Just wanted to try to post pics, I painted my calipers this weekend and think they look really good with my new wheels...let me know what you think...

 

Nice touch!!!!

 

one more...





The whole process took me about 5 hours to do because my calipers were pretty dirty (love all the brake dust from BMW brakes) and I just painted them while they were on the car so I was very careful to make sure the paint didn't get on anything I didn't want it to. For anyone thinking about doing this I say it's totally worth it and is a very nice low key mod...

 

Yah with a dark color wheel the painted caliper really stand out.

I did mine a week or so ago. I used a Duplicolor brush on kit.

 

looks great 311mini. I always tell all my friends with dark silver or black cars that red calipers look the best. I cant wait to get some wheels next year and paint the calipers red on my all red cooper s. Cheers.

 

I did this right after getting my car. Every few months I give them a little touch-up. In fact, I just re-did them today. The Duplicolor ceramic paint is extremely vivid, and easy to work with. There's enough in the can to do a million MINI's or to recoat them for the next thousand years. I picked the paint kit up from Advance for like $15.

This pic is from a while back.



Red is nice because it matches the "S" on the car's badges.


Also, the paint is very durable, and when washing the wheels, I can reach through and give the calipers a good wipe-down

 

Thanks guys, looks like I will be painting my rear Calipers to match my soon to be purchased (on national back order) JCW big brake kit.

Question for you Tarzan .... Did you remove the caliper or just remove spring clip? Your paint job looks great.

Nice

 

looks very nice 311mini . What paint did you use to paint them? Since you didn't take the brakes off the car, did you just mask around the brake and paint them extra carefully? I'm planning on doing this in about a week or two so this would really help me out. Someone should write up a how-to. Thanks.

 

I discovered Duplicolor's yellow was too "canary". I used a German
product called Folia Tec that can be found at performance auto parts
stores. They make several different colors other than the standards, and
the "Speed Yellow" turned out nicely. Just use a small brush and take your
time, and there is no need to disassemble anything.

 

Pictoral "how-to":

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=12140


And if you really want to do it right:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...+brake+caliper

 

When I first painted them, I disassembled them (leaving the brake line connected and letting it hang) but in retrospect the job can be done flawlessly without removing the caliper, just extracting the spring clip. That's all I do when touching them up.

 

Bizzles, I didn't even mask off, I was just really careful and went really slow with a fine brush in the tight areas. I didn't even take off the clips, I just did my best to go around them...I can post some tighter shots tonight.

Speaking of the clips, Tarzan, how do you take them off? If they're really easy to take off, then that would make it much easier...

I got my paint from below...it's called the G2 kit and comes with brake cleaner and paint because the calipers need to be as clean as possible to make sure the paint adheres to them...

http://wheelskin.com/Merchant2/merch...+CALIPER+PAINT

I've used this same kit on 4 other daily driven cars and after years of driving the calipers still look really nice, this is the cheapest place I could find for it....

 

No Orange.

 

Personally, in my opinion, the only color the calipers should be painted is red. My rationale is that no matter what the color of the Z06, the calipers are always red...same goes for alot of ferraris and porsches...but everyone has their own opinion..

 

Yes, the clips simply extract straight outward. You can just pluck them off with your finger, or pop them out with a twist of a flathead screwdriver.

They hook into two holes--upper and lower, and are held there by the flex of the clip under mild tension.

To reinstall them, wait for the paint to dry then line the hook ends back up with the two holes and flex one end until they slip back in.

 

I like the painted calipers myself

 

Why? In fact, why paint them at all? Other than bling?

 

I really hope you dont think there is a performance gain from these things

Obviously people do it for bling. They look good and make them easier to clean. There is nothing wrong with making aesthetic mods to your car :smile:

 

All I can say is OUTSTANDING


Hello Advance Auto! Any problems with chipping ect??

 

Not if you do it right. The instructions are right on cue and its super easy Overtime like most paint it will fade and need repainting. Just make sure you give it enough time to dry and cure.

 

Speak for yourself







BTW, great looking mini Tarzan!

 

I was serious. I didn't know why people would want to do that,.

I got nothing against Bling. Bling is good.

 

Painted calipers rock




Now I gotta do the backs to match the front! You guys are motivating me....


Right now the calipers are brand new i nthe back, so they should be easy to clean and paint...

 

I have a question. Since I'm almost always looking for the cheapest alternative, can I use high-temp paint (Which is like $4) and Brakleen to clean the calipers before painting? The Duplicolor hi-temp claims to be OK for up to like 1200 degrees or something!

 

But you got Brembos that come from the factory like that ... I thought the others didn't have a big brake kit but I could be wrong?