Painted Brake Calipers

[MarkVII88]

This weekend, I got around to painting the brake calipers on my Mazda5 Sport. I used a G2 Brake Caliper Painting Kit. Bought for around $45 (including shipping). It's a 2-part epoxy formula that is brushed on. I chose black because my Mazda5 is a pearl white color and I thought, since I'm 32 years old, that a more flamboyant color was a bit childish. Besides I have black rims and the black, I think, is very tasteful. The epoxy brushed on pretty nicely after using a can of brake cleaner and a brush to remove any brake dust residue from the calipers. I'm happy with the look of the calipers, being a gloss finish. It's sharp and it's understated.........sleeper!

 

[DougNuts]

Looks real nice

 

[Silentnoise713]

Looks good but seems a tad flat. How much did you use for all four calipers and how much was left? How long was the curing process? I debated (and again debating) applying the G2 paint when I move my brake parts over. I decided against it at the time b/c I deemed it too superficial and I had an understated silver and like you though bright colors was a tad flamboyant for my taste. Now that I have a Copper Red I am very tempted to do red and if there’s excess in the kit do the RSB too, but I don’t know how this stuff resists against flexing –I’m thinking it might not hold up well.

 

[MarkVII88]

Well, it's an epoxy and they tend to be pretty good at resisting hot and cold and all the swelling and contracting that occurs as items heat and cool. Not sure about the flexing of a sway bar, but I know power coating works well on those. According to the G2 product insert, once the reactor is mixed with the epoxy (4oz total volume) you have 3-4 hours to work with the product before it really starts to harden. After that, they recommend waiting at least 2 hours before putting wheels back on and waiting 24 hours before driving the car. I put on a pretty heavy first coat and then went back over the calipers again with a heavy second coat. It took a solid 2 hours and a lot of laying on my back to get all the hard-to-reach areas. I actually wish that they included a second little brush in the kit because by the time I was done with the first coat on all calipers, the brush included was pretty wispy and worn out. It was tough to apply the second coat and avoid getting any epoxy on the rotors. When I was finished I probably had a third of the product remaining in the can. I'm not sure now whether I should have kept going and done a third coat but I had done a lot of other non-car work earlier in the day and was pretty whipped. I think with a copper colored car, the dark red calipers would look nice. For a fee (basically double the cost) G2 will color match an epoxy paint kit for your car. Look to spend about $80-$90 for one of these.

Looks good but seems a tad flat. How much did you use for all four calipers and how much was left? How long was the curing process? I debated (and again debating) applying the G2 paint when I move my brake parts over. I decided against it at the time b/c I deemed it too superficial and I had an understated silver and like you though bright colors was a tad flamboyant for my taste. Now that I have a Copper Red I am very tempted to do red and if theres excess in the kit do the RSB too, but I dont know how this stuff resists against flexing Im thinking it might not hold up well.

 

[Secondtyme]

I like it! Now, if you find a Mazda symbol on Google Images and make a stencil, you could spray paint an "M" in white on your black calipers, that would look really nice!

 

[MAZDASPEED MX5]

I did our Mazda5 last year. Of course I went red.

 

[MarkVII88]

That would look nice. Great idea.