Question for those who painted calipers

[LambOfSilence]

I was going to paint my p5's calipers, then something suddenly hit me, where does all the brake dust go? upon closer observation, I found the caliper surface rough, therefore brake dust will for sure stay on them, (unlike brembos, smooth surface)

So for those who have painted their calipers, how long have you had them painted? and how do they look now? cause it will be a pain doing it every 3 months.

 

[ChefChris]

Mine have been painted for about three months and still look like the day I did it!

Classic Red P5

 

[melicha8]

I did mine as soon as I came home from the dealership and they look the same as the day I did them too

 

[MidnightP5]

Follow up question then.. for those of you who say they look brand new, what kind did you use and how much did you pay for it?

 

[YellowMP5]

I had mine done in january and they still look good. I would clean them with qtips but now i realized that spraying eagle one wheel cleaner will do the trick better than qtips. after spraying them and washing with water, they are very bright, especially when the sun hits them. mine are red.

i paid 15 for 2 cans of paint and brake dust cleaner and then paid $60 at the local shop to paint them. very nice and proffessional.

 

[MidnightP5]

Is it worth paying to have it done or just doing it yourself? If I do do it, I will do it myself. Unless it is 100% best to pay to have it done.

 

[adragonfly]

If you've got the tools, do it yourself. It's pretty simple. just make sure you cover everything around the calipers with newspaper and tape, clean your brakes with brake cleaner first, and then use a high temp spray paint. It was about $4 US to buy one can and you only need one. Here's a pic of mine. (The calipers are actually darker, but I think the flash made them look like this. They're closer to the car's color in real life).

 

[melicha8]

I used a can of high temp engine paint and a hobby brush. Costing me a grand total of 3.00

 

[Todd]

My friends told me that it is a pain in the ass to paint them. They have not done them so I dont know if they know what they are talking about, but they say you have to remove them and then bake them to get the paint on and I wont be able to use my car for a few days while they are drying. It sounds like it may not be this complicated at all. It sounds like you guys just paint them on the car and let it sit. Is this how its done?

Todd

 

[cjstringer]

Todd, your friends are hitting the pipe a little too hard. You can easliy paint them on the car. I plan on doing mine either later this week or next week. I am going to do it early evening and just let them sit overnight. Probably doesn't take that long, but it won't hurt. I'm also with the high-temp engine paint thing. Sound the easiest to me. I'll let you know when I get mine done, and I'll post some pics as I go through.
I might even do it tonight. I need to rotate my tires before this weekends race anyway. We'll see.

 

[MidnightP5]

cjstringer, let us know how it goes and indeed show pics. What color are you going to do?

 

[CharlieP5]

Anybody here paid for the G2 paint system averyone is talking about?
I just don't think it is worth the $60

Any comments on this?

 

[cjstringer]

I'm thinking red, but silver has also crossed my mind. I'll see what I can find at autozone this evening when I get off work. It's gonna rain tonight anyway. Might as well be in the garage farting around. Maybe I could do red and silver striped together. Hmm, how ricey can I get?

 

[adragonfly]

It doesn't even take an hour for the paint to dry if you use that high temp enginge paint. I did mine and drove off in an hour - nothing happened to them.

 

[MidnightP5]

adragonfly, do you have any pics from a little further out? i want to see what blue looks like on blue.

 

[ChopstickHero]

Calipers are a b**** to paint....
but do it when you have to take the tire off for some reason.
I installed eibach springs and painted my calipers at the same time. taking off the entire caliper helps alot... you get alot nicer.
it's true the surface of the caliper is rough, but that doesn't mean it's not going to look good.
to prep it, wipe off any brake dust, dirt, etc ... then spray Acetone on it to dissolve everything. let it dry. then i used Tremclad Rust Proof Paint called Fire Red. It's heat resistent and dries easily.
It was only $5.99 at Canadian Tire...
spray 2-3 coats on, allowing it to dry each time.

 

[adragonfly]

Sorry, Midnight, but the only pictures I have right now that are further out were taken before the calilpers were done. I can create a photoshop one for you if you're interested. Let me know what you want to see (red, blue, whatever) so I can get to work on that and post it for you. Or, you can wait until I take more pictures, which might not be for a while.

 

[Don]

I did the ones on my Miata (which I thrash a lot more than the P5) about 6 months ago, and they still look like new.

I used the standard Krylon (NOT high temp paint) in bright yellow (the car is red). There is a much better color selection in regular Krylon, than there is in high temp paint, and one would think if temperature was a problem, a color like yellow would show it first.

I did it as part of my usual tire rotation ritual. Removed the wheel, wire brushed the caliper, tied a WalMart bag around the rotor, used a couple small pieces of masking tape and sprayed the caliper and the bracket. Waited about 5 minutes, and gave it a second coat. Put the wheel back on.

Painting all 4 (and the tire rotation) took about 30 to 40 minutes.

Haven't done the ones on the P5 yet - Would probably have to compromise with the wife on the color

Don

 

[MidnightP5]

Thanks, I have PS and I will (when and if i get time, finals are coming up so i will be busy studying) "paint" my calipers that way. I don't mind waiting for any real ones however. I am leaning towards red or yellow to paint with. I appreciate the offer to PS it though, thanks.

 

[MidnightP5]

forgot to ask my question. Is it best to take it off first or just paint it with the caliper still on? i have heard many stories of those who took em off and those who left it on. What is best? best as in final product and time consumption.