D_M_A_N

Looks nice supertech! :D

Just did my calipers today, Will do my drums tomorrow hopefully.

Max

I rolled with the red calipers and drums for a while, but the longevity was simply not there, and the rice look is not what I am after. I powdercoated mine in a buddy's garage in grey and have never looked back.

D_M_A_N

What all is involed in getting them poder coated, and how much would it cost?
I'm sure you would have to completely remove from callipers and drums from the vehicle right?

Max

I did it for about $20 in materials, but really only used about $2 worth of the powder. Removing the drums from the vehicle is cake. The calipers, however, do require taking the brake lines off which then means bleeding the brakes when you put them back on. I have no clue what it would cost to have someone do them, but you can get a gun for $100 and you need an electric oven that you don't plan on using to cook food in. You must make sure that there is nothing on the metal of the drums or calipers, so if you painted them, that has to come off completely. Had I not painted mine prior, this would have been a two hour job. Given that I did, it took all day to clean the surfaces properly. The powdercoating process takes about half an hour, plus the hour of heat soaking the brakes prior to coating (this hour could have been avoided if the parts weren't parts which get so hot) at the end of which, the parts can be put directly into service (no waiting for it to dry)

For pics and stuff, follow the link:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=115735

Generik420

Good write up. I may be doing this at some point. I painted my brake calipers on my old SVT Focus, which had disc on the front and rear. I found that Wal-mart sold brake caliper paint in spray form in the auto section for about $4-6/can. I can plenty to do it all. The big problem with spraying is you either have to take the calipers off, or you have to spend a TON of time prepping and masking off everything you don't want painted. I did it the hard way as I didn't know anything about removing brakes and that isn't something I wanted to mess around with. When it was all said and done, it looked great. I think brushing the paint on would be an even easier job overall.

And for those wondering why paint a "non-performance" part, do you ask the same question to the people that have painted dash trim, etc inside their vehicles? If you ask me, if it can be seen and there is a way to make it look better, then why not?

CBSIMONSEZ

Guys and Gals ... i have found a much easier way of getting this done, and from the looks of it, with better results.

I too can not be held responsible for you not taking some common sense and painting the wrong parts.

Here is what you will need.

( 1 ) can of brake cleaner
( 1 ) can of what ever color you want of Dupli-Color Engine Enamel 500 degree paint ( lots of colors to choose from at your local PepBoys and AutoZone )
masking tape
newspaper
old rag.

first ... remove all wheels
second ... spray liberally the front calipers and rear drums with brake cleaner. Wipe with old rag
third ... follow step 2 again, making sure you have a clean surface for the paint. Allow to dry thoughtly ( 5 minutes )
fourth ... mask of the face of the front rotors and studs using newspaper and tape
fifth ... mask off the rear studs
sixth ... apply firts light coat of paint to front calipers and rear drums. DO NOT APPLY HEAVY COATS!
seventh ... take 10 minutes and drink a beer.
eighth ... follow steps 6 and 7 3 more times ... allowing paint to dry inbetween coats.
nineth ... remove tape and paper
tenth ... re-install wheels

There you have it, all done in 10 easy steps. I did this earlier this summer on mine and my GFs boxes and the paint is still just as glossy at it was when i first applied it. NOTE: i would suggest strongly that you do this in a warm climate. The warmer the surroundings, the faster it can all be done. I think when i did both xBs it took 45 mintues for both from start to finish.

Buebie

^ Dont use duplicolor. That stuff peels after about a year. By the 2nd year you will have to peel all old paint off and redo it. The peel off is a tone harder then I thought it would be too.

Get this
http://wheelskin.com/Merchant2/merch...+CALIPER+PAINT
From this link, $35 dollars, shipping is included. It comes in a couple of days.
This is what I got, and it uses a reactor to activate the paint and the results are far superior to duplicolor.
After my car sat in the sun all day, with the duplicolor i could take my fingernal and press a crease into it.

The G2 stuff, you cant do that. Its like an alternative to powdercoating. I know that sounds stupid, powdercoat is magneticaly charged paint particles that atatch to the metal surface of the caliper. Then its "baked" at 1,000 degrees and almost melts onto the surface of the caliper creating a perfect almost unpenatrable seal. This stuff is the paint version of powdercoating. Thats How satisfied I am with the product.

I'm highly impressed with it. I wish somone would have told me this when I was going to do it initially.

CBSIMONSEZ

Like i said above, LIGHT COATS. If you can leave an indentation or imprint in the paint after it sat in the sun all day, then you had too much paint on it. Its meant to paint, no spakel.

Buebie

That was after 2 coats, 6 hours between the 2 coats. If you want superious results, duplicolor is not the way to go. I say this with experience.

savage

I'm considering this too...because I 'd rather save big bank for nitrous, a better clutch, & a SC atm-rather than new calipers... I suppose I should get new brakes b4 to be safer

I know spray would perhaps give a nicer finish but trying to control the spray might be a pain in the @$$. I don't really want the entire wheel well to be orange...hmmm actually...naaahhh

Nice write-up though

G2 is making an Orange kit...
http://www.g2usa.com/news.shtml

snowbuddytC

i still think red looks the best =]

burninskulls0911

i did this with my old car and after you put a few coats on it looked really good

zar_Our

Does anybody know the most effective way of removing the caliper paint? I want to remove the paint for the caliper brakets and some excess spary on the the drum.

stonecoldnimrod

i used duplicolor on the calipers of my 95 camaro and by years end half of it peeled off. though i really want to do this myself i'm hesitant to use the spray. i'm goin to try the kit with the brush and use light coats. i have a few days off where i can play with red.


my ? - i have a red scion xa and i plan on gettin yellow/black seat covers for my interior. should i paint the calipers (and drums) red... or yellow? all advice/criticism is welcome.

tC-Collin

lmao

tC-Collin

id say red to keep the theme going

the way i see it, your car is like a city. you got the outside of the car, which is one neighborhood, the engine bay which is another, and the interior as the other

my one friend has a blue GTI, a yellow engine bay, and a red interior

it looks like an effing crayon box, but its hella tight

dvsidboy

Just got mine done, did them black to not offset the red rims that i have. I will get photos up tomorrow.

Buebie

Zar Our, Not sure on the most effective. I masked the operating parts and sprayed the duplicolor paint thinner on the old red surface. Let it sit for about 15 mins. Then I took a wire brush to it. It removed about 80% of the old red paint. The remaining paint had to be removed with the dremel.

The bad part about the dremel is it removed the protective layer that is applied by the manufacturer to protect from rust etc.

Then I took a wet rag and used hot water in a bucket to wipe away any extra debris away.
Then let the surafe dry and wiped is again with a dry rag.

tC-Collin

im going to do mine this weekend, ill let you know how it goes

10PieceNuggets

I have a NB 08 TC, should I paint mine red? I think it would look nice with the red taillights. Also, is this an easy thing to do for a guy with no experience like me? Im sort of scared that I wont put the wheels back on tight enough or something and it might fall out while im driving All I have to do is tighten the lug nuts on really tight right? Also I have the wheel locks so is there any other steps I should take to take my wheels off? Should a beginner like me even do a simple mod like this? Also would I need two jacks or just one enough?