Painting brake calipers
Andrew Atwell
Hi! Has anyone seen the brake calipers on a porsche RS America, or a
new Ferrari? Their big, and their RED. Does anyone have any tips on
how I can paint the calipers on my 95 Jetta GLX? I think it would look
cool through the BBS wheels. What parts can and cannot be painted?
What kind of paint to use (heat resistant)? What should I cover, hints
on making this job easier? If anyone has some suggestions please post
or write to me. Thanks
andy
--
Andrew Atwell "Yes officer, I am aware that I was
Palo Alto, CA traveling at 120 m.p.h" -Jetta VR6
Andrew...@hp.com
jans...@aol.com
If you want to do it right you should completely take your calipers of and
apart. Have them sandblasted and then powdercoated in the color of your
choice. I had mine done in red and have had no problems in the last 1.5
years including through one very hard and salty winter.
Good Luck
Mr. Scott Millin
I'm not sure if your calipers are aluminum or not, but I'd put some
money on the exotics having 'em. In wich case they are probably
anodized. Looks cool, also resists corrosion! Powdercoating is
probably the way to go with an iron caliper.
Scott Millin
deva...@ivory.trentu.ca
I've painted my rocker cover (blue) with engine paint that is resistant
to 200-300F (can remember exactly where). No fumes, and it's not sticky.
Don't see any reason why it wouldn't be fine on calipers.
Any other experiences out there?
gti...@aol.com
If you can't afford to have your calipers sanblasted and powdercoated, a
less expesive alternative is spray paint. I painted my calipers about 2
1/2 years ago and so far they have held up pretty well. I used a lot of
wheel cleaner and a variety of stiff brushes to get the calipers clean
enough to take paint. The painting was done with the calipers on the car.
I masked the rubber boots and bleeder nipples as well as the rotors. At
first I used a high-temp engine paint, but when it dried it had a very
dull finish. I returned to the parts store and picked up a couple cans of
Dupli-color acrylic lacquer in Tornado Red to match my Golf. Applying it
in thin coats resulted in good coverage and a great gloss, plus the
perfect match for the body.
If you are going to do it, figure about six hours of your time to do
front and rear. 4 jack stands are extremely helpful. Good luck, hope it
turns out/
Bryan J
Nathan J Nagel
Excerpts from netnews.rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled: 5-Dec-96 Re:
Painting brake calipers by deva...@ivory.trentu.ca
> I've painted my rocker cover (blue) with engine paint that is resistant
> to 200-300F (can remember exactly where). No fumes, and it's not sticky.
> Don't see any reason why it wouldn't be fine on calipers.
>
> Any other experiences out there?
Worked fine for me. haven't done the GTi yet, but I did the exact same
thing to the calipers on my dad's pickup (Chevy Orange engine paint) and
they still look good 4 years later.
nate
Eric Parkin
> I've painted my rocker cover (blue) with engine paint that is resistant
> to 200-300F (can remember exactly where). No fumes, and it's not sticky.
> Don't see any reason why it wouldn't be fine on calipers.
>
> Any other experiences out there?
Quite simply: Brake Calipers can reach a much higher temperature.
400 degrees does get hit, a max theoretical (on a street vehicle) of 600
degrees can be achieved. I know this as I was speaking to the head of
Engineering at the company I work for, we remanufacture Brake calipers for
the Worlds Largest Automotive Rebuilder. USE a High Heat paint, 800degree
and above.
--
... epa...@op.net - 1986 VW Motorsports Golf GT-R #72 ....
.. 1996 SCCA NEDiv Solo I/Hillclimb Rally Class Champion ..
... ESP Motorsport's Page: http://www.op.net/~eparkin/esp ...
TR Sills
------>>>>> And deva...@ivory.trentu.ca wrote:
>In article <32A31A...@hp-paloalto-om20.om.hp.com>, Andrew Atwell <Andrew...@hp-paloalto-om20.om.hp.com> writes:
>>Hi! Has anyone seen the brake calipers on a porsche RS America, or a
>>new Ferrari? Their big, and their RED. Does anyone have any tips on
>>how I can paint the calipers on my 95 Jetta GLX? I think it would look
>>cool through the BBS wheels. What parts can and cannot be painted?
>>What kind of paint to use (heat resistant)? What should I cover, hints
>>on making this job easier? If anyone has some suggestions please post
>>or write to me. Thanks
>>andy
>>--
>>Andrew Atwell "Yes officer, I am aware that I was
>>Palo Alto, CA traveling at 120 m.p.h" -Jetta VR6
>>Andrew...@hp.com
>I've painted my rocker cover (blue) with engine paint that is resistant
>to 200-300F (can remember exactly where). No fumes, and it's not sticky.
>Don't see any reason why it wouldn't be fine on calipers.
>Any other experiences out there?
Yep, when I put the Scirocco 10.1"s on my Fox...I took the calipers
apart to clean the piston bore & replace the seal & dustboot. While
they were apart & after being cleaned, I painted them with gold engine
paint (trying to mimick the factory look since the calipers were in
bad shape). After painting them, I placed the calipers & mounts in
my gas BBQ grill to set the paint. Cooked them for a little while &
served them right up nice & hot.
I wanted to set the paint before reassembly...that way they would be
tougher & more scratch resistant. Reassembled everything (it's hell
getting that piston back into the caliper while making sure you don't
scuff the caliper). Everythings been in place for over a year &
they're looking great.
BTW, if anyone ever thinks about getting that textured, wrinkle type
paint...forget it. It's too hard to get it to consistantly provide
the texture pattern. I had made a battery cover out of tin & was
going to paint it w/ that stuff... instead used regular ol black
paint.
TR
vel...@netcomuk.co.uk
>Hi! Has anyone seen the brake calipers on a porsche RS America, or a
>new Ferrari? Their big, and their RED. Does anyone have any tips on
>how I can paint the calipers on my 95 Jetta GLX?
Well there is an easier way D&W sell a kit that includes laquer,
paint and hardener. It is available in red, yellow, and blue and only
costs 50 Dm
so...@ebtech.net
deva...@ivory.trentu.ca wrote:
>In article <32A31A...@hp-paloalto-om20.om.hp.com>, Andrew Atwell <Andrew...@hp-paloalto-om20.om.hp.com> writes:
>>Hi! Has anyone seen the brake calipers on a porsche RS America, or a
>>new Ferrari? Their big, and their RED. Does anyone have any tips on
>>how I can paint the calipers on my 95 Jetta GLX? I think it would look
>>cool through the BBS wheels. What parts can and cannot be painted?
>>What kind of paint to use (heat resistant)? What should I cover, hints
>>on making this job easier? If anyone has some suggestions please post
>>or write to me. Thanks
>>andy
>>--
>>Andrew Atwell "Yes officer, I am aware that I was
>>Palo Alto, CA traveling at 120 m.p.h" -Jetta VR6
>>Andrew...@hp.com
>I've painted my rocker cover (blue) with engine paint that is resistant
>to 200-300F (can remember exactly where). No fumes, and it's not sticky.
>Don't see any reason why it wouldn't be fine on calipers.
>Any other experiences out there?
I don't see why high heat paint wouldn't work on the calipers, I
sandblasted and painted my rear drums with high heat paint, and i
also recently did my valve and timing belt covers, looks great and
isn't coming off, i plan to do my calipers next summer cause they look
shitty right now.
Scott
VW Addict
> >Hi! Has anyone seen the brake calipers on a porsche RS America, or a
> >new Ferrari? Their big, and their RED. Does anyone have any tips on
> >how I can paint the calipers on my 95 Jetta GLX?
Surprise Surprise folks, you can use regular Krylon spraypaint, as long
as you clean the calipers REALLY well, it'll never come off!
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James Sly
>Hi! Has anyone seen the brake calipers on a porsche RS America, or a
>new Ferrari? Their big, and their RED. Does anyone have any tips on
>how I can paint the calipers on my 95 Jetta GLX?
> Mon, 09 Dec 1996 23:23:34 GMT
> vel...@netcomuk.co.uk Organization:
> NETCOM Internet Ltd
>Well there is an easier way D&W sell a kit that includes laquer,
>paint and hardener. It is available in red, yellow, and blue and
>only costs 50 Dm
A couple of thoughts on this matter: The German product is from
FoliaTec, (With a site in Colorado Springs) and comes with a cleaner as
well as the two-part lacquer, and is designed especially for brakes. It
should be available here in the states soon, as they are just marketing
here now. Look for a story in european car soon. It's also available in
silver, for the restoration crowd.
In the mean time, a great way to do it is to use VHT's Ford Red engine
enamel. Clean the part, (you don't have to dismantal it) mask the seal
areas, and paint it. Preheat your oven to 400° and bake for 1 hour.
Don't worry about the seals - they are designed for this kind of heat.
Cheap, easy, and great looking.
won't make your brakes big, but it will make them red. (or black, or
silver, or if you have extremely bad taste, some other color.
The "high-heat" paints aren't as attractive as the glossy stuff, imho.
Scott Holthausen
James Sly wrote:
<snippity>
>
> A couple of thoughts on this matter: The German product is from
> In the mean time, a great way to do it is to use VHT's Ford Red engine
> enamel. Clean the part, (you don't have to dismantal it) mask the seal
> areas, and paint it. Preheat your oven to 400° and bake for 1 hour.
> Don't worry about the seals - they are designed for this kind of heat.
> Cheap, easy, and great looking.
> won't make your brakes big, but it will make them red. (or black, or
> silver, or if you have extremely bad taste, some other color. <snipo>
Rustoleum: "dirty" metal primer
Rustoleum: sunburst yellow! (matches the roll-cage)
Remove caliper, coat w/brakecleen, take die-grinder w/wire wheel and
knock off all dirt & corrosion. Prime w/several coats, allowing ample
drying time between coats. Paint color of choice (see above) with several
coats, again allowing ample drying time between (best on a warm, sunny day).
Did this over a year ago and I still have nice bright yellow calipers.
Bad taste huh? Different strokes, you know.
Later,
Scott Holthausen
-s...@ldg.com