Just painted my brake calipers
 

Well, as the title states, I took this afternoon to paint my calipers...They were a nasty rusty orange. :ugh:. Now they are glossy black.

I did some reading on here, which made this process really easy....Basically I just sprayed CRC Brakleen all over, sand all rust and grime off with a wire brush on a drill and then another healthy bath of Brakleen. I then did 4 coats of paint after I put plastic sheeting over the entire car.

I havent seen it in the daytime sunlight, but I think it came out pretty good. Pics to come soon.


I used almost a whole can of Brakleen, which was only like 3 bucks, one half can of Dupli-color caliper paint for like 6 bucks and the rest of materials I already had...P.S., safety glasses are a must for this, rust and chemical brake cleaner flying everywhere.

Cool man

did you remove the calipers from the rotor?

please tell me u didnt ...

Nope...The way I see it is if I cant see the back of it while its on the car, why do I need to go through the trouble of removing it to paint it, I just painted everything thats visible.


Tell you I didnt remove caliper, or paint them? Read above.

okay good, thought that would be a waste. probably going to paint mine red, or maybe black. not sure. will post pics eventually lol

a foam brush is excellent for applying the caliper paint- no overspray to worry about
Even if you have a spray can of paint, shoot some inside a disposable cup, now you have liquid paint! 2-3 coats is a good plan

After extreme use of brakeclean I would take the calipers off and regrease the pad tabs and backs- dont leave the brakes dry!

What kind of grease?

:pics:

`brake caliper grease` from the parts store

Little pack will do but for 8 bucks get a small tub of CRC synthetic and do all your friends cars too!

do we really need a pic to see what painted calipers look like- see the many other threads

In my experience black is a good color- hides the small size of calipers and makes fronts look like brembos- my dual piston Legend calipers,,, I call em bimbos

loved mine painted black. hides it well. =]

and bimbo? lol..

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/d.../72BIMBO_1.jpg

What exactly are the pad tabs and backs....It might come across as a stupid question, but I wanna do it right.
Pics would be great!

the brake DIY will have this info but

the back of the pad where its metal not the side with fibers and small metal bits, the side with solid metal and maybe a shim plate on it- thats the pad back
You apply a small amount of caliper grease to the part where it will contact the caliper piston on inner pad, and the caliper fingers for the pad that goes on the outside
See wear pattern on old pads for exact location

On the end of each pad back is an extended tab , that rides along a metal plate attached to the main bracket
Clean those parts and lube the tab and the part it slides on
Those are what move when you apply the brakes

When installed and pressure is pumped back up- but brakes off, there should be slight movement you can make of the pads and caliper - that means everything is lubed

There are 2 pins-the rubber boots on the brackets- pull those loose and lube inside- the caliper slides on those when brakes applied

Flush your brake fluid - see DIY, do it every year and the brake system will be happier and always have good solid pedal
wiki hygroscopic for why

just a thin coating of the special grease, not so much it will get flung off- its high temp 600 degrees but does wash off especally in car washes

I take mine apart once a year to lube and inspect the parts- flush brake fluid

Thanks a lot for the info man.
And I had a lot to do today, didnt have time to take any pics...

it wouldn't hurt to post pics would it ? well it wouldn't hurt to look or search around for them. but everybody has their own different little taste and style so im just tryna see how his looks like

If you have wheels that show a lot of the center area behind it...I think it looks good to remove and paint the brackets and the center hat area of the rotors in addition to the calipers (if you are doing black, it might be a bit much in a color)

yes- thats the best way- remove all rust and paint it!
All black is slick
I assumed everyone was painting the bracket and rotor edges

For other colors see the brake caliper color threads!

please paint your grill next :rockstar:

I just unbolt the calipers & supported them and leave the fluid hose hooked up-if I don't otherwise need to flush or get into the caliper.

One of those wire brush wheel attachments for an electric drill cleans up all parts nicely, followed up by a brake cleaner rinse.

nice job Andy...


now do mine

Yup, I did this as well.

I am, I just have a ton of stuff to take care of first.

Thanks man. Haha. Its really one of the easiest things I have ever done

Alright guys...There is a pretty big Azine meet going down here tomorrow, so I will have lots of pics for you.

Here are some pics of my car from the meet...
I re-did wheels, grill, and fogs as well as the brakes.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/IMG_6456.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/IMG_6458.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/IMG_6524.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/IMG_6526.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/IMG_6542.jpg
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...0/IMG_6549.jpg[/quote]

upgrade your rotors and pads plus Legend calipers and you will be all set!

You need a drop badddd.

Black/white theme looks pretty cool though.

Yup. I am officially taking donations for the "Help ANC297 trick out his ride" fund.:teef:

Thanks for the comments guys!