Brake Caliper Painting

[Frishkorn]

Alright so let's get started on this!



I used the Dupli-Color Caliper Paint. You can buy this just about anywhere and it retails for $20 USD. It's enough to paint about 12 brake calipers! Comes with caliper cleaner.

First thing first, and I'm sure you are aware that you'll need a low-profile jack to lift this car. If you've never jacked it before, don't be concerned but she'll creak like a SOB when jacking it from the front. I've never encountered this before with other vehicles, but I spoke with several people and they had the same thing happen. The proper front jacking point is the metal area between the plastic front bumper and plastic brush guard. It will match your body color. The rear end is jacked from the pumpkin for the rear differential. It has two nice "flanges" that hang down vertically and line up really good with the jack surface. I did mine one at a time, rear first then front. But you could jack all four, it's up to you. I put jack stands in the rear at the recommended spots in front of the rear tires. These are noted by two u-shaped notches. When it came to the front I didn't want to raise it too much, and found that the tow strap hooks (same place the strap the car to a dyno) work very well as jack stand points. Just make sure they are steady when you drop the car on the jack stands, before letting your jack down.

Once you've got either one or both sides lifted, remove the wheels and tires. I would recommend disassembling the following items before you clean them. Makes it easier to get into all those nooks and crannies! I would place all these parts so you know which go where (Inner, Outer, Bottom, Top). They are the same pieces, but I've found it makes re-assembly much easier. There are only 2 14mm bolts that hold the caliper body on. Remove these two bolts which are located on the inner side and the caliper body will slide right off (the bolts weren't as tight as you think they would be, this is normal). There is no need to remove the brake lines, so you won't have to bleed the brakes, just set the caliper body carefully anywhere where it won't slide off. This will expose the brake pads. The brake pads just slide out away from the rotor, there are two brake pads. Next remove the two pad clips. At this point you're ready to start cleaning. I left my caliper bodies off while cleaning to make it easier. Just be mindful of the brake lines while cleaning.




Before you start masking, make sure they are as clean as you can get them. This will help with the overall painting process down the line. I noticed when the brake dust touches the paint, it can start to drip and make the paint turn darker, making you apply more coats. If you have access to a dremel or air compressor, get yourself a rotary wire brush. I used an air compressor with an attachment and this made the cleaning process so much easier! First remove any loose brake dust with an air compressor if you have one. Then spray the brake caliper with the provided caliper cleaner and use an old toothbrush to get the majority of easy stuff off. Clean up anything hard to remove by spraying more caliper cleaner and using the rotary wire brush. These caliper bodies and support brackets are burly, so you don't have to be too delicate with the rotary wire brush. I would also spray it down one last time and use a rag to wipe off any remaining grime and dust. Once you're done and everything is as clean as you can get it, it's time to mask.

Mask the rotor and hub where the support bracket sits first, while leaving off the caliper body. Once you've got the rotor masked off, put the caliper body back on and just hand tighten the two bolts so that it's steady but not torqued down. Finish off masking the bleed nipple, pin boots, and caliper body bolts. I also masked off the brake line slightly near the caliper and the brake rotor inner cover near the caliper, but this depends on how steady your hands are. Never hurts to mask too much!



Now you're ready for paint! Painting should be done by hand. I didn't like the brushes that were included in the kit. I went to a hobby store and bought a medium and a small brush. The biggest thing to pay attention to when painting is this is ceramic paint. It'll take over 5 days to dry completely but can become "tacky", so make sure to stir the can occasionally while painting. Once you've finished the caliper let it sit for 15 - 20 minutes before adding any additional coats. This is a good time to move to the opposite side and start doing it. Never let the caliper sit too long though (no more then an hour), otherwise you'll have to wait all five days until you can retouch. Once you're happy that it's looking good I would let it dry for at least an hour but two if you can wait it out. It's best to tell if its dry enough to handle by touching a part that you can't see, just in case you leave a small finger print if it's not dry enough. It might feel a little sticky, but it shouldn't be tacky (pull away material stuck to your finger). I cleaned my pads clips with steel wool, hot water, and soap while I waited for the calipers to dry.



Once it's all dry you can remove the caliper body, install the two pad clips, install the two brake pads, and re-install the caliper body. Tighten the two bolts. Put your wheels back on and enjoy!




It takes five days for them to fully dry, but since they are ceramic they'll dry enough on the outside for driving purposes. I would just wait 5 days before using a pressure washer on them. I let my car sit for 24 hours and took it on some spirited driving through some twisties with a couple buddies and their 86's the next day. The brakes were fine.

Hope this helps, let me know if there is anything I didn't cover!

[D_Thissen]

Nice write up, but some of the pics are 'X'

[Frishkorn]

Originally Posted by D_Thissen

Nice write up, but some of the pics are 'X'

They are hosted on imgur. They all display for me at the moment. Wonder if their servers are being finicky. I'll double check the embed code.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Frishkorn

They are hosted on imgur. They all display for me at the moment. Wonder if their servers are being finicky. I'll double check the embed code.

You need to add the file extension to your links.

[Frishkorn]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

You need to add the file extension to your links.

Somehow the links got duplicated but didn't have the extension. Fixed, thanks guys for pointing it out.