Painted Calipers/Decals etc.
09-06-2005, 01:06 AM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 189
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Painted Calipers/Decals etc.
Hi all,
I know this has been covered, but I thought I would also share some info from my former haunt, PPBB, the Boxster forum. I would like to paint my calipers on the CS, have the paint, which I never wound up doing on the Box. I even have the decals, which appear to be way too small for the CS. I am hoping someone can tell me what size the decals are? I've emailed Rich at Xenonmods.com.
Link to some great DIY from PPBB.
http://www.briantobin.org/gallery/Brake-Caliper-Paint
Post from PPBB...
OK, here it goes. The procedure and tips I have from my little adventure in painting.
First of all, the disclaimer. If you are not comfortable working on your brakes do not attempt this as you will be working on and around a very important part of your car, the brake calipers.
Second part. You get what you pay for. I used the G2 brake caliper set from performance products. This kit is great and leaves no brush marks. It was about $50 bucks.
Next I used the prospeedmotorsport hi-temp caliper decals(see link). These are used by prospeed motorsport when they rebuild porsche calipers. I also used Krylon acrylic clear(non yellowing) spray paint as recommended by prospeed motosport to protect the decals.
So here's my material list.
-G2 brake caliper kit (in black for my case) $50
-2 pairs of prospeed motorsport's porsche caliper decals $40(I bought 4 pair just in case)
-1 can Krylon Acrylic clear, non yellowing spray paint $4
-1 can of laquer thinner(to clean the supplied G2 brush, even though the brush looks like a cheap 1.49 for a pack of four brushes it's not I tried them and they kept leaving brissles in the paint I had to pick out, so I cleaned the included brush between wheels). $3
-Masking tape (2-3" wide, easy release) The blue stuff $7
-Wire brush $3
-3 extra cans of brake cleaner(non clorinated) $12
-jack stands $20
-Wheel Chock $6
-bag of terry cloth towels $15
-goggles $5
-1 bag of rubber/surgical gloves $5
-floor jack $50-500 you choose
-1/2 torque wrench set to 130nm(96ft/lbs) $60
-19mm socket 1/2 $?
-5" 1/2 socket extension $?
-1/2 socket wrench $?
-1 glass jar about the size of a baby food jar
-a watch, timer or sundial
-big piece of cardboard to mask the wheel well when you spray the clear
-newspaper to protect the driveway/garage floor
-Patience $priceless
Step 1: Practice, practice, practice. Well what do I mean. The G2 kit is a very similar to technology used in nail polish. When applied correctly the brush marks dissapear as the paint dries and the gloss appears.
Well you may ask how do you practice. You need a volunteer and use a colour similar to the G2 kit you ordered, also use cheap nail polish it will make you better as the cheap polish leaves brush lines when applied poorly. A wife, girlfriend, daughter or if you are so inclined, your self, will do( Our female boxster owners have no excuse for not having perfectly manicured boxster calipers).
Also go look at another porsche who's calipers are painted by the factory(i.e. neighbor's, dealer's or your other car if you are so lucky)
Step 2: Set the parking brake, insert the wheel chocks on the opposite side you will be working on. Remove the "lug bolt" key from the front trunk storage, you will need this on one special lug bolt per wheel. Then start jacking up the car on one side, but before the tires completly leave the ground, break loose using the 19mm socket(side note:Mine's rubber coated on the outside to prevent scratching the rim, not necessary but prevents accidents) the lug nuts on one side of the car. Remember to use the star pattern to remove the torque evenly
Step 3: Finish jacking up that side of the car, use the recommended rear jack point and place a jack under the front point and under a support bracket in the back and lowered the car on the stands(never support the car for an extended period of time on a jack alone.) Leave the jack in place as an extra measure of safety.
Step 4: Using the 1/2 socket wrench and your 19mm socket finish removing(using the star pattern) the lug bolts from the front rim and remove it. Put the rim out of the way for now. Repeat for the rear rim on that side.
Step 5: Check everything is secure (i.e. jack stands.)
Step 6: Put on your goggles, learned this one the hard way, brake cleaner is not fun to get splattered in your eyes. Also put on the rubber gloves, don't want to ruin the nice manacure you put on in step 1. Also put the newspaper under the wheels.
Step 7: Start with short bursts and spray and wet down one caliper with the brake cleaner(clean only one caliper at a time) Using the wire brush, scrub the caliper constantly wetting it down in the area you are working. Note: This is the most important part, nothing should come between your caliper and the paint. The using the terry cloth towels, rub the caliper until there is no risidual dirt or dust. You must clean every part of the caliper that will accept paint. Note: You will not be painting the brake pads, so don't scrub them)
Step 8: Repeat step 7 on the same caliper
Step 9: Repeat step 7 & 8 on the other caliper.
Step 10: Spray the calipers both down again and wipe with a clean terry cloth towel to veryify they are clean. You may remove the goggles and put on clean rubber gloves.
Step 11: Masking time for both calipers. Use the maksing tape to cover the parts of the rotor that are near the caliper, the brake pads and anything else you don't want to paint. Also I popped off the brake bleeder screw's rubber covers and masked the tip of the screws and was just careful not to paint the rubber.
Step 12: Mix 1/2 of the supplied paint with 1/2 of the supplied reactor in the glass jar( The other half will be used for the other side), note this stuff hardends really quick and if the temperature outside is in excess of 70 degrees you will need to mix 1/4 and 1/4 of the paint/hardener and only work on one caliper at a time and also use a new jar each mix.
Step 13: Stir for about 1 minute and then let sit for 5 minutes then stir again for 1 minute. The paint will bubble during this process it's ok.
Step 14: Apply using the supplied brush, the paint smoothly in long even strokes all the visible areas caliper using a thin, but covering amount of paint. You should remember to paint the tube that runs at the bottom of the caliper from one side to the other (the factory ones are painted). Brush out any drips, Then wait 15 minutes, stirring the paint every 5 minutes if you are doing one caliper at a time.
If you are doing 2 at a time, note the time you completed this task and paint the second caliper as in step 14. Note the time you completed the other caliper. If the 15 minutes are up proceed to the next step.
Step 15: The second coat, this should be a good covering coat with just enough paint to cover the caliper, but not enough to drip. Smooth out any bubbles and short brush strokes. The brush strokes will dissappear as the paint dries if you use long smooth strokes. If it is time, you may now repeat this step for the other caliper.
Step 16: Wait another 15-20 minutes and apply the 3rd coat to each caliper.
Step 17: Clean the supplied brush with laquer thinner(you'll need it for the other side of the car) and Wait 2-3 hours for the paint to cure (2 hours in 70 degree weather, 3 in 60 degree weather) Trust me I know it was 60 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon.
Step 18: Being very careful, there is no second chance at this, center and apply the porsche decal. It was very helpful the paint was so glossy as the reflection helped me guide it decal on. Note: The porsche should be read upright if the caliper is placed on it's rotor accepting slot. Note: it may leave a small line on the caliper around where the sticker decal application paper was. This is fine as the clear spray will smooth this out.
Step 19: Note: at this step the caliper's look great and are very shiny. However to protect the caliper decals and to give them a more factory and less boy racer look, I applied, as recommended, for the Krylon clear paint. I first used the carboard to mask off the wheel well(I just held it in place) and then just using a light spray 10"-12" from the caliper I just sprayed enough to cover the surface of the caliper where the decal is with a light coat. I waited 15 minutes and repeated the step.
Wait 15 minutes and the caliper is now done and should have a professional glossy satin look, almost like the caliper is coated in a glossy rubber.
Step 20: repeat for the other caliper
Step 21: Re-install the rims one at a time(you will need to be careful not scratch the caliper paint, first put the rim on the rotor's hub lip that holds it, put one bolt in to align it and hand tighten the lug bolts using the star pattern)
Step 22: Jack the car up so that the weight is no longer supported by the jack stands and remove the jack stands out of the way.
Step 23: Lower the car slowly until just enough pressure is on the front tire to prevent it from moving.
Step 24: Using the torque wrench set to 130nm and the star pattern, tighten the lug bolts on each rim until you hear the "click"
Step 25: Lower the jack completely and remove it.
Step 26: Do not touch or do anything with the newly painted calipers(i.e. use them, wash them or anything like driving the car) for 24 hours. You may however repeat everything for the other side of the car right away.
Step 27: 24 hours later, gawk at your handy work, smile and drive the car brakes hard for about 15 minutes to remove any paint that may have gotten where it should. And what I mean by hard is do 30mph and slamm on the brakes a few times. The do 50 and do the same. Please be aware of what is in front and behind you when you do this as for the first couple of times you may either brake faster or slower than you are used to so please only do this on empty roads.
After 15 minutes, let the calipers cool down. I then washed my whole car, but was careful not to hit the calipers with a full on blast of the hose just yet.
And that's it. One whole day's worth of work. Now for a day at the spa to go with my manicure...
I know this has been covered, but I thought I would also share some info from my former haunt, PPBB, the Boxster forum. I would like to paint my calipers on the CS, have the paint, which I never wound up doing on the Box. I even have the decals, which appear to be way too small for the CS. I am hoping someone can tell me what size the decals are? I've emailed Rich at Xenonmods.com.
Link to some great DIY from PPBB.
http://www.briantobin.org/gallery/Brake-Caliper-Paint
Post from PPBB...
OK, here it goes. The procedure and tips I have from my little adventure in painting.
First of all, the disclaimer. If you are not comfortable working on your brakes do not attempt this as you will be working on and around a very important part of your car, the brake calipers.
Second part. You get what you pay for. I used the G2 brake caliper set from performance products. This kit is great and leaves no brush marks. It was about $50 bucks.
Next I used the prospeedmotorsport hi-temp caliper decals(see link). These are used by prospeed motorsport when they rebuild porsche calipers. I also used Krylon acrylic clear(non yellowing) spray paint as recommended by prospeed motosport to protect the decals.
So here's my material list.
-G2 brake caliper kit (in black for my case) $50
-2 pairs of prospeed motorsport's porsche caliper decals $40(I bought 4 pair just in case)
-1 can Krylon Acrylic clear, non yellowing spray paint $4
-1 can of laquer thinner(to clean the supplied G2 brush, even though the brush looks like a cheap 1.49 for a pack of four brushes it's not I tried them and they kept leaving brissles in the paint I had to pick out, so I cleaned the included brush between wheels). $3
-Masking tape (2-3" wide, easy release) The blue stuff $7
-Wire brush $3
-3 extra cans of brake cleaner(non clorinated) $12
-jack stands $20
-Wheel Chock $6
-bag of terry cloth towels $15
-goggles $5
-1 bag of rubber/surgical gloves $5
-floor jack $50-500 you choose
-1/2 torque wrench set to 130nm(96ft/lbs) $60
-19mm socket 1/2 $?
-5" 1/2 socket extension $?
-1/2 socket wrench $?
-1 glass jar about the size of a baby food jar
-a watch, timer or sundial
-big piece of cardboard to mask the wheel well when you spray the clear
-newspaper to protect the driveway/garage floor
-Patience $priceless
Step 1: Practice, practice, practice. Well what do I mean. The G2 kit is a very similar to technology used in nail polish. When applied correctly the brush marks dissapear as the paint dries and the gloss appears.
Well you may ask how do you practice. You need a volunteer and use a colour similar to the G2 kit you ordered, also use cheap nail polish it will make you better as the cheap polish leaves brush lines when applied poorly. A wife, girlfriend, daughter or if you are so inclined, your self, will do( Our female boxster owners have no excuse for not having perfectly manicured boxster calipers).
Also go look at another porsche who's calipers are painted by the factory(i.e. neighbor's, dealer's or your other car if you are so lucky)
Step 2: Set the parking brake, insert the wheel chocks on the opposite side you will be working on. Remove the "lug bolt" key from the front trunk storage, you will need this on one special lug bolt per wheel. Then start jacking up the car on one side, but before the tires completly leave the ground, break loose using the 19mm socket(side note:Mine's rubber coated on the outside to prevent scratching the rim, not necessary but prevents accidents) the lug nuts on one side of the car. Remember to use the star pattern to remove the torque evenly
Step 3: Finish jacking up that side of the car, use the recommended rear jack point and place a jack under the front point and under a support bracket in the back and lowered the car on the stands(never support the car for an extended period of time on a jack alone.) Leave the jack in place as an extra measure of safety.
Step 4: Using the 1/2 socket wrench and your 19mm socket finish removing(using the star pattern) the lug bolts from the front rim and remove it. Put the rim out of the way for now. Repeat for the rear rim on that side.
Step 5: Check everything is secure (i.e. jack stands.)
Step 6: Put on your goggles, learned this one the hard way, brake cleaner is not fun to get splattered in your eyes. Also put on the rubber gloves, don't want to ruin the nice manacure you put on in step 1. Also put the newspaper under the wheels.
Step 7: Start with short bursts and spray and wet down one caliper with the brake cleaner(clean only one caliper at a time) Using the wire brush, scrub the caliper constantly wetting it down in the area you are working. Note: This is the most important part, nothing should come between your caliper and the paint. The using the terry cloth towels, rub the caliper until there is no risidual dirt or dust. You must clean every part of the caliper that will accept paint. Note: You will not be painting the brake pads, so don't scrub them)
Step 8: Repeat step 7 on the same caliper
Step 9: Repeat step 7 & 8 on the other caliper.
Step 10: Spray the calipers both down again and wipe with a clean terry cloth towel to veryify they are clean. You may remove the goggles and put on clean rubber gloves.
Step 11: Masking time for both calipers. Use the maksing tape to cover the parts of the rotor that are near the caliper, the brake pads and anything else you don't want to paint. Also I popped off the brake bleeder screw's rubber covers and masked the tip of the screws and was just careful not to paint the rubber.
Step 12: Mix 1/2 of the supplied paint with 1/2 of the supplied reactor in the glass jar( The other half will be used for the other side), note this stuff hardends really quick and if the temperature outside is in excess of 70 degrees you will need to mix 1/4 and 1/4 of the paint/hardener and only work on one caliper at a time and also use a new jar each mix.
Step 13: Stir for about 1 minute and then let sit for 5 minutes then stir again for 1 minute. The paint will bubble during this process it's ok.
Step 14: Apply using the supplied brush, the paint smoothly in long even strokes all the visible areas caliper using a thin, but covering amount of paint. You should remember to paint the tube that runs at the bottom of the caliper from one side to the other (the factory ones are painted). Brush out any drips, Then wait 15 minutes, stirring the paint every 5 minutes if you are doing one caliper at a time.
If you are doing 2 at a time, note the time you completed this task and paint the second caliper as in step 14. Note the time you completed the other caliper. If the 15 minutes are up proceed to the next step.
Step 15: The second coat, this should be a good covering coat with just enough paint to cover the caliper, but not enough to drip. Smooth out any bubbles and short brush strokes. The brush strokes will dissappear as the paint dries if you use long smooth strokes. If it is time, you may now repeat this step for the other caliper.
Step 16: Wait another 15-20 minutes and apply the 3rd coat to each caliper.
Step 17: Clean the supplied brush with laquer thinner(you'll need it for the other side of the car) and Wait 2-3 hours for the paint to cure (2 hours in 70 degree weather, 3 in 60 degree weather) Trust me I know it was 60 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon.
Step 18: Being very careful, there is no second chance at this, center and apply the porsche decal. It was very helpful the paint was so glossy as the reflection helped me guide it decal on. Note: The porsche should be read upright if the caliper is placed on it's rotor accepting slot. Note: it may leave a small line on the caliper around where the sticker decal application paper was. This is fine as the clear spray will smooth this out.
Step 19: Note: at this step the caliper's look great and are very shiny. However to protect the caliper decals and to give them a more factory and less boy racer look, I applied, as recommended, for the Krylon clear paint. I first used the carboard to mask off the wheel well(I just held it in place) and then just using a light spray 10"-12" from the caliper I just sprayed enough to cover the surface of the caliper where the decal is with a light coat. I waited 15 minutes and repeated the step.
Wait 15 minutes and the caliper is now done and should have a professional glossy satin look, almost like the caliper is coated in a glossy rubber.
Step 20: repeat for the other caliper
Step 21: Re-install the rims one at a time(you will need to be careful not scratch the caliper paint, first put the rim on the rotor's hub lip that holds it, put one bolt in to align it and hand tighten the lug bolts using the star pattern)
Step 22: Jack the car up so that the weight is no longer supported by the jack stands and remove the jack stands out of the way.
Step 23: Lower the car slowly until just enough pressure is on the front tire to prevent it from moving.
Step 24: Using the torque wrench set to 130nm and the star pattern, tighten the lug bolts on each rim until you hear the "click"
Step 25: Lower the jack completely and remove it.
Step 26: Do not touch or do anything with the newly painted calipers(i.e. use them, wash them or anything like driving the car) for 24 hours. You may however repeat everything for the other side of the car right away.
Step 27: 24 hours later, gawk at your handy work, smile and drive the car brakes hard for about 15 minutes to remove any paint that may have gotten where it should. And what I mean by hard is do 30mph and slamm on the brakes a few times. The do 50 and do the same. Please be aware of what is in front and behind you when you do this as for the first couple of times you may either brake faster or slower than you are used to so please only do this on empty roads.
After 15 minutes, let the calipers cool down. I then washed my whole car, but was careful not to hit the calipers with a full on blast of the hose just yet.
And that's it. One whole day's worth of work. Now for a day at the spa to go with my manicure...
09-07-2005, 11:16 AM
#4
Official Wednesday AM Red Bull F1 test driver
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I painted the calipers on both a Audi TT and Saab 9-3- at first I thought brushing it on sounded kind of childish, but if done right it looks pretty good and seems to hold up. As with most things, the prep is the most important. Another weekend project...
08-12-2015, 01:14 AM
#5
Track Day
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Mass
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Calipers painted - some other observations
I too have lusted for those beautiful turbo red calipers. My 2009 Base Pig has decent looking black calipers but they have faded to a gray finish. So I took the plunge knowing full well that I would get evil glances from the turbos (they give me those looks anyway) .. and that my lack of mechanical skills would be risking destruction of a Porsche ... nevertheless .. I ordered the Red Caliper spray paint and decals from Sun Coast Porsche.
I had painted calipers on two other cars (BMW 325i and a Honda Element) so I was familiar with the process .. but a Porsche requires a lot more attention to detail. Those cars were painted with a small brush. The results were still very good.
After about 30 minutes of figuring out how/where to jack up the car .. I started cleaning off the brake dust. Really not too bad .. a few passes with wheel cleaner, a brush and rag ... and they were clean, and left to dry with a fan and light. To apply spray paint I taped off everything and built a cardboard shield to keep any vapors in the wheel well and off of the car. I taped this to the inside top of the wheel well. Taping off is not too bad either .. you can cover the rotors and shock area with two old T-shirts. Then cut a square from an old t shirt to stuff into the top of the calipers where the pistons extend .. don't want to paint that area .. just the exterior surfaces.
I applied a thin coat of sanding primer to the main areas and after that dried I started with RED. Here I ran into some trouble .. despite the priming and preparation .. the paint did not stick to the surface in 25% of the painting area and in fact started to run causing drip marks. This caused me to spend over two hours with one caliper, spraying wiping, wait for drying, etc. and the coverage was still not 100%. The finish was OK, but IMHO not worth all the effort of taping and spraying. I decided to finish the other three with brush strokes.
I applied the decals to the dry surface. Let them set 10 minutes and then covered with a clear coat. Here I ran into trouble too .. after shaking the clear coat (per instructions) it comes out very white and full of bubbles ... and does not look glossy and clean. Thankfully after two more light coats the finished looked better and actually dried pretty clear and glossy. The RED paint was already pretty glossy so this step is not really needed .. but you have to cover the decal to get it look like it is part of the caliper and not a sticker. Painting complete, wheels back on.
The next three calipers were done with the brush and again .. IMHO is 90% as good as the one I did with spraying .. I don't think that 10% is worth the extra effort but your results may vary. I might have done better with more painting experience .. but I am happy with the results with the brush and it very easy to paint the areas carefully.
While you are waiting for the paint to dry in between coats ...
I took advantage of having the wheels off with a complete inside and out cleaning (great chance to get that internal brake dust off). I also used some rubbing compound to remove some dark scrapes and scratches on the wheels.
I also used a little compound in the crevices to get those nagging pit marks off. Finished with brake dust preventative and tire dressing and the wheels look good as they ever have.
Total Project time = 6 hours
Cost = $25 for paint and decals
Level of Effort = I am pretty tired
I had painted calipers on two other cars (BMW 325i and a Honda Element) so I was familiar with the process .. but a Porsche requires a lot more attention to detail. Those cars were painted with a small brush. The results were still very good.
After about 30 minutes of figuring out how/where to jack up the car .. I started cleaning off the brake dust. Really not too bad .. a few passes with wheel cleaner, a brush and rag ... and they were clean, and left to dry with a fan and light. To apply spray paint I taped off everything and built a cardboard shield to keep any vapors in the wheel well and off of the car. I taped this to the inside top of the wheel well. Taping off is not too bad either .. you can cover the rotors and shock area with two old T-shirts. Then cut a square from an old t shirt to stuff into the top of the calipers where the pistons extend .. don't want to paint that area .. just the exterior surfaces.
I applied a thin coat of sanding primer to the main areas and after that dried I started with RED. Here I ran into some trouble .. despite the priming and preparation .. the paint did not stick to the surface in 25% of the painting area and in fact started to run causing drip marks. This caused me to spend over two hours with one caliper, spraying wiping, wait for drying, etc. and the coverage was still not 100%. The finish was OK, but IMHO not worth all the effort of taping and spraying. I decided to finish the other three with brush strokes.
I applied the decals to the dry surface. Let them set 10 minutes and then covered with a clear coat. Here I ran into trouble too .. after shaking the clear coat (per instructions) it comes out very white and full of bubbles ... and does not look glossy and clean. Thankfully after two more light coats the finished looked better and actually dried pretty clear and glossy. The RED paint was already pretty glossy so this step is not really needed .. but you have to cover the decal to get it look like it is part of the caliper and not a sticker. Painting complete, wheels back on.
The next three calipers were done with the brush and again .. IMHO is 90% as good as the one I did with spraying .. I don't think that 10% is worth the extra effort but your results may vary. I might have done better with more painting experience .. but I am happy with the results with the brush and it very easy to paint the areas carefully.
While you are waiting for the paint to dry in between coats ...
I took advantage of having the wheels off with a complete inside and out cleaning (great chance to get that internal brake dust off). I also used some rubbing compound to remove some dark scrapes and scratches on the wheels.
I also used a little compound in the crevices to get those nagging pit marks off. Finished with brake dust preventative and tire dressing and the wheels look good as they ever have.
Total Project time = 6 hours
Cost = $25 for paint and decals
Level of Effort = I am pretty tired
