Crimson Nape Racing

The recent talk about posers made me remember that I was going to update you guys on my brake caliper project now that they've been thru some real abuse (it also reminded me of Agro, but that's another story). I had the calipers off doing s/s lines and rotors, and decided to try the VHT caliper paint from the local parts place. I used 2 cans of yellow (4-5 coats), put on the stickers, and then a couple coats of clear. I baked them in the oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes (which did not make the wife happy). The baking was recommended on VHT's web site, but was not on the instructions on the cans. Anyway, it has been 2 years and 4 drivers ed events, and they look as good as new. Total cost was less than $50. The secret is the clear - I painted my T-reg brakes red w/o the clear, and they do not look nearly as good.

Don Plumley

That's sharp. Are the decals special to resist the heat?

ca993twin

Bob,

That looks great. I should really do that to Rufus... he REALLY needs yellow calipers. Do you simply mask off the innards while painting? You don't need to pull the pistons out, right? Want to fly out to Moorpark for a nice holiday?

drsh

They look brand new, not 2 years old, could you let me know a website I might order the paint and clear from.

cheers

Nickels

I did the same thing to my little reds, any Speed Shop or Auto Parts store has VHT spray. Install the decal (from e-bay) and then 2-3 coats of clear. The clear coat at the end is key. I used about the same number of light coats. Being lazy, I just removed the wheel off the car and did 1 caliper a night.

Crimson Nape Racing

Don - IIRC,the decals on ebay said "high heat", but they looked like regular vinyl to me.

Steve - I plugged the brake line holes with cork stoppers and taped off the inards, I did not take anything apart. I think I put wood between the calipers to prevent them from poping out if the fluid expanded in the heating process.

slant911

Is there any special prep that needs to take place prior to painting? Bead blasting or the sort?

pcar964

+1 I've been curious about that myself

Crimson Nape Racing

I sanded the flat part of the calipers lightly by hand to smooth out some of the peeling clear coat and cleaned them with brake cleaner. I don't remember if I had to sand down where the "Porsche" script was painted on the calipers, but 4-5 coats of paint do a lot to cover any blemishes or uneven spots. Other than removal, I didn't spend more than 5-10 min. each on prep.

Edward

When you say "removal," do you mean to say that you disconnected the caliper altogether, or just unbolted the caliper and masked the heck around the spray area. BTW, your calipers look great, but I'm even more lazy than you are

Edward

Flying Finn

Edward,

If he didn't remove them I wanna see the bigass oven his wife has!

Don Plumley

Taking them off really isn't that big of a deal. Probably a great opportunity to rebuild the calipers with new seals - if you track the car you might find that the caliber boots are cooked. I'm thinking about doing this over the "winter".

24FPS

oustanding diy / mod.... bet it was the best mod for under $50 around!

sweet job!

Nickels

You want to de-grease it well. I used brake cleaner. Sandpaper is too aggressive. 00 or 000 Steel wool gets the "shine" off the calipers so that it will accept the new paint and then clean it up again w/brake cleaner or mineral spirits. I used a cardboard box to fill up the wheel area to prevent over-spray, car cover, and alot of blue tape. The over-spray easily comes off w/mineral spirits because you will get some on the rotors. The sooner you clean up the area, the easier it is to come off.

jimq

I also used a citrus based cleaner for final cleanup then mineral spirits imediatly before painting. Looks as new a year later on my car. That baked on break dust is not easy to remove!