Paint Brake Calipers

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hctiev

Paint Brake Calipers

Post by hctiev »

Ok, this was my first attempt at painting the brake calipers on Elphie. I had planned on getting the car prepped on Friday evening - clean off all the brake dust and goop that had accumulated over the course of the last 2 years. The calipers looked rather nasty.

The rest of the plan had been to do all of the painting in the morning on Saturday.

Well, that didn't happen. I couldn't wait and painted the whole darn thing on Friday night well into Saturday morning with touch up later in the morning on Saturday.

It's not perfect - and I'll point out my mistakes in the pictures on the next post.

I used the Dupli-Color Caliper Paint Kit that I bought at Advance Auto Parts for about $20. I also picked up a spray can of Dupli-Color clear sparkle spray as a finisher.

Here are my thoughts on this Mod.

Cost: Cheap (Approx $20)
Performance Value: None, other then it looks cool!
Difficulty: 3 out of 10. It's pretty easy, just time consuming and difficult to paint certain areas.

Oh, and besides painting Elphie's Toe Nails she got a new set of summer shoes and laces. :-)

Details to follow...
hctiev

Paint Brake Calipers

Post by hctiev »

I'm not a painting pro and don't claim to be one. That being said, I'll do my best to walk you through what I did.

I slightly loosened the lugnuts before I put the car on the jack stands so that could easily get the wheels off once it was up in the air.

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With the wheels, off you can clearly see how ugly it looks.
Here's another couple shots of my nasty looking calipers:
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So I used about a half of a bottle of the Green Stuff cleaner, the brake cleaner that came in the kit, a steel brush, some steel wool and an old tooth brush. This is a critical part of the process - the calipers MUST be clean and dry. I used a clean shop rag to make sure everything was dry.

Then I simply followed the instructions that came with the kit. I painted the rear calipers first. They are smaller than the fronts and relatively easy to get to.

The kit is set up so that you don't have to take the calipers off - you are supposed to paint them and mask off anything you don't want painted. I'll show you why that is important later (I didn't do that) and I ended up with paint pretty much everywhere. If you look at the pictures closely you'll see my mistakes. :-(

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Having just completed a brake job that include new rotors less than 90 days ago, I had a little heartburn in NOT taking the front calipers off to paint. They are larger and more complex than the rears and I wanted them to look good - so I undid the caliper bushings and slid the calipers off to paint it. I then, as you can see, used a coat hanger to hold it up so that I could paint it without it just hanging and pulling on the break line. This was a last minute McGyver - and I should have planned it out better - I don't recommend the coat hanger approach. I'd recommend something stonger like string or rope so that you won't risk scratching your car or poking your eye out.

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Once the front calipers were painted and dry, I put them back on and tighted them in place. Again, I don't think you would need to remove them to paint them. The key to painting your calipers is to allow plenty of time and to take it slow and easy. Note the paint on the rotor - I got a little careless and paid the price.
Fortunately, I was able to clean up 95% of my mistakes with some Acetone and elbow grease.

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Last but not least, Elphie with her new wheels - Ta da!

The picture doesn't really show off all the hard work that went into painting the calipers, but trust me - it's just a bad picture.

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Final tips: Take your time, wear latex gloves, don't use a coat hanger, have some Acetone on hand, use a drop cloth, be brave - anyone can do this one. Good luck.
davester
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Post by davester »

I've seen them and they look GREAT!!!!
2015 F56 S hatchback-Electric Blue/Black, Cold Weather Package,Premium Package, Sport Package and a lot of other crap. "BRUISER"

They call me David
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mzupon
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Post by mzupon »

Looks like Elphie got those ruby slippers after all....
-Zupon, OP MINIAC

Jack is THE Todd Pearson Signature Series #2 2006 MCSm HB w. Sport/Cold and iPod adapter.
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Minidave
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Post by Minidave »

Those should be good for 2 or 3 sec a lap at Heartland Park on Wed! 8) :lol:
Hi! My name's Dave!

'09 LB/LB Clubman S - "Max"
89 Mini "Racing Green"
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hctiev

Post by hctiev »

Yes, but I'm having trouble calculating my horsepower gain! :lol:

I like the Ruby slipper thing. I think I'm going to have to use that one. :wink:
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