Painting
break calipers- the lazy way
This is how I painted my calipers, without removing them from wheels and without spraying (less masking to do). To be honest, if I had more know-how, I would remove the calipers and paint them with spray for a better/smoother finish. Then again, no-one can see them close enough up, unless they are your local friendly garage, or a thief stealing your wheels :-(
You will need:
1) A car... with wheels .... and with brakes
2) Break cleaner (spray) (HF~£5.00)
3) Wire brushes (HF-£3.00)
4) High Temperature enamel pain (HF£9.99)
5) Masking tape/newspaper
6) Two jacks or axel stands are better
7) 2-3 hours per front/rear of car if doing on same day
This is how I painted my calipers, without removing them from wheels and without spraying (less masking to do). To be honest, if I had more know-how, I would remove the calipers and paint them with spray for a better/smoother finish. Then again, no-one can see them close enough up, unless they are your local friendly garage, or a thief stealing your wheels :-(
You will need:
1) A car... with wheels .... and with brakes
2) Break cleaner (spray) (HF~£5.00)
3) Wire brushes (HF-£3.00)
4) High Temperature enamel pain (HF£9.99)
5) Masking tape/newspaper
6) Two jacks or axel stands are better
7) 2-3 hours per front/rear of car if doing on same day
1. Remove wheel. See colour of caliper before and after cleaning (I sprayed on a load, let it run off, then brushed away until dust started coming off and caliper changed colour. Repeated this about 4 times to make sur they were clean. Masking not that important just now.
Pic 1: Before After
2. After cleaning thouroughly (about 10 mins per wheel), make sure disk etc is masked off and apply paint to caliper using fine brush. I used 1 1/4 inch brush, but wish I had used a wee bit smaller. See pic 3 for 1st coat. At this point it looks crap, but then all firtst coats do. Take care when brushing as paint is difficult to remove from wrong places as it is quite thick.
Pic 3: First coat 3rd coat
3. Leave for at LEAST 20 mins. I determined at least 30 mins, after the first coat was still sticky when i applied 2nd at 20mins. Test by touching inconspicuous part.
4. Repeat for at least 4 coats. I did 5 and got bored :-). It starts to look too thick after that anyway.
5. Left wheels of for 45 mins before replacing.
Finished: Front Rear
6. Repeat for rear wheels as above
7 Leave overnight (at least 12 hours recommended) before driving.
8. Think about next mod :-)
Enjoy
Broon
*All mechanical suggestions and tips are purely for information only. I accept no responsibility for any damage to vehicles or persons as a result of any of my information. Consult a MG-Rover manual before attempting any repairs. Some repairs should be carried out by professionals only.