Caliper Painting...

[SilentJay]

So does anyone have enough paint and/or clearcoat to cover my calipers? The red has long since chipped off in a few places, so it could definately need some sprucing up. Willing to go splits on a kit as long as there is enough for generous/liberal coats. I dunno if this kinda-sortta qualifies for WTB, so I figured i'd get some publicity here :chuckle

Springs a comin', and my winter tires are burning up!!

[PCLoadLetter]

My friend works for a paint company and says he can get paint + coat for dirt cheap. I'm going to ask him for more details, I'll keep you posted.

[SilentJay]

:O Please do - Even better if he can mix high-temp custom paint!

[Noisy Crow]

I'd be in for this... my calipers are in sad, sad shape. I had Simply Tire do them a couple of years ago, and they did a great job... but they are now charging a bunch more I figure I will a have a go at messing them up, er, painting them myself before having them done proffessionally......

[Soyabean]

Jason I was actually wondering but i found out that normal paint is good enough. Like the actual things that get hot when you apply the brakes are the rotors and pads. The calipers do not get sufficiently hot

[SilentJay]

^^^ Someone else had told me that. I was actually thinking about getting a custom rattle-can of phantom blue made for a test run, though i'm still kind of hesitant... I've seen brake rotors/pads heat up to be super-hot, so by association I thought the caliper would as well.

Noisy, it's really not difficult to do at all, as long as you have time/tools. I've been doing my own since... 2001-ish? I'm sure SimplyTire could do it much faster, and it may come out a little nicer, but @ something like $100, i'd rather rattle-can it myself for $7.

[Soyabean]

but you would need to grind down your calipers if you had previous paint on it. I've been iffy on whether or not i wanted to do it myself. I wonder how hard it would be to grind down all the red paint on my calipers and how to get into the tight spots

[stevenma188]

I have like 3/4 of a duplicolor red caliper kit left, and that was after painting 2 cars.

[SilentJay]

I wouldn't grind, per se. Since the paint is brittle, i'm going to lightly tap the paint with a ball-peen hammer, and see if it chips off. For the remaining chunks, i'll probably take a BBQ brush to it.

[SilentJay]

I have like 3/4 of a duplicolor red caliper kit left, and that was after painting 2 cars.

Failing all else, hows about I reimburse you for some paint? :D

[stevenma188]

Ya sure thing. I'm sure we can sort something out.

[SilentJay]

:) I hope you're in the GTA?

[stevenma188]

HAHA! I'm in London for the school year, and most likely Guelph for the summer, but I do go to the GTA quite often, especially more often after school is done. I'm sure we can figure something out. Re

[sp3GT]

^ Can I have some paint too :)

[stevenma188]

YAAAA!!!! PAINT FOR ALL!!!!!

[SilentJay]

So it turns out I had a little left from the last time I did this. I changed over to summers last night, and in the process, cleaned/scuffed up the old paint, and gave it a few coats per axle. As an experiment, I also clear coated them to see if they'd last any longer. It definately turns out more smooth with the clearcoat. We'll see what happens after a carwash today :chuckle

[midnightfxgt]

For those wondering.....

You do NOT need hi-temp paint. I used regular old Tremclad silver for the last 4 years. Granted, I want to redo it now, but its held up fine! I also have a friend who used to have Napa mix up a custom rattle-can colour and used that with no issues.

If you track your car a lot, perhaps Hi-Heat would be needed....

-John

[SilentJay]

Pfft - my car goes nice and slow, so no need for fancy stuff :chuckle



That said, I'm going to get an extra rattle can when I pick up some custom-mix paint for my skirts/flares. I might just try it out on a whim :)

[lawyerandagun]

I've been reading some threads that are talking about using a epoxy based paint for the calipers (G2, Folia Tec...). But after reading this thread and seeing you don't need the high heat for just regular driving, do you guys think this stuff would work?
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/3/HouseHome/PaintStains/SpecialtyPaints/PRD~0489769P/Solignum%252BEpoxy%252BFloor%252BPaint.jsp
It is meant for floors, but it is epoxy based, and supposedly works on metal. With a gallon of the stuff you could do quite a few cars, and get it mixed up whatever colour. Just a thought

[SilentJay]

O.o



Using regular spray paint is one thing, but using bucket paint... I'm not so sure. Personally, i'd say stick with what has been tried/tested in the rattle-can stuff, but if you're feeling brave... :P

[Noisy Crow]

Also, spray paint tends to be thnner... easier to apply in thin coats and avoid drips and bridging.

[M3-ZOOM]

i want to paint my calipers too! but it seems like A LOT of work...might do them after my exams.

[stevenma188]

My buddy and I took like 4 hrs to do 2 cars. That was with 4 layers.