Painting Brake Calipers

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:26 pm

Over the extra long Melbourne Cup Weekend down here in Vic I took the opportunity to paint the brake calipers on my BRG NA8 MX5.
After watching a few You Tube videos for some pointers I decided it was a cheap way to add a little dash of colour to the car.
Being BRG with tan interior I opted for VHT Gold Brake Caliper Paint. Topped with some clear coat for added protection and a little depth.

Despite what any grease remover says, I only know of one true way to clean up 16 years of rust and grime. And that's plenty of elbow grease. After a high pressure water clean and some degreaser I then got to work with a special grit-impregnated nylon circular brush fitted to a drill. I found that worked well. Some videos suggested sand blasting. Which is probably loads quicker, but seeing as I have neither a compressor not a sand blaster that was going to add a fair bit of cost to what I wanted to be a low budget exercise.

2013 11 MX5 75 - Fronts before cleaning.JPG

2013 11 MX5 76 - Fronts after cleaning.JPG

I used a small paint brush style circular rotating wire brush head for the stubborn corners. My advice is to safely sit the car on stands with all wheels removed and do this first cleaning stage in the garage. Then mask up and leave it overnight so you can start fresh on the painting the next day.

2013 11 MX5 77 - Fronts masked.JPG

2013 11 MX5 84 - Front with gold and clear.JPG

After leaving it overnight for the paint to fully dry out, I then set out into the Dandenong Ranges and onto my favourite twisty country roads for some spirited driving that was intended to heat up the brakes nicely to effect the curing. I am sure my better half thought that sounded like just an excuse to escape and enjoy a sunny days drive!

2013 11 MX5 88 - Front wheels on.JPG

Now I just need some new black wheels to go properly with the gold calipers.

tescoking · Postby **tescoking** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:38 am

Hi, how many layer did you spray? after putting up the colour do you need to put anything else to protect the paint? like clear coat to keep the paint last longer?

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:00 am

tescoking wrote:Hi, how many layer did you spray? after putting up the colour do you need to put anything else to protect the paint? like clear coat to keep the paint last longer?

I sprayed 3 coats of gold and 3 coats of clear. Time will tell how well that wears.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:02 am

do VHT recommend a clear coat?

Smacca · Postby **Smacca** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:09 am

Hey, good write up on the prep. I'm keen to see a photo of the gold caliper against the BRG body out in sunlight.

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:36 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:do VHT recommend a clear coat?

They do recommend clear as optional. Originally I was not going to, but the 3 hours "investment" in effort to clean properly changed my mind. Fortunately we are a 3 car family, so popping out wasn't a problem.

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:37 pm

Smacca wrote:Hey, good write up on the prep. I'm keen to see a photo of the gold caliper against the BRG body out in sunlight.

Good idea, I will take an outside shot this weekend and post.

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:40 pm

Common suggestion is to spray lightly and use more coats rather than fewer thick coats. Helps prevent running. Obviously there was more paper over the car than what you saw in the photo. I just didn't post those photos.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:59 pm

I don't think a clearcoat is a good idea unless the clear is just as heat resistant as the paint.

I painted the calipers of a car years ago, and they've held up well.
The paint is still glossy (when cleaned anyway) and hasn't chipped at all. (I painted them black, so can't say if they have discoloured or not)

I the VHT stuff and applied it with a brush (sprayed some into a jar, left it for a minute to gas out, then brushed it on)

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 1:17 pm

Yes confirming it was the VHT Brake Caliper clear (so heat resistent).
Given the surface texture I would expect a good brush and steady hand would probably yield a similar result. It would save on all the masking too.

tescoking · Postby **tescoking** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 2:51 pm

I will paint it red for extra 25kwhp:D

tescoking · Postby **tescoking** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 3:33 pm

How long did you spend for the project? I don't have another car at home, so I would like to know how long do I leave my car for?

OzGuvnor · Postby **OzGuvnor** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 4:38 pm

tescoking wrote:How long did you spend for the project? I don't have another car at home, so I would like to know how long do I leave my car for?

I dont rush as I have a pesky back and neck when it comes to tasks like this. I was quite fussy with the cleaning; I spent 3 hours on that (sand blasting is the quickest method though if you have access). About 1 to 1.5 hours masking (in order to spray) though you could cut this back by going the brush route as someone else suggested. The painting took 2 minutes per wheel per coat with a 8 minute gap at the end of each to allow for drying. You do the math based on how many coats you want. Leave it 1 hour prior to replacing wheels. Plus 20 minutes either end to get the car on and off stands & removing/replacing wheels. You could do it in a full day, though I spanned 2 because I could.

Dont skimp on the preparation. I have painted enough to know that its 90% preparation and 10% painting.

tescoking · Postby **tescoking** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:37 pm

OzGuvnor wrote:
tescoking wrote:How long did you spend for the project? I don't have another car at home, so I would like to know how long do I leave my car for?

I dont rush as I have a pesky back and neck when it comes to tasks like this. I was quite fussy with the cleaning; I spent 3 hours on that (sand blasting is the quickest method though if you have access). About 1 to 1.5 hours masking (in order to spray) though you could cut this back by going the brush route as someone else suggested. The painting took 2 minutes per wheel per coat with a 8 minute gap at the end of each to allow for drying. You do the math based on how many coats you want. Leave it 1 hour prior to replacing wheels. Plus 20 minutes either end to get the car on and off stands & removing/replacing wheels. You could do it in a full day, though I spanned 2 because I could.

Dont skimp on the preparation. I have painted enough to know that its 90% preparation and 10% painting.

cool, thanks for the advise, I will try it on a weekend