Big Reds--Almost (pics)
09-29-2002, 02:51 AM
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Big Reds--Almost (pics)
I finally got around to painting the calipers on my S2. I am very happy with the results. It was easier than I thought. I did it with the calipers still on the car. I spent about 45 minutes a wheel. Most of the time was cleaning and prep for the paint. The Pic below is of the rear. On the S2 the front calipers have a raised PORSCHE logo and the rears have no raised logo, just a painted PORSCHE script.
For the fonts I painted over the raised logo and after the paint had dried I took my dremel and sanded the paint off the raised letter to reveal the shiny aluminum underneath.
For the rears I had planned to purchase the PORSCHE stencil. I had the time this night to do it and had not yet got the stencil, so decided to make my own. I found a font on my computer that matched pretty close the existing script on the rears. I printed out on an Emery Label sticky back sheet then cut the letters out with a xacto and presto homemade stencil. After letting the paint set up for about 4 hours, I put my stencil on and sprayed with 1200f degree white, below are the results. If I do decide to get the official stencil I can always just re-paint that 2" x 1/2" area red and re-stencil the white.
I have more pics at my rennlist gallery page. (see my sig) If anyone needs some advice on this I would be glad to help. I am very pleased with the results. After 2 days the red paint looks OEM. I went to my local dealer and compared it with a new c4. SAME SAME. It is thick and smooth; logo different though.
Before:
After:
'02 Boxster S with New PORSCHE script; this stencil can be puchased for $6:
For the fonts I painted over the raised logo and after the paint had dried I took my dremel and sanded the paint off the raised letter to reveal the shiny aluminum underneath.
For the rears I had planned to purchase the PORSCHE stencil. I had the time this night to do it and had not yet got the stencil, so decided to make my own. I found a font on my computer that matched pretty close the existing script on the rears. I printed out on an Emery Label sticky back sheet then cut the letters out with a xacto and presto homemade stencil. After letting the paint set up for about 4 hours, I put my stencil on and sprayed with 1200f degree white, below are the results. If I do decide to get the official stencil I can always just re-paint that 2" x 1/2" area red and re-stencil the white.
I have more pics at my rennlist gallery page. (see my sig) If anyone needs some advice on this I would be glad to help. I am very pleased with the results. After 2 days the red paint looks OEM. I went to my local dealer and compared it with a new c4. SAME SAME. It is thick and smooth; logo different though.
Before:
After:
'02 Boxster S with New PORSCHE script; this stencil can be puchased for $6:
09-29-2002, 03:48 PM
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I used a spray epoxy for use on calipers. It is heat rated to 900f. I used 4 coats. The first 2 very light and I allowed it to dry for about 15 minutes between coats that last 2 where heavier but even. As the epoxy sets up is start to flow and fill in. It makes for a very professional finish, similar to powder coating.
The brand is VHT, color is sp-731 racing red. I found it at a local hod rod shop. I used about a 1/4 can per caliper.
BTW I located the PORSCHE script font for download if you are interested.
<a href="http://members.tripod.com/early944/" target="_blank">Porsche Font</a>
The brand is VHT, color is sp-731 racing red. I found it at a local hod rod shop. I used about a 1/4 can per caliper.
BTW I located the PORSCHE script font for download if you are interested.
<a href="http://members.tripod.com/early944/" target="_blank">Porsche Font</a>
10-01-2002, 01:25 AM
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Sorge--Thanks for the compliments.
This was one of the first things that I did to my S2 after I purchased it. I painted these myself. I wrote a long "how to" on rennlist several months ago. Here is what I wrote:
I tried to remove the lenses from the housing first. I read up on all the tricks, but it just did not seem to work. Rather than risk cracking a $80 lens I decided to mask and paint while the lenses where still on the car.
The first thing I did was to decide what design I wanted. I still wanted to retain the white reverse lights for safety reasons and I wanted to stay close to the original esthetic of the car. Too modified looks too obvious. After coming up with the look on a digital photo of the lights. I went to the local hobby shop and bought some Testors Candy Apple Red Transparent spray. I tested this on an empty plastic milk jug to see the color. It was pretty pink red. I was worried about it looking strange on the car. I masked off one section of the lens and sprayed. It turned out great, so I moved to doing the whole Light.
First thing was to lightly sand the entire light. This gives a good bonding surface for the paint.(This is not high quality paint, it needs a bit of babying)
You will notice that each lens, left and right, is made up of several smaller lens. Each section is bonded all the way around each lens. This creates a shadow around each section, almost a black/gray box. In order to be consistent with this look I wanted to replicate this box in my new smaller white section. I masked off a small section of the white light with a 1/4" surround. I painted it black. It created the 1/4" black box around the section that would remain white.
I then masked off the entire light and put on several light coats. I painted over the 1/4" black box with the red to match the appearance of the other lenses. This worked great. You can still see the dark color underneath and it looks nearly identical to the other lenses. Almost as is the new small white area is a separate lens.
One thing I notice was the spray tip on the Testors Red was not atomizing the paint evenly.(This common with cheap paint) After one coat I took the spray nozzle off and switched it for a good one off a high quality clear coat can from my collection of old paint. I tested it and it made a huge difference in the application. The paint still did not want to sit down evenly. I had one sag. It was easy to fix. I cleaned the one section of lens with a mild solvent and sprayed again. Several light coats work best. I believe I used 4 light coats to get the color and finish that I wanted. The first couple of coats look opaque and cheap. The last two even coats filled in and gave a nice factory look.
The formally all white lens lights up red in reverse in the upper section, while the small masked off white section glows white. Perfect for what I was going for.
This was one of the first things that I did to my S2 after I purchased it. I painted these myself. I wrote a long "how to" on rennlist several months ago. Here is what I wrote:
I tried to remove the lenses from the housing first. I read up on all the tricks, but it just did not seem to work. Rather than risk cracking a $80 lens I decided to mask and paint while the lenses where still on the car.
The first thing I did was to decide what design I wanted. I still wanted to retain the white reverse lights for safety reasons and I wanted to stay close to the original esthetic of the car. Too modified looks too obvious. After coming up with the look on a digital photo of the lights. I went to the local hobby shop and bought some Testors Candy Apple Red Transparent spray. I tested this on an empty plastic milk jug to see the color. It was pretty pink red. I was worried about it looking strange on the car. I masked off one section of the lens and sprayed. It turned out great, so I moved to doing the whole Light.
First thing was to lightly sand the entire light. This gives a good bonding surface for the paint.(This is not high quality paint, it needs a bit of babying)
You will notice that each lens, left and right, is made up of several smaller lens. Each section is bonded all the way around each lens. This creates a shadow around each section, almost a black/gray box. In order to be consistent with this look I wanted to replicate this box in my new smaller white section. I masked off a small section of the white light with a 1/4" surround. I painted it black. It created the 1/4" black box around the section that would remain white.
I then masked off the entire light and put on several light coats. I painted over the 1/4" black box with the red to match the appearance of the other lenses. This worked great. You can still see the dark color underneath and it looks nearly identical to the other lenses. Almost as is the new small white area is a separate lens.
One thing I notice was the spray tip on the Testors Red was not atomizing the paint evenly.(This common with cheap paint) After one coat I took the spray nozzle off and switched it for a good one off a high quality clear coat can from my collection of old paint. I tested it and it made a huge difference in the application. The paint still did not want to sit down evenly. I had one sag. It was easy to fix. I cleaned the one section of lens with a mild solvent and sprayed again. Several light coats work best. I believe I used 4 light coats to get the color and finish that I wanted. The first couple of coats look opaque and cheap. The last two even coats filled in and gave a nice factory look.
The formally all white lens lights up red in reverse in the upper section, while the small masked off white section glows white. Perfect for what I was going for.
10-01-2002, 01:39 AM
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After much thought and diliberation I decided to re-do the porsche script on my calipers. I was impatient and decided to do my own stencil again. This time I downloaded the correct font and cut out a new one. As you can see it turned out much better than the first attempt. Only problem-- I did it backwards. The letters are upside down. They should read PORSCHE top to bottom not bottom up. Oh well--
10-05-2002, 08:36 PM
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Jrock,
What you said about S2 calipers being different front to rear...raised "porsche" font on the fronts and a "vinyl decal" on the rear...Not true. It depends on the year of the calipers. Later S2's all had the decal front and rear. The earlier 4 piston calipers had the raised "porsche" logo. Someone probably replaced your front calipers at some point in the car's lifetime. Being a 1990, I am pretty sure your car should have the decals all the way around. Not that it matters...I just thought I would point it out.
BTW, you did a great job painting those calipers. I painted my valve cover also. My car is white with cobalt blue so I painted the valve cover cobalt blue with white porsche letters.
Later, Max
What you said about S2 calipers being different front to rear...raised "porsche" font on the fronts and a "vinyl decal" on the rear...Not true. It depends on the year of the calipers. Later S2's all had the decal front and rear. The earlier 4 piston calipers had the raised "porsche" logo. Someone probably replaced your front calipers at some point in the car's lifetime. Being a 1990, I am pretty sure your car should have the decals all the way around. Not that it matters...I just thought I would point it out.
BTW, you did a great job painting those calipers. I painted my valve cover also. My car is white with cobalt blue so I painted the valve cover cobalt blue with white porsche letters.
Later, Max
