Painting Calipers... Is this hard?
07-30-2003, 10:02 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 660
Car Info: TXS tbe, perrin goodies, v7 sti struts...bla bla bla lots of stuff!
Painting Calipers... Is this hard?
I think I am going to pick up a can of this caliper paint.. I have seen it on fastwrx for around $38 or so... I have a sonic yellow rex and was thinking maybe red or yellow... (I don't think the yellow in the can will match my yellow (street line paint) car)
Is this hard to do? Meaning once I take the wheel off do I need air tools and things of that nature? If not I am fairly confident that I can do it... but if I need air tools and completely take everything off like brakes, pads, etc. Then forget it. I am no mechanic, and knowing me I would f it up. It took me an hour to take the snorkleous off my car, lol.
For people that have done this, does it last? Will it have to be redone, and is there anything you have to do afterwards to keep it looking good?
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/g2/caliper_paint.jsp
That's what I was going to get.
Thanks guys :-)
-Nigel
Is this hard to do? Meaning once I take the wheel off do I need air tools and things of that nature? If not I am fairly confident that I can do it... but if I need air tools and completely take everything off like brakes, pads, etc. Then forget it. I am no mechanic, and knowing me I would f it up. It took me an hour to take the snorkleous off my car, lol.
For people that have done this, does it last? Will it have to be redone, and is there anything you have to do afterwards to keep it looking good?
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/g2/caliper_paint.jsp
That's what I was going to get.
Thanks guys :-)
-Nigel
08-03-2003, 10:35 AM
#2
Registered User
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Tennessee, US
Posts: 258
Car Info: 98 Impreza RS
I just did mine about a month ago. Well one side, i haven't had the time to do the other yet. I wouldn't buy that expensive paint unless you are just set on it. I picked up a can at the local autozone and it worked perfectly, the only thing you have to look for is heat resistance. Also, make sure the paint doesn't require baking. The kind i got was specifically for calipers.
The actual process was also easy. The main thing while painting is to get the calipers clean!!! If you don't, the paint will posibly chip and come off. Then you will need to "tape up" the surrounding area. I chose not to take them off the car. So, clean, tape/paper, paint (using instructions on can), and let it set for i think about 6 hours at the most before driving. Pretty simple, i would recommen doing one side at a time, so you can switch back and forth while painting.
good luck
luke
The actual process was also easy. The main thing while painting is to get the calipers clean!!! If you don't, the paint will posibly chip and come off. Then you will need to "tape up" the surrounding area. I chose not to take them off the car. So, clean, tape/paper, paint (using instructions on can), and let it set for i think about 6 hours at the most before driving. Pretty simple, i would recommen doing one side at a time, so you can switch back and forth while painting.
good luck
luke
08-03-2003, 12:53 PM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 660
Car Info: TXS tbe, perrin goodies, v7 sti struts...bla bla bla lots of stuff!
Luke,
Thank you, if you wouldn't mind could you tell me the brand that you got from auto zone.. (they are EVERYWHERE here) How do you tape everything off propperly so that you don't get it everywhere? Another thing I was under the impression is that you want to bake them, for the fact that it cures it? If you just spray it on with the can and let it dry wouldn't it just start to flake or come off?
Thanks again :-)
-Nigel
Thank you, if you wouldn't mind could you tell me the brand that you got from auto zone.. (they are EVERYWHERE here) How do you tape everything off propperly so that you don't get it everywhere? Another thing I was under the impression is that you want to bake them, for the fact that it cures it? If you just spray it on with the can and let it dry wouldn't it just start to flake or come off?
Thanks again :-)
-Nigel
08-03-2003, 01:07 PM
#4
Registered User
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Tennessee, US
Posts: 258
Car Info: 98 Impreza RS
ok just went out and looked at the can. It is Plasti-kote. It says Brake Caliper Paint on the can. At first i got engine block paint, but it required baking. I didn't want to/know how to do this, so i took it back and got this, which doesn't require it. I got the red color, but they had yellow also at the place i got it. It says it is good up to 900 degrees, which is more than enough. And also it only takes 1 hour to dry. I have been very pleased so far.
Taping.....i didn't know what i was doing at all with any of this to start with. So i just got newspaper and masking tape. Make for certain that you don't get any on the rotor!!! Although, if you did, you could probly steel wool it off or something. All i can say about taping is be creative and have patience. After i was sure i had everything taped up, i still ended up with a few red spots here and there, but you can't see them anyways.
luke
Taping.....i didn't know what i was doing at all with any of this to start with. So i just got newspaper and masking tape. Make for certain that you don't get any on the rotor!!! Although, if you did, you could probly steel wool it off or something. All i can say about taping is be creative and have patience. After i was sure i had everything taped up, i still ended up with a few red spots here and there, but you can't see them anyways.
luke
08-03-2003, 03:26 PM
#5
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 660
Car Info: TXS tbe, perrin goodies, v7 sti struts...bla bla bla lots of stuff!
Luke,
Very cool! Now did you take off the wheel when you did this.. I assume that you did? I am looking at my caliper now.. I paint this WHOLE thing correct? Everything that I can see I paint?
As far as masking and taping I don't think that will be a problem only because I have done stuff like that for my computer when I needed to "shave" some metal off and needed to make sure that there was NO metal in the case at all when I did it.
Thanks,
-Nigel
Very cool! Now did you take off the wheel when you did this.. I assume that you did? I am looking at my caliper now.. I paint this WHOLE thing correct? Everything that I can see I paint?
As far as masking and taping I don't think that will be a problem only because I have done stuff like that for my computer when I needed to "shave" some metal off and needed to make sure that there was NO metal in the case at all when I did it.
Thanks,
-Nigel
08-04-2003, 05:41 PM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 660
Car Info: TXS tbe, perrin goodies, v7 sti struts...bla bla bla lots of stuff!
Got another question. I am going to get the G2 Brake Caliper paint kit because I found it to be a good deal on one of my online sites... Sooo here is my other question. I think it would be eaiser to lift the entire car, take all the wheels off and then to each one seperatly... my problem is how do I go about do this? I am not a mechanic, so taking the wheels off is a big thing for me, I know how to do this but how do I jack the car up and brace it? The car only came with 1 jack, but I have access to four vehicles so could I just use all for jacks and go around the car and start turning all the jacks or have 3 friends help me so that we turn the jacks at the same time to lift the car up?
Thanks,
-Nigel
Thanks,
-Nigel
08-04-2003, 06:37 PM
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Get some jack stands. You will need at least three jack stands but four would be better. They should just be like 10 bucks each maybe at an auto parts store. You jack the car up and then place the jack stands under the car which has a lot of support(like the cross member) then you do this on all four corners. Another way to do it would be to jack up one corner and then paint that caliper then jack up the next corner then paint that caliper replacing the wheel each time. If you are careful you should not get any paint on the wheels. The jack stand way would probably be the easiest.
Stephen
Stephen
08-04-2003, 08:33 PM
#9
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 660
Car Info: TXS tbe, perrin goodies, v7 sti struts...bla bla bla lots of stuff!
Is it bad to leave the car jacked up on one side for a pierd of time? Can you get those jack stand at an auto parts store or wallmart? Also when you put those car jacks on is it possible for the car to fall? Meaning when I start to put the tires on will it shake the car? Also is there a specific tightness to tighten the bolts holding the tires on? I have never taken off a tire before, and I also do not have access nor own a air driven wrench to put the tires back on, is this ok?
In the user's manual does it tell you exactly where the cross member of the car is?
Thanks!
Just as a general question as to which would look best which would be a good color caliper paint for a sonic yellow rex?
I was thinking red for the simple fact that red calipers on any color car normally goes ok...
Colors are the following: Red, yellow, blue. silver, purple, black, purple and white.
My gf suggested black, because everything on my car is black or yellow so far... but black just seems unclean or already dirty..? And their color yellow is more like banana popicle yellow not sonic yellow aka street lines orange/yellow...
Thanks again,
-Nigel
In the user's manual does it tell you exactly where the cross member of the car is?
Thanks!
Just as a general question as to which would look best which would be a good color caliper paint for a sonic yellow rex?
I was thinking red for the simple fact that red calipers on any color car normally goes ok...
Colors are the following: Red, yellow, blue. silver, purple, black, purple and white.
My gf suggested black, because everything on my car is black or yellow so far... but black just seems unclean or already dirty..? And their color yellow is more like banana popicle yellow not sonic yellow aka street lines orange/yellow...
Thanks again,
-Nigel
08-04-2003, 09:55 PM
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
You should be able to get the jack stands at an auto parts store, and possibly wal mart. As long as you don't really nail the car one way or the other the jack stands should hold up, they are pretty sturdy. Having the car jacked up on one side for a long time should not pose a huge problem(maybe after days or something) but you should be fine doing it either way. I just think with the jack stands you will be able to paint all the calipers at the same time and let them all dry together. With the jackstands you just need to make sure you have something under the car that is not going to flew under load. Usually the frame is the best part(but don't let it touch the body or you will probably get bent panels). As for the color I think a black or yellow would look the best. I have seen a lot of calipers that don't really match the car and it shows a lot more than one would think. I think that red might look a little strange with a yellow car, and blue/purple/white would just look ugly as al get up I think. Sorry about the long post. Oh yeah, the lugnuts. Basically you can tighten them as much as possible. THere are probably specs somewhere as to lbf numbers, but I have always just tightened my lugnuts as much as I could and I have never sheared a lug off.
Stephen
Stephen
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
meilers
Suspension, Handling, and Brakes
11
09-04-2005 06:53 AM
dunnojack
Suspension, Handling, and Brakes
10
07-19-2005 02:15 PM
