Has anyone painted their calipers?

[townsville_sv6]

hey i am chasing after a How To section on painting brake calipers whilst they are still on the car as i can't bothered to take them off and pay some1 to have them bled. if anyone has painted their calipers and took a few photos along they way that would be great

also what is a good quality paint for the job? ive got a my10 sv6 ute and i think the hsv red would suit it nicely

thanks heaps guys
oh and i have used the search tool, i tried a heap of different searches and didnt find anything worth while

[Nidz]

There's plenty of threads about this stuff but I masked my ones up cause I CBF taking them off and painted them with high temp paint.

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww346/Nidzdotnet1/Car%20Pics/VX%20Commodore%20Pics/IMG_3990.jpg

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww346/Nidzdotnet1/Car%20Pics/VX%20Commodore%20Pics/IMG_4000.jpg

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww346/Nidzdotnet1/Car%20Pics/VX%20Commodore%20Pics/IMG_3996.jpg

http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww346/Nidzdotnet1/Car%20Pics/VX%20Commodore%20Pics/wheels800.jpg

Mask it up with tape and newspaper. Minimize the ammount of paint that will hit anything else. Not much more to it.. I got a tad on the disc but it came off in no time. I actually need to repaint em cause it's been a few years and they need another go-over. I did 3 coats of engine paint.


sure it's budget. The proper way would be to remove the calipers and maybe get them powdercoated but this still works and the paint won't fall off.

[R8Ryan]

I painted my calipers the same way as Nidz :goodjob: I left them on the car as CBF taking them off. Make sure you give the calipers etc a really good clean (I used turps) to remove all the dirt/grime then apply 3-4 thin layers of VHT paint, allowing time to dry in between coats. Also, take it easy for a little while after you have painted them. I don't have any pictures, but I reckon they came up a treat :)

Cheers,

R8Ryan

[Rhc 1]

I did mine in place and put vht clear coat on as well, sorry havent got photos but it looked good and has lasted well

[Red Beard]

I went with black and silver on mine, IMO it looks "try hard" to go with all red on standard discs and calipers. I also did something no one has ever admitted to, I painted using a brush, no masking required, I know it seems lazy. But the results were quite good, I had years of experience in my teens painting models. Everyone whose seen them can't tell that I used a brush, and nobody ever sees the back of them anyway. I'm considering changing the black to blue soon.

[heavychevy]

I went with black and silver on mine, IMO it looks "try hard" to go with all red on standard discs and calipers. I also did something no one has ever admitted to, I painted using a brush, no masking required, I know it seems lazy. But the results were quite good, I had years of experience in my teens painting models. Everyone whose seen them can't tell that I used a brush, and nobody ever sees the back of them anyway. I'm considering changing the black to blue soon.

post some pics of the brush job :)

[Mohit]

Here's how i did mine:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade07.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade08.jpg

[Nidz]

The only problem I found painting your hubs is that after a while you'll get discoloration and that nasty rusty look.. I think it's the heat that does it.

[Smitty]

I did what Nidz did (on my race car)
clean them, mask it and hit it with Brake Caliper paint
(VHT do one I think it is)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y233/smitty1955/Car%20Pics/Dsc00658.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y233/smitty1955/Car%20Pics/Dsc00655.jpg

[185iboy]

What brake pads are they Smitty?

[Smitty]

What brake pads are they Smitty?

Ferodo Motorsport DS2000
(now replaced with the DS2500s)

[troytroy]

I've always painted my calipers in bright red high temp paint - you only need to touch it up once every 12 months or so. The prep work is the most important - plenty of degreaser and soap and make sure it's thoroughly dry and start off with a very thin coat and re-apply light coats every couple of hours.

Don't forget to match the rotor hubs as well......even more colour!

http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr121/troytroy2/ResizeofIMGP2292.jpg

[craigo999]

Sorry for the dumb questions but do you guys take the pads out before painting?

[max350]

I went with black and silver on mine, IMO it looks "try hard" to go with all red on standard discs and calipers. I also did something no one has ever admitted to, I painted using a brush, no masking required, I know it seems lazy. But the results were quite good, I had years of experience in my teens painting models. Everyone whose seen them can't tell that I used a brush, and nobody ever sees the back of them anyway. I'm considering changing the black to blue soon.


I also used a brush. Just get some brake cleaner, spray it on, hose it off, let it dry then paint with a brush. I did mine silver with a tin of the cheapest silver enamel paint and they still look the same as when I did 30 000ks later. I dont have photos but they are as good as any I have seen painted.

[oinkvzss]

Overspray can be reduced by using gladwrap to cover areas like the rotor and strut tube (I know it sounds strange, but, it works).

Cleanliness is your friend here, as other posters have said, degreaser, and brakeclean works a treat.

FWIW, I used VHT paint on a brake conversion I did and the calipers came up really well.

[townsville_sv6]

well anyway i called into my local autobarn today and picked up a tin of cheap k&h caliper paint, i choose the k&n over the vht because it seemed to be a better colour. all up the brake cleaner/ degreaser and paint cost $22 so i will take the mags off sometime this week and give them a paint.

cheers for the photos and help guys

[townsville_sv6]

Here's how i did mine:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade07.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/SS/brakeupgrade08.jpg
mohit, how come in the photos of the oven it looks like the entire caliper has been painted but in the photos which are on the disc only half of the caliper is red?

did you only paint the parts that could be removed without disconnecting the brake lines?

[Mohit]

mohit, how come in the photos of the oven it looks like the entire caliper has been painted but in the photos which are on the disc only half of the caliper is red?

did you only paint the parts that could be removed without disconnecting the brake lines?
I painted the calipers red and the caliper cradles satin black. The oven pics only show the calipers. The lines on the calipers in the over pics are the standard rubber lines. When the calipers were put on the car the rubber lines were replaced with braided steel lines.

[BECAUZ]

Whats everyones opinion on painiting the calipers yellow on a black ssv? Been thinking about it for a while but its a bit hard to picture how it'll look because i haven't seen yellow on a VE yet.....

[townsville_sv6]

this is annoying because i want to paint the whole caliper and cradle properlly but if i remove them i will have to get them bled by holden to make sure i dont loose my warranty or void my insurance in case of an accident

[simon.w]

this is annoying because i want to paint the whole caliper and cradle properlly but if i remove them i will have to get them bled by holden to make sure i dont loose my warranty or void my insurance in case of an accident

How are you going to get your car to the dealer to bleed them unless you do first? Can't drive there with no brakes!

It is very easy ... would be lots of info on google for you.

[townsville_sv6]

thats what makes such a simple job so frustrating, its easy to remove the brakes, paint them and bleed it all myself. but if holden finds out i did i will loose my road side assist and if i get into an accident and my insurer finds out i might not get my claim though.

in the end its either going to be an expensive job which requires my car sittin at holden for a few days and some powder coating, or a dodgy job with a tin of paint and some news paper hahahaha

[awesome _vzss]

i am painting mine tomorrow(in gold) ,ill be taking off the calipers as i wanna bleed the brakes anyways just wanted to know i am using heat treated caliper spray i was wondering do i have to still bake them
cheers steven

[Mohit]

i am painting mine tomorrow(in gold) ,ill be taking off the calipers as i wanna bleed the brakes anyways just wanted to know i am using heat treated caliper spray i was wondering do i have to still bake them
cheers steven
Nah you don't have to bake them. But i've found baking them gives it a tougher finish. I used VHT caliper spray paint. On the can it says you can bake them if you want but you can also just let them dry naturally.

[awesome _vzss]

cool thanks for that mate im gonna try doing later this arvo