How To: Paint Brake Calipers

[derrick1623]

Painting Brake Calipers
Source of how to: Groharlem
From site: http://mazdaprotege.net
Model Years: Any Make/Model Estimated Time: 03:00
In this article, you will learn how to spraypaint your own brake calipers. These instructions will generally be the same for any car since you don't have to disassemble anything besides taking the wheels off. If you have a newer car, you probably won't have to clean your brakes very much, but if you have an older car (like mine), then this whole process may take longer than you think. I was scraping off rust/brakdust for about 30 minutes per caliper before I painted them. If you have a new car, all you'll need to do is prep, paint and let it dry.

This is the wire brush that you will need if you have an older car. The brush pictured under "Tools you will need" didn't work for me so I went out and bought this brush which worked very well.
Tools you will need:http://forum.protegemp3.com/members/derrick1623/dirtycaliper.jpg




Floor-Jack & Jack Stands
21mm Socket and Breaker Bar
Prying tool (only if you have hubcaps/center caps)
Roll of Masking Tape
2 Weekday Newspapers, or 1 Sunday Newspaper
Wire Brush (for cleaning brakes) ($2.99)
Can of Brake Cleaner ($3.99)
Can of Caliper or Engine 1500 Degree Spray Paint (500 degree may come off over time) ($4-6)
Hammer (not pictured)




Installation Instructions:
1: Park your car in a well-ventilated area. Using the 21mm breaker bar, loosen your lug nuts on all 4 wheels. Jack up car, and securely lower it onto jackstands. Remove lugnuts and then remove wheel. You can do two wheels at a time, but I used 4 jackstands and did them all at the same time.
2: Inspect your caliper for dirt or rust (notice how nasty my caliper is :( ) http://forum.protegemp3.com/members/derrick1623/firstcoat.jpg
3: Spray the brake-cleaner all over the caliper (it should dry very quickly). After that, start to brush away the rust and brake dust off the caliper. This may take quite some time. After about 20 minutes of brushing away, i still could see stuff coming off it. Its up to you when to stop. To help get the rust peices off, you might want to take a hammer and gently tap the rust peices. When the rust peices come loose, you'll see them turn black. Use the wire brush to scrape them away.
4: Using the newspapers, cover the roto and hub and use the masking tape to connect the newspaper together (so the wind won't blow it away while its drying).. Also cover the crossmember with newspaper, and Tape some newspaper all along the inside of the wheel well, to protect from overspray.

Use the masking tape to tape the various rubber fittings / brakelines on your caliper, your bleeder valve, rotor, piston, and bolts (if you don't want to paint them). I used tape to cover the backplates of the brakepads. If you do this, MAKE SURE that the tape is on there. All 4 of my brakepad backplates are now painted with weird designs b/c my tape didn't hold the paint out very well. I will probably just brush over them later with the paint.

5: Shake up the can of Caliper paint and quickly spray the caliper up and down. Repeat until it is covered in paint, but be sure to do it in quick sweeps rather than slow ones, otherwise the paint will run and drip off.
6: Let it dry for a little. I put a total of 3 coats on each caliper (and metal still shows through :( ).
7: While your waiting for the front two to dry, Go over to the rear and inspect the calipers for dirt
8: Use the wire brush and brake cleaner to clean off all the crappy brake dust and rust from the caliper. It took me about twice as long to clean the rears than the front due to their strange shape and various crevices
9: Cover the rear the same as the front.http://forum.protegemp3.com/members/derrick1623/preppedrear.jpg Be sure to cover the piston and rotor from paint as it can affect brake performance if overspray gets in there. Be sure to cover the TTL and cross member peices. I didn't, thinking that the paint wouldn't touch them and I ended up getting paint all over one of the cross members :(
10: Coat the rears with paint as described in step 5
11: Apply a couple more thin coats and allow each coat to dry for 15-30 minutes.
12: after all the calipers are dry, carefully take off all the newspaper, and masking tape to reveal the finished result (notice the paint got onto the brake pad backplate and also on some other parts :( http://forum.protegemp3.com/members/derrick1623/oopsoverspray.jpg
13. Put your wheels back on, tighten the lugs to the correct torquespecs and lower the vehicle back onto the ground.
14: Properly discard all newspapers and masking tape into the trash

[pingdum]

Do you have any pix of the finished project? Do you think it would be easier if you took the pads off?

[Natey]

Save yourself some time and brush the paint on. That way, you won't spend hours taping everything off.

[mp5forsnow]

when i did my calipers i removed them from the rotor, pulled out the pads, hung the caliper with a wire hanger inside the wheel well, used newspaper and tape to mask everything off, and spraypainted them. a little extra work but the super clean results were well worth it. couple hours to do all four.

[Minus]

yeah, can't you just brush the paint on there after cleaning it off really well?

[mspeedpro]

ya lets see sum finished products!

[ZG77_OzZ]

here (http://forum.protegemp3.com/vbb225/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15077)


http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/ZG77_OzZ/rim5.jpg

[mspeedpro]

thnx bro, what else did u paint other than the caliper??

[123zoom]

Isnt' it safer to brush on the paint...........has nebody ever done it like this and is there ne site where i can see the painting process?

[Natey]

Brush it on. I did about two months ago with Duplicolor Hugh Heat and it worked great.
Notice the dirt road...not one chip yet!
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/p8886d9c69594e65b2de3d420f46dfe96/fc79440a.jpg

[mspeedpro]

how long did it take u? did u remove calipers or tape?

[Natey]

Nope. It took me about three-four hours to put 4-5 coats on all four wheels. Here's an old post of mine ;)

The reason for brushing is that it takes forever to tape everything off. I used a Big Gulp cup with a paper towel over the lid to minimize over-spray(as I filled it up) for my paint cup. Worked great.
To clean the calipers I used a wire-brush drill-bit from Ace Hardware, and my cordless drill. It took about 10min per wheel. Make sure everythings nice and shiny before you start painting.

Another trick that I found is to use a sponge-brush to paint with. The sponge brush won't leave those "lines" that you get after painting with a regular brush. Also it's a good idea to have a couple extra paint brushes around...

One more suggestion: Jack the car up so that you can do two wheels at a time, that way when you're done with one side, the other will be dry and ready for another coat. Back and forth. I did 4 or 5 coats with Duplicolor 1200 degree paint ($4.95)and the calipers look almost rubberized.

(sorry,derrick1623, for the thread-jack)

[ph0enixrising]

Anyone here tried the G2 Caliper paint? It's only rated to 900 something degrees, but I remember reading good things about it on other forums. Just wondering what you guys thought about the quality of it.

[cbcbd]

I used G2 paint on my calipers. The stuff is really good. It's very rubbery and shinny.
I read on some other post about someone using the G2 and running out of paint, I don't know what he did wrong, but I put on 3 coats and could've put 2 more!!!

No brush marks: When you brush it on you think that you'll have brush marks on the paint but it evens out on it's own so no marks whatsoever.

How I did mine:
-Lifted whole car on stands (G2 last for 4-6 hours so it's much better to do all 4 at once)
-Cleaned all calipers, that was a pain
-Took off the allen bolt from the bottom of the front calipers so I could swing the caliper up/down and get to the underside/back easier.
-Painted. Now, with this paint you HAVE to be patient, the paint dries thick. The 1st coat has to be extremely light, really spread it out. Then just do the same type of covering for the next coats until you're satisfied with the results.

Since I painted all calipers one after the other, by the time I got to the last one it was time for the 2nd coat on the first caliper (15 minutes dry between coats).

Like I said, I got 3 coats from the paint and could've applied 2 more, this paint dries thick and rubbery, if you overdo a coat it'll be hard to paint over it and it'll look uneven.

[AbbyVonNormal]

Painted my calipers today.
Got the G2 paint. (blue) SHIT it was hot outside!
I only had 2 jacks so i started with the front's first. Was very happy with the outcome. I had many size brushes and was able to get into all the nooks and cranny's with ease.
THEN...by the time i moved to the rear and got the jacks moved and wheels off...the paint was like rubber cement. It was just way to hot out to let the paint sit untouched for 10 minutes.
So i had to give up and throw it away.
Now i have to go back and get more next week to finish the rear.
None the less, it looks sweet! I was very happy with the G2! Makes them look like brandy new calipers!! Now i am just dyin to go back and finish the job!
SO i would severely recommend not using the G2 when its as hot as hell outside!
Will post piks soon!

[AbbyVonNormal]

Shitty piks....but oh well...

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/4f6d2d97/bc/AbNormal/CL_00b.jpg?bcW.dA_Ar7oqyfMC

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/4f6d2d97/bc/AbNormal/CL_00e.jpg?bcxBeA_ABCtrBcpk

[cbcbd]

Originally posted by AbbyVonNormal
Painted my calipers today.
Got the G2 paint. (blue) SHIT it was hot outside!
I only had 2 jacks so i started with the front's first. Was very happy with the outcome. I had many size brushes and was able to get into all the nooks and cranny's with ease.
THEN...by the time i moved to the rear and got the jacks moved and wheels off...the paint was like rubber cement. It was just way to hot out to let the paint sit untouched for 10 minutes.
So i had to give up and throw it away.
Now i have to go back and get more next week to finish the rear.
None the less, it looks sweet! I was very happy with the G2! Makes them look like brandy new calipers!! Now i am just dyin to go back and finish the job!
SO i would severely recommend not using the G2 when its as hot as hell outside!
Will post piks soon!
Makes sense since (from G2 site):
"Detailed Application Instructions:
HELPFUL HINTS
PaintSystem has a shelf life of six months and must be used between 56-70°F (13-21°C). Higher temperatures will cause paint to harden faster than normal.
Once the paint and reactor are mixed, there are only 4-6 hours working time. After that, paint left in the can will harden and will not be useable. Plan application accordingly.
Also, reactor jar may be difficult to open. DO NOT use channel locks, vises, etc. to open glass jars. If lid is tight, run under hot water for 5 minutes, then open by hand."

I did it with the temp hovering around 56 and I thought I was pressed for time and I jacked up the ENTIRE car, which is what I recommend doing.


edit:oh yeah, I can't see your pics :( you should upload them to your user space on the forum.

[AbbyVonNormal]

ya i know i caught all that...was just too impatient to wait much longer! and after all the rain, i had been sitting on the painf for a loooong time just itchin to get it on.
It was all worth it in the end....

let see if it works this time
Calipers...N Stuff (http://photos.yahoo.com/abbyvonnormal)

[cbcbd]

Yeah, I was the opposite. I had to wait and wait for the temperature to get up to 56, it was too cold.

That blue looks real nice with the car color :D

[MisterT]

This is an easy cosmetic that makes a for a nice look!! I can't tell you how much I like mine since doing it. I have the rear to go, but the fronts bring it out!!

MisterT

[ghost]

Whats up Mr.T!!!

[MisterT]

Your car is looking really good there ghost. Wanna trade?!

[ghost]

LOL! I think Lara will kill me!

[rednecks_r_us]

I went to my local CHECKER AUTO and got a can of DUPONT metalcast high temp anodized blue and a can of the metalcast basecoat.

A newspaper and a roll of masking tape to protect from overspray.
Taping off everything was time consuming.

But the final outcome was awesome if I do say so myself.

Painting with a brush would be less time, but I couldn't find a high temp paint that almost exactly matches my laser blue.

It cost me around $10 for both cans of paint.

Since then I have painted my air intake brackets, radiator cap, overflow tank bracket and oil cap with this spray paint.

Yesterday I put in a red top Optima battery and made a new battery bracket from raw steel. You guessed it, the new battery bracket is painted blue anodized as well.

I haven't got pictures of the battery posted yet but some of the other stuff is on my web page.

click on the www button below and see how they turned out.

[MisterT]

yeah, i like mine. I still need to do my rear brake calipers.

Here are the fronts though/members/MisterT/372226_36_full.jpg

MisterT

[Matthew]

hey you think it will work if i use a hi-temp base, then my paintscratch paint, then hi-temp clearcoat like i did with my valve covers?

[jono1200]

I used the sponge-on method with great results and no time spent taping.
The spraying paint into a cup works well, but I have a tip to add:
After spraying it into the cup, wait about 2 minutes for the paint to thicken up. When it comes out of the can, it's VERY thin (in order to pass through the nozzle in a fine spray). This is not the best consistency for applying with a sponge/brush, but, because it's so heavy on the solvents, it thickens up nicely very quickly (not like tar, just like normal paint).
Have fun!(p5blue)

[mcstark]

Great tips guys!

I pick up my MP5 on Friday, and would like to do this soon -- before the calipers get dirty and the weather gets colder. It's Black Mica. I like the red calipers, any suggestions on a different color?

[drumsbeloud]

Originally posted by mcstark
Great tips guys!

I pick up my MP5 on Friday, and would like to do this soon -- before the calipers get dirty and the weather gets colder. It's Black Mica. I like the red calipers, any suggestions on a different color?

i did mine in a silver metallic colour that perfectly matches my wheels...it looks pretty dope. there's lots of pics on the site of cars with different colour calipers...search around and you'll find what you like.

[Minus]

http://rekt.iodized.net/nopi/My%20Whip.JPG ok bad pic but you can kinda see that mine are painted with the anodize it plati cote paint stuff...
very nice paint

[brabbani]

im painting my calipers yellow tommorow

[fluxMP3]

i painted my calipers fire truck red..and i got rims powdercoated metgray...check it out i think you guys will be impressed

[fluxMP3]

that pic had too much flash...check this one out

[Minus]

nice

[Abiathar]

I am thinking of doing this. Was wondering if anyone has painted theirs yellow on a red P5 and what it looked like as I'm thinking the contrast would draw them out as opposed to red.

Steve

[Yaegs4life]

Wow i just got done my front calipers. That was such a pain in the ass taping off all of that crap. Plus i started at like 11pm and couldnt be too loud cause of my neighbors. I cant really tell what they look like yet. I must of put like 4 coats on and it still kinda looks orange. FORD RED is what the cap said. They must of ment 50 year old rusted FORD RED. Well maybe it will look better in teh sun light

[kk52736]

i got laser blue for my MP5, wonder which color is stand out great and sharp for the caliper?

[Dreeza]

i really want to paint mine, but i have no calipers in the back :wtf:

i think it will look really weird if i just paint the front

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by Dreeza
i really want to paint mine, but i have no calipers in the back :wtf:

i think it will look really weird if i just paint the front

any suggestions on what i should do?

[Snacks McGee]

Originally posted by Dreeza
any suggestions on what i should do?

I don't think it really matters....I only notice the front calipers on other cars and not the rear and it will be less work. My rear calipers are yellow and are always getting dirty, so I'm constantly cleaning them. It's kind of a pain in the ass.

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by Snacks McGee
I don't think it really matters....I only notice the front calipers on other cars and not the rear and it will be less work. My rear calipers are yellow and are always getting dirty, so I'm constantly cleaning them. It's kind of a pain in the ass.

lol, seriously? hmmm....dammit, i dunno!!!

[ELEmental59437]

I got a can of red caliper paint.. come over and I will paint them for you.. ;)

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by ELEmental59437
I got a can of red caliper paint.. come over and I will paint them for you.. ;)


haha yay

[cbcbd]

Originally posted by Dreeza
i really want to paint mine, but i have no calipers in the back :wtf:

i think it will look really weird if i just paint the front
Paint the front ones whatever color you want. Paint the brake drums in the rear black, just for protection and to hide it more.

Painted brake drums = (pukey)

[Minus]

i dont see how painting your drums is any worse than painting your calipers

[Minus]

either way, i will never again have to worry with drum brakes heh. 4 disks is where its at

[cbcbd]

Originally posted by Minus
i dont see how painting your drums is any worse than painting your calipers
Purely a personal preference looks-wise.

[Dreeza]

hmmm, well does anyone have a pic of JUST the front calipers painted??

[cbcbd]

Just get a pic of a car with both painted and close the eye that's close to the rear :D Or just put your hand over the back.

Ok, I'm lazy and don't have the tools right now, but you could just get one with both painted and easily photoshop the rear to just be black.

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by cbcbd
Just get a pic of a car with both painted and close the eye that's close to the rear :D Or just put your hand over the back.

Ok, I'm lazy and don't have the tools right now, but you could just get one with both painted and easily photoshop the rear to just be black.

hahahaha, ok, well theres gotta be some sedans out there like mine that dont have calipers in the back, right???

what did yo guys do????

[Minus]

nope, theres none like yours HAHAH
:P

just convert to disc brakes in the rear man!

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by Minus
nope, theres none like yours HAHAH
:P

just convert to disc brakes in the rear man!

grrrr, c'mon, there has to be another car like mine!!!

[J_Naoto]

Originally posted by Dreeza
grrrr, c'mon, there has to be another car like mine!!!

yeah mine is like yours.. and i painted the rear drum

[Minus]

you guys need to get to work converting them thangs to rear disc brakes

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by 02-ZOOM
yeah mine is like yours.. and i painted the rear drum

oh yay. do u have a better pic of that?

[J_Naoto]

oh.. they arent painted in that pic.. but yeah here are come pics: http://members.cox.net/naoto03/115-1572_IMG.JPG http://members.cox.net/naoto03/115-1573_IMG.JPG

[Dreeza]

ooh ok thanks

looks good on ur car

but i wanted to do mine red...and that just doesnt blend in as well as yours do!

[Dreeza]

Originally posted by Minus
you guys need to get to work converting them thangs to rear disc brakes

whats the point of doing that?

[sgryzko]

Hey guys thanks for all that advice. I am going to paint my calipers of my red P5 red. I live in Canada where it is very cold, so what kind of paint should I use, or do I have to wait till it heats up to 13C?

[Volley2six]

I have a blue MP3 with Red calipers and I LOVE IT!! It's a great color to go with the blue, and I've gotten a ton of compliments. I'm sure you'll be pleased. I used G2 Caliper paint from the G2 Site (http://www.g2usa.com/wheel.shtml). Around 42 bucks.


Originally posted by Dreeza
ooh ok thanks

looks good on ur car

but i wanted to do mine red...and that just doesnt blend in as well as yours do!

[sgryzko]

Volley2six, you said you used the G2 red? How does that colour compare to the body color of the "Classic Red" Protege5?
Is it more of an orangey red or more deep red?

[Volley2six]

If I were to choose between the two, it would be more orangey red. It looks deep when you put it on, and would probably match the Classic Red, but it won't stay like that forever. I don't see any hint of orange, but it's not deep. I can try to get pics tomorrow, but they're very dirty from the snow storm we got here.

[sidpro5]

Seems easy enough to do, just not sure what color I want to do. Got a Silver p5--thinking either red (obviously) or black (kinda inconspicuous). whadda ya think? (cheers)

[sgryzko]

Get the red sidpro5

[sidpro5]

Originally posted by sgryzko
Get the red sidpro5

Yeah, kinda leaning that way, just wasn't sure how it would look with the stock rims........Besides, if I did black, the whole car would be black and silver. Need something to set it off, I guess.....(cheers)

[hawaiiannights]

Originally posted by Natey
Brush it on. I did about two months ago with Duplicolor Hugh Heat and it worked great.
Notice the dirt road...not one chip yet!
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid56/p8886d9c69594e65b2de3d420f46dfe96/fc79440a.jpg

Hey Natey just wanted to say thanks for the tips. I Paint brushed mines on and they came out great and i'm sure it was less intensive as spray painting with all the masking and stuff. Plus too you can choose which areas to paint. Overall I think it cam out great looking. I just wish I alsobought some smaller brushes soI could get more into the little creaveces.... Just hope it lasts since I didn't primer it either. Thanks again!

http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/hawaiiannights/frontwheel.jpg
http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/hawaiiannights/rearwheel3.jpg

[Jeremy_Verdiel]

word. im kinda new on here so looking for some help. i just got a p5 and me and my buddy wanted to put some blue racing seats into it. i dont want to spend too much, maybe like 200 bucks or so a seat if possible. if you guys know some places online here that you guys get good deals that would be sweet. i really want the sparco torinos but they are too much!!

also, where do you buy the brackets to install them cause we want to do it alone.

hit me back and ill be on here latez

jerms

[goku4658]

So I would spray the spraypaint into a container to paint them w/ a brush? Also what do you guys think would look good on a Titanium Msp? The usual red calipers?...thanks

[hawaiiannights]

So I would spray the spraypaint into a container to paint them w/ a brush? Also what do you guys think would look good on a Titanium Msp? The usual red calipers?...thanks

Just buy some kind of high temp paint that somes in a can....I think even Duplicolor makes paint that comes in a can if you can find it. I just see the spary paint in a container thing becoming a potential mess.....

Red is the way to go in my opinion......

[goku4658]

hey thanks for the reply....yeah, i'm leaning towards red

[Natey]

I just re-did my calipers and rotors. I figured that summer's coming, so I may as well begin cleanin' the P5 from the ground up. :)

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13083

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13080

[slug420]

where can I find orange paint for calipers?

the duplicolor stuff doesnt come in orange

[ZG77_OzZ]

I just re-did my calipers and rotors. I figured that summer's coming, so I may as well begin cleanin' the P5 from the ground up. :)

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13083

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13080 (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13080)
Looks good the winter was bad p here I have not looked how bad it hammered the paint job on them yet.

[Fai]

I want to use the G2 paint but what will be affect of the paint result if I do the painting process blew 13°C or 56F???? Anyone painted their's below that temp???

[sgryzko]

I want to use the G2 paint but what will be affect of the paint result if I do the painting process blew 13°C or 56F???? Anyone painted their's below that temp???
I was wondering this too. Also, is the 13°C/56F the application temperature or the drying temperature too? I want to paint them soon but it might go below 13°C overnight.

[BaD_HeX]

I just picked up a can of break caliper spray from pepboy's and some good degreaser. Clean the hell out of them with a wire brush and plenty of degreaser to get rid of all the road grime and break dust. I then sprayed the paint in a cup for a good 60 seconds then waited for it to thicken a bit (sometimes a long wait). Then I took a set of brushes and went at it like a model car. The paint will be thin, seeing as it came out of a spray can, but the longer you wait the easier it will be to work with. I did about 4 coats on each side waiting about 30min between coats. The end result was ford red calipers on a midnight blue micah 2k protege ES. I'll post some pics when I get around to it.

[Kansei]

I was wondering this too. Also, is the 13°C/56F the application temperature or the drying temperature too? I want to paint them soon but it might go below 13°C overnight.
It was around 65F when I did the painting, I let it cure for only 5 hours before I drove the car (I couldn't take it any longer, I just had to drive), and it got down to around 40F that night, and boy do they look great. If it gets below 56 while it is still curing, I'd just give it some extra curing time once it gets above that temp again. I didn't and it worked fine, but who knows.

[VFR pilot]

i bought a Duplicolor brake painting kit, $15

it includes ceramic paint and will dry to a smooth finish
also brake cleaner
a brush
and tape

[MyReDpR5]

Ok, I've got a Red PR5 that I have installed blue neons on (cobra eyes, and plate frame), I also have blue seat covers and steering wheel cover. I've always thought that red and blue went well together. Now I am wanting to paint the calipers, but am unsure what color. I have considered blue to keep with the red/blue theme, but I also think that yellow calipers look awesome on a red car. So which should I do, red or yellow?

[aceP5]

So which should I do, red or yellow?


I think that it's best to keep it simple. Once you start adding too many colors to your car it will look worse and instead of looking like a nice P5 it will look like a clown car. I have a yellow P5 and planned on painting the calipers many different colors until I settled on red. I also considered blue, yellow, and orange. The main thing to remember is this: pick a color scheme and stick with it. I did red to match the red strut bar in the engine. Also, red goes good with yellow. But if you already have that many blue accents on your car, you probably shouldn't paint the calipers yellow. I think personally that you should paint them red. Blue may be too dark to notice (if it's a navy blue) and if its a bright blue it may just look a little weird. I say paint them red, the pics of mine are with stock polished rims, so you can have an idea of what it looks like.

[Minus]

ACK definatly not yellow or blue.. i say red or glossy black

[sgryzko]

[QUOTE=MyReDpR5]Ok, I've got a Red PR5 ... I am wanting to paint the calipers, but am unsure what color.QUOTE]

I've got a red p5 too and I got the red G2 caliper paint. I am painting them within the next couple weeks.

I think red would look sweet on your car. If you do go with blue, go with something between the bright blue and navy blue. Get like a royal blue or something.

[eting_pro5]

Natey and Hawaiinnights....what kind of paints did you guys use??

And what color Duplicolor is everyone using for red....I know the cap on "Ford Red" looks orange and someone said it came out orange. What are the names of some other Duplicolor reds.

G2 looks good but is way to expensive.

I also want to do this right. Does Duplicolor make the high heat primer and clear gloss coat? I've never seen any of these or any good colors (damn Ford Red is all I ever see) at my local Murry's.

[CHEFS P5]

Where do you get the duplicolor 1200 degree paint?
Let me know
Thanks
Chefs P5

Nope. It took me about three-four hours to put 4-5 coats on all four wheels. Here's an old post of mine ;)

The reason for brushing is that it takes forever to tape everything off. I used a Big Gulp cup with a paper towel over the lid to minimize over-spray(as I filled it up) for my paint cup. Worked great.
To clean the calipers I used a wire-brush drill-bit from Ace Hardware, and my cordless drill. It took about 10min per wheel. Make sure everythings nice and shiny before you start painting.

Another trick that I found is to use a sponge-brush to paint with. The sponge brush won't leave those "lines" that you get after painting with a regular brush. Also it's a good idea to have a couple extra paint brushes around...

One more suggestion: Jack the car up so that you can do two wheels at a time, that way when you're done with one side, the other will be dry and ready for another coat. Back and forth. I did 4 or 5 coats with Duplicolor 1200 degree paint ($4.95)and the calipers look almost rubberized.

(sorry,derrick1623, for the thread-jack)

[ZG77_OzZ]

Well I am looking into this stuff call G2. It seems to really out shine and out last other products out there.

[Kansei]

Well I am looking into this stuff call G2. It seems to really out shine and out last other products out there.
I'm happy with it. It's nice because you don't have to tape stuff off since it's brush on. Also, thicker coats because it's brush on. And it comes with brake cleaner so that's cool too. They warranty it too, since it's designed for brake caliper painting.

[aceP5]

Where do you get the duplicolor 1200 degree paint?
Let me know
Thanks
Chefs P5

I didn't get that type, but I think I can steer you in the right direction. I used some Plasti-kote "Brake Caliper Paint". It's suited for both high temperatures and is chemically resistant to brake dust so it doesn't wear off over time.

Go to pep-boys, thats where they had it. They have a bunch of specialty paints there. If not try autozone, they should have it there too (here it was cheaper at PepBoys.)

[Astral]

Here's my story, from another thread:

I painted my brakes (see pics (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59977)) with Dupont MetalCast paint.

I sprayed the paint, instead of brushing it.

It took about 20-30 minutes for me to mask off the wheelwells, because I had small catalog pages instead of a big newspaper. Advice: get some big-ass newspapers, will make it much easier to mask off the entire wheelwell. Also put some masking tape around the edges where the paint starts. I also put a newspaper around behind the brake, such that the CV joint and all the hoses were covered.

Spray-painted base paint for about 30 seconds, then waited 5 (maybe 10?) minutes before next coat, then another coat of base paint (looks silver). Then waited 30-40 minutes, then spray-painted two blue coats w/ 5-minute interval.

Waited about 1-1.5 hrs before getting back on the road. Total time: 3 hrs tops?

Overall, since I did it in a closed garage, I had little overspray. However, watch out if you are doing it outside on a windy day, watch out, paint is gonna start flying (that's when masking is really helpful). Pick a non-windy day :)

As far as it holding up, so far so good. I do wish that I sanded off the more visible parts of the caliper more, so they would look a little less rough. xxMSPxx sprayed some brake parts cleaner for me, that helped to get the initial dirt off the calipers before I began sanding them down.

Total cost: ~$12 at AutoZone (eh, plus couple of bucks for sandpaper).

[MyReDpR5]

I went with the suggestions of some on here and went with red for my calipers. I purchased the kit from Meijer for $15.00 and was pleased with the turnout.

[MyReDpR5]

For some reason the pic in the last post showed the caliper as black. ?? Check out my web page for pics of the finished look.

[aceP5]

For some reason the pic in the last post showed the caliper as black. ?? Check out my web page for pics of the finished look.
pic was okay . . . good job. I like it. It definitely makes your car look nicer.

[snooky]

if you want to go simple yet classy and sporty looking red is always going to be the best choice.

[MP3Architect]

Well I went with a different color than most people here. I thought about doing red but way too many people are doing red so I went with yellow. I think it looks great on my mp3. Check it out

[Socrates]

Well I went with a different color than most people here. I thought about doing red but way too many people are doing red so I went with yellow. I think it looks great on my mp3. Check it out
No doubt, MP3Architect. The yellow looks hot with the blue body color. Nice choice!

[Brian MP5T]

Nice!

[snooky]

Well I went with a different color than most people here. I thought about doing red but way too many people are doing red so I went with yellow. I think it looks great on my mp3. Check it out

nice choice i would have chose the same if i had the laser blue colr, NICE!

[altspace]

It cost me a total of $4 and a couple hours. I did mine in black.

[hamidrizvi]

I kno this forum is dead, might as well bring it back

I got a black 2000 Protege LX and im getting glossy black rims with chrome lip. i want to paint the calipers, but not sure if I should, and if i do, what color?

[snooky]

I kno this forum is dead, might as well bring it back

I got a black 2000 Protege LX and im getting glossy black rims with chrome lip. i want to paint the calipers, but not sure if I should, and if i do, what color?

well i think if your car is balck, and your rims are black then u should have calipers that contrast and pop out more.

[Kansei]

If car is black and rims are black with sliver lip, try silver calipers? Might look really nice.

[hamidrizvi]

If car is black and rims are black with sliver lip, try silver calipers? Might look really nice.

Yea so far im leaning for silver as well. Paint some interior parts silver and go for the black and silver look. I was thinking about black w/blue, but i think silver would look better

[brittania81k]

My P5 is midnight blue and I am thinking about painting my calipers bright yellow. What do you guys think?

I am also considering painting the actual grill part of my grills yellow, leaving the mazda logo silver and the strip at the top of the upper grill midnight blue like the car. I think the dark blue and bright yellow could look cool together. I already got the paint for the calipers and am looking for the upper and lower grills to try it out on.

[slug420]

yellow grills on a blue car....that would go well with your tails at least

[chuyler1]

I want to see pictures of people's calipers after they have had them painted for a while. How does it hold up? Does it look gross with brake dust all over them (specifically those who chose a light color)?

[blynd_spy]

these are from a couple seconds ago, been painted for about 9 1/2 months. the brake dust only is noticable in the creveses and only if looking at them closer than a foot or two

[garretts77]

I want to see pictures of people's calipers after they have had them painted for a while. How does it hold up? Does it look gross with brake dust all over them (specifically those who chose a light color)?

I painted mine silver. Silver car, silver wheels, silver calipers. I also did the inside of the rotor. not the shiny part, but the part near the hub. Mine were done two years ago with high temp aluminum colored spray. I painted them with a brush and some Q-tips, one coat, and it held up fine. Nobody ever noticed them (because they were silver, and I didn't want them to stand out) but I mainly did it to cover the rust on the rotors. I say do it. If you don't like it, you can always paint it black...

[MP3Architect]

Brake dust DOES get on the calipers. but if you painted it well then all you have to do is clean off the dust everytime you clean your cars wheels tires etc and you'll be fine. the first pic was the day i painted the calipers (last july) and the second pic was how they look 5 min ago. Just a little dust. nothin a kid with small hands couldn't get. hehehehehehehe......


http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/10/web/646000-646999/646374_11_full.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/MP3Architect/DSC01330.JPG

[Volley2six]

Old post...Just wanted to post another recommendation for G2 paint. I painted my calipers for the 2nd time (3 replacements left my car looking very awkward). One red caliper, one yellow caliper (from a P5 that saved my a$$), and 2 stock grey calipers that were replaced a few months ago. G2 performed great as usual. The kit comes with brake cleaner which I forgot about - nice suprise. All I had to do was buy the wire brush drill attachment I lost and make sure to stir the paint and store it in a cool place while the first 2 dryed. Looks amazing again. Great easy mod.

[IAMHOLLYWOOD]

subin... added to the to do list

[snooky]

its that time of the year again, had to paint my calipers again, heres some pix..

[99ProtegeKV]

subbin for next weekend's project =]

[snooky]

good luck post pix!