I picked up a can of Plasti-Kote Engine Enamel (spray paint) from a friend of mine, and am planning on painting the calipers of my Black Sand Pearl in a red color. However, i heard that you can paint ur calipers without jacking the car up and removing the wheel. This would involve a squeegy thing on a stick and sprayin the sponge with the paint and then applying....I was just wondering if this is a good idea and would it work alright?

 

I would take the wheel off, cover the wheelwell and surroundings with newspapers/shower curtains/whatever, mask the hell out of everything, and then carefully paint the damn thing. You don't want the paint to drip on your brand new shiny wheels, and you certainly don't want red overspray all over your car. So take your time, and do it right. When I did mine on a previous car I did not take the caliper off - here I might do that, cause it might be even faster than masking everything correctly.

 

I want to have cross-drilled disk brakes. So I can just take a drill and...

 

It sounds like a lot of hassle to avoid the simple process of removing a wheel. Also depends on the wheel I guess. It would be easy to paint my calipers with the rim on, but if you have MORE than 4 spokes, it will start to be harder. Plus, now you're risking getting the paint on your wheels. Is there enough room to tape it off with the wheel on?

I used the Dupli-Color kit which is a brush-on application. It was only like $15 bucks for the kit and its made specifically for this application. I also bought a 2-ton floor jack for around $15 bucks...

It just seems like a tedious way of doing it. I could understand if it was somewhere that required a LOT of effort to get to, but removing the wheels?

 

I'll be putting in slotted rotors as soon as I get the car. Fronts only. They are the same size as Corolla/Matrix (but before rushing in and buying let me try it first - I already have the rotors). Slotted makes helluva difference...

 

yea i guess ill just take the wheel off....would it be alright if i just use a normal jack thats used for changing the spare tire to lift the car and do one wheel at a time?

 

A tip for masking it off - I use that Glad Press & Seal-Wrap - it works AWESOME. Tear off a piece and stick it where you want it. Press it down to make it stick. I used masking tape for the edges, but for the larger areas, the wrap works great.

 

That's what I used, just back against the curb or something. And be wewy wewy caweful. ;)

As for the glad press and seal - what a great idea, dood... You have no idea how long it took me to mask everything off. In 95F heat...

 

heh, one more question before i do this....if i finish by say, 2PM...how long should i wait before i can drive the car again? ive hear hours ranging from 5 to 24

 

Do it overnight.

 

Why are you paintin the calipers? To get the look of a big brake kit, without actually buying one. Its ok on a POS car that no one cares about, but why on a brand new car?

 

you'll just get unwarranted attention

 

My Matrix calipers started to rust - that was the reason I did mine. I'm sure everybody can find a legit reason

 

eh, i dunno...always have had a fetish (hehe ) for red calipers on black cars
friend did it to his black G35 coupe, another did it to his black TL, and another to his M3

 

there is nothing wrong or ricey about painting your calipers some people just don't like thier's looking plain. Just adds a little color that catches the eye and brings attention to the wheels and it helps prevent rust setting in. highend brake systems aren't the only systems that have the right to a little color. do what you want man just make it look good. If you want to change the color or add color to your calipers go for it!

 

make sure you post pics when you're done!!

 

I used the Dupli-Color Caliper painting kit on my wifes Focus. Looked really good until I used some wheel cleaner to clean off brake dust. It turned the red a crappy looking orange color.
Anybody use the high heat spray paint with good results?

 

This should help you on what paint to use and how to use it.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...light=calipers

I thought this topic was going to be on how to remove the caliper from the tC.