carbon/ceramic pads in with no problems). Think about how hot your bonnet can get!
2. If you spray, don't worry about covering the disks. Just take it for a slow drive afterwards and trail the brakes/stop a few times. It will soon wear off without damaging your discs/ pads...paint is softer than iron.
 
sliced said:
that looks awesome mate, cheers for the help.

Going to use a tin of this:
Halfords | Halfords Brake Caliper Paint Red 250ml

Do i just jack the car up put it on stands, take the wheels off, mask around the area and get ready to paint? seems to simple to me lol
Click to expand...

Yup, thats it exactly. Just as I put in the OP.
Thats also the same paint that I used, and the good thing is you dont need primer.
Once I got the wheels off, I degreased the calipers then took a wire drill attachment to them to get the worst off the crap off
you could just use a good wire brush, quick wipe with a paint prep wipe, also from Hellfrauds.

I wouldn't go by what the last poster says either, yes paint will eventually come off your calipers, but why go through all the prep work just to spray your discs aswell, also everytime you brake the paints rubbing through your pads, that can't be good.

Go for it Sliced, its easier than you think. Just take your time.
 
Painted mine as I think it's the one thing that let's the car down....shiny car, grubby calipers. Black on the A3 and red on the TT :-

IMAG0302_zpscd9a6f78.jpg


IMAG0109_zpsbd2acabf.jpg
 
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What's the best and easiest way to paint the calipers and what sort of paint to use?

do you take the calipers off or just leave them on and pant around?
 
Ultra Violent said:
I wouldn't go by what the last poster says either, yes paint will eventually come off your calipers, but why go through all the prep work just to spray your discs aswell, also everytime you brake the paints rubbing through your pads, that can't be good.
Click to expand...


Try it next time? I have tried both ways in the past, just trying to pass on my experience. I used to purposefully spray my discs with high temp silver paint to help prevent corrosion, after 10-20miles the paint has all been rubbed off the braking surfaces with no lasting effects on pads or discs.
Plus not restricting yourself to caliper paint gives you a vast range of colour options. See below pics second one with purple calipers shows sprayed silver discs too. Apologies for slightly off original topic but you can see colours and the fact they are large calipers that carry a lot of heat, especially on track.
100_1063.jpg

100_1341.jpg
 
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Did mine today, red calipers on my Akoya Silver A3 :yes:














Still have the fronts to do tomorrow but I chose red also to match my red and black leathers :rock:
 
Ahhhh what's the correct jacking place, and where do you put the axel stands, and why is there a brick/ jack under the wheel. I'm so confused :$
 
The jacking place I used are where the springs are located, there is a round whole under there which is perfect for jacking the car

there is no brick? The jack was placed there from when I lowered the car on to the axle stands I just didn't move it away as it was there for when I needed to jack the car back down.

If you look on the second picture you will see where the axle stands fit just copy that for the other side. Easy once you get used to it all :)

aaron
 
ARH - did you cover them in high temp clear lacquer once you had painted them? Its best to as it provides a better finish and protecting from the elements. Once the paint is dry a just a few light coats (being that you've already masked it all up makes it easier) Just some input that's all.

I will be doing this in a few weeks once I get my cast off my broken foot... I will post pics too :)

Nice Jack and Stands too btw
 
Hi

I used high temp paint but did not use high temp laquer, does it matter that much? I'm doing my fronts today so might get the laquer if its that important

The jack and stands are part of the halfords 5 piece lifting kit, which has been on sale at £35 :)

Aaron
 
ARH said:
Hi

I used high temp paint but did not use high temp laquer, does it matter that much? I'm doing my fronts today so might get the laquer if its that important

The jack and stands are part of the halfords 5 piece lifting kit, which has been on sale at £35 :)

Aaron
Click to expand...

The lacquer isn't important as such - but I found (with my old focus) that once I had painted the calipers in just paint, they get covered in dirt/grime and its hard to clean off - second to that it can chip and flake off.

On my Leon Cupra R (last car) I had Brembos which were red as standard with lacquer over the top - this kept them super shiny and easy to clean, however there was a small problem after a few years the lacquer started to flake off - so it was a 30 min job to quickly clean off the lacquer and re-apply. I posted a link here on my old forums; For £15 and a few hours of your time I highly recommend this for LCR owners! - SEAT Cupra.net - SEAT Forum


As you can see the after shot is superb and keeps them looking fresher for longer. You can apply it at anytime so if you wanted to do the front today (paint I mean) you can still spray the lacquer on the rears today too. Its about £5 for a can so nothing expensive.

I know that I will be doing it once I've painted mine.
 
Awesome awesome thread gets me really motivated to do it myself now! I recently refurbished one of my alloys which had terrible corrosion so iv got the motivation. One question, I don't have any axel stands would the standard jack that comes with the car be enough? I have to jacks so I can do two calipers at a time
 
slizza786 said:
Awesome awesome thread gets me really motivated to do it myself now! I recently refurbished one of my alloys which had terrible corrosion so iv got the motivation. One question, I don't have any axel stands would the standard jack that comes with the car be enough? I have to jacks so I can do two calipers at a time
Click to expand...

The jack that comes with the car would hold it long enough, but not really recommended. If you are going to use jacks and no stands, then to jack the front up use 1 jack on the normal jacking point until the car is high enough to get the other jack underneath. Use the second jack (still on the front here) to jack the rest of the front up using the subframe / undercar jacking points rather than the side skirt / sills / side jacking points.

Once the front of the car is up in the air and resting on the jack get your 1st jack and you should then be able to slide it underneath the rear to use the rear axle/jacking point to jack the car up from there too.

Basically do not use 2 jacks and leave them with the weight on the sills / side jacking points, this is how they get damaged. For extra safety, once you have removed the wheels lay them under the sideskirts of the car because if a jack should fail its better for the weight of the car to land on an alloy wheel, then the weight of the car to land on the concrete using nothing but your calipers/discs or worse - you!
 
That's ever so much for the advice. Very Informative! I'm going to ask around and see if I can borrow some axel stands of not I'll be using the jacks.
 
In addition is heat resistant required? I found some glossy red paint at home that works on metal but didn't say anything about being heat resistant or melting at certain temperatures
 

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I have only ever used high temp or specific caliper paint so I personally would only use that.

A post further up mentions using any type of paint but its your choice. Might as well spend the money and not have to do them again, not that expensive from Halfords or any form of motor shop.
 
slizza786 said:
That's ever so much for the advice. Very Informative! I'm going to ask around and see if I can borrow some axel stands of not I'll be using the jacks.
Click to expand...

Be very careful Slizza if your just using jacks. Its not really recommended to jack it up for any length of time.
The jack will slowly release pressure if its up for a long time, so I would highly recommend axel stands.
I bought mine from Hellfrauds for about 15 quid iirc. So if your going to do it then use the stands.
Dont want your pride and joy sitting on your legs. Lol.
 
I managed to do my fronts today, I did try and get some high temp lacquer but had no luck with my local shops so I shall see how it goes without the lacquer
















:o.k:
 
Use high temp paint, you should find it in your local auto shops for around £6, you only need a small tin
 
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