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How can I paint the calipers?


Amigo GT500

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Candidly, painting your calipers is difficult to pull off and have it look anything close to what you would like to see. Usually, it looks like just what it is. There are too many factory painted calipers out there for most performance minded people to not be able to tell the difference. Another reality about painting the calipers is that they stand out and that makes it more obvious that they are small, even your Brembos, by comparison to after market and factory provided big brake installations, particularly those set ups intended for track use.

 

Jim

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The main problem is your current calipers are powdercoated if you paint on top of them it will not stick well and peel in time unless you buy a set and get them stripped and repowdercoated. To be honest it isnt worth the headache I would just buy the extreme Baer kit from Shelby in red with new rotors and just change the rear rotors and use the stock calipers and just paint those red. I did it to my 08 and it came out really nice. If you stay with that setup you can keep your stock rims, if you buy the rear Baer calipers then you will have fitment issues with the stock wheels and would have to use spacers or change rims.

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With a little effort and patiences it can be done well, and will be durable. Check out G2 paints. I sprayed my Brembos red and they turned out great, but I took the time to very thoroughly scuff the powdercoat, clean, and mask before I sprayed them. I still haven't installed the calipers (it's just too damn hot out) but I'll post up some photos tomorrow.

 

G2

 

G2 is a quality hight temp paint. Stay away from the rattle can crap sold at the local autoparts stores.

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With a little effort and patiences it can be done well, and will be durable. Check out G2 paints. I sprayed my Brembos red and they turned out great, but I took the time to very thoroughly scuff the powdercoat, clean, and mask before I sprayed them. I still haven't installed the calipers (it's just too damn hot out) but I'll post up some photos tomorrow.

 

G2

 

G2 is a quality hight temp paint. Stay away from the rattle can crap sold at the local autoparts stores.

 

 

 

Please post pictures as soon as you can. I just purchased the kit from G2. If you have any suggestions or advise how to do it to achieve an excellent finish they will be greatly appreciated..Thanks

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I did the G2, that stuff is outstanding, gives an outstanding finish that has held up excellent. Mine was on stock equipment and it makes a HUGE difference over what they looked like prior.

 

I went with Ford Blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Do a search and you will find pictures.

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The most important thing is to prep. Get yourself some sanding blocks. I used some premade throw away sanding blocks with the grit built in which I pick up from Home Depot. Then throughly clean, dry, and then cleaned the calipers again with a brake cleaner. The G2 kit will include one can of cleaner. I went thru three cans. Make sure the calipers are completely dry before paiting.

 

The G2 paint can be either brushed or sprayed. Brushing is the easiest and will give a decent finish as the G2 paint levels really well and will hide most brush strokes. The trick with brushing on is to not brush over any painted areas that have become tacky. If you do you will see the brush strokes in the finish. For best results I would spray. This can be done with the calipers still on the car if the pads, and any clips are removed from the caliper and the pistons as well as every thing else, including the car is covered to prevent overspray. My suggestion is to remove the calipers, disassemble them, thoroughly clean and drain them. Before sanding, mask off or plug the mounting point for the brake lines to prevent any sanding dust from entering the caliper. I masked them over as i wanted no paint on the mounting surface to interfer with the banjo bolt and washer. Sanding down the powdercoat will give the G2 paint tooth to bite onto. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, make sure the calipers are clean of dust and grease before your final mask before paint. Remask anything you masked before sanding. I also masked off the inside of the caliper to keep paint off the pistons and their rubber seals along with the bleeders. Once everything was masked I hung the calipers from a large ladder with a wire clothes hanger and began spraying. I used the spray can/bottle recomended by G2. Just don't buy them from G2. Most home improvement store carry the same thing and a 4th of the cost. Give your self a full day to spray and allow at least 24hrs of dry time before reassembly.

 

The one thing I wish I had done differently was waiting until the temps outside had cooled into the upper 70's low 80's before spraying. This would have given me an even better finish. If I had done this I would still be waiting for at least another 2 months. I also wish I had gone with Vista Blue vs. Torch Red. Maybe all redo them or sell these and start over. Maybe someone is willing to trade me their stock Bembros for these. We'll see...

 

I have some Bembro decals still to put on but here are the photos.

 

e2f7e52d.jpg

3659c018.jpg

 

I plan to use the G2 paint on a set of Cam Covers I just picked up from Jer. I'll use the exact same process for the covers as I did for the calipers.

 

On rear calipers all the sanding isn't as necessary, but I would still scrub them with either a scotchbrite pad or some steel wool just to make sure they are clean.

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The most important thing is to prep. Get yourself some sanding blocks. I used some premade throw away sanding blocks with the grit built in which I pick up from Home Depot. Then throughly clean, dry, and then cleaned the calipers again with a brake cleaner. The G2 kit will include one can of cleaner. I went thru three cans. Make sure the calipers are completely dry before paiting.

 

The G2 paint can be either brushed or sprayed. Brushing is the easiest and will give a decent finish as the G2 paint levels really well and will hide most brush strokes. The trick with brushing on is to not brush over any painted areas that have become tacky. If you do you will see the brush strokes in the finish. For best results I would spray. This can be done with the calipers still on the car if the pads, and any clips are removed from the caliper and the pistons as well as every thing else, including the car is covered to prevent overspray. My suggestion is to remove the calipers, disassemble them, thoroughly clean and drain them. Before sanding, mask off or plug the mounting point for the brake lines to prevent any sanding dust from entering the caliper. I masked them over as i wanted no paint on the mounting surface to interfer with the banjo bolt and washer. Sanding down the powdercoat will give the G2 paint tooth to bite onto. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, make sure the calipers are clean of dust and grease before your final mask before paint. Remask anything you masked before sanding. I also masked off the inside of the caliper to keep paint off the pistons and their rubber seals along with the bleeders. Once everything was masked I hung the calipers from a large ladder with a wire clothes hanger and began spraying. I used the spray can/bottle recomended by G2. Just don't buy them from G2. Most home improvement store carry the same thing and a 4th of the cost. Give your self a full day to spray and allow at least 24hrs of dry time before reassembly.

 

The one thing I wish I had done differently was waiting until the temps outside had cooled into the upper 70's low 80's before spraying. This would have given me an even better finish. If I had done this I would still be waiting for at least another 2 months. I also wish I had gone with Vista Blue vs. Torch Red. Maybe all redo them or sell these and start over. Maybe someone is willing to trade me their stock Bembros for these. We'll see...

 

I have some Bembro decals still to put on but here are the photos.

 

e2f7e52d.jpg

3659c018.jpg

 

I plan to use the G2 paint on a set of Cam Covers I just picked up from Jer. I'll use the exact same process for the covers as I did for the calipers.

 

On rear calipers all the sanding isn't as necessary, but I would still scrub them with either a scotchbrite pad or some steel wool just to make sure they are clean.

 

 

Thanks for all the explanation...it was great. I will let you know as soon as I start mine.

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The most important thing is to prep. Get yourself some sanding blocks. I used some premade throw away sanding blocks with the grit built in which I pick up from Home Depot. Then throughly clean, dry, and then cleaned the calipers again with a brake cleaner. The G2 kit will include one can of cleaner. I went thru three cans. Make sure the calipers are completely dry before paiting.

 

The G2 paint can be either brushed or sprayed. Brushing is the easiest and will give a decent finish as the G2 paint levels really well and will hide most brush strokes. The trick with brushing on is to not brush over any painted areas that have become tacky. If you do you will see the brush strokes in the finish. For best results I would spray. This can be done with the calipers still on the car if the pads, and any clips are removed from the caliper and the pistons as well as every thing else, including the car is covered to prevent overspray. My suggestion is to remove the calipers, disassemble them, thoroughly clean and drain them. Before sanding, mask off or plug the mounting point for the brake lines to prevent any sanding dust from entering the caliper. I masked them over as i wanted no paint on the mounting surface to interfer with the banjo bolt and washer. Sanding down the powdercoat will give the G2 paint tooth to bite onto. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, make sure the calipers are clean of dust and grease before your final mask before paint. Remask anything you masked before sanding. I also masked off the inside of the caliper to keep paint off the pistons and their rubber seals along with the bleeders. Once everything was masked I hung the calipers from a large ladder with a wire clothes hanger and began spraying. I used the spray can/bottle recomended by G2. Just don't buy them from G2. Most home improvement store carry the same thing and a 4th of the cost. Give your self a full day to spray and allow at least 24hrs of dry time before reassembly.

 

The one thing I wish I had done differently was waiting until the temps outside had cooled into the upper 70's low 80's before spraying. This would have given me an even better finish. If I had done this I would still be waiting for at least another 2 months. I also wish I had gone with Vista Blue vs. Torch Red. Maybe all redo them or sell these and start over. Maybe someone is willing to trade me their stock Bembros for these. We'll see...

 

I have some Bembro decals still to put on but here are the photos.

 

I plan to use the G2 paint on a set of Cam Covers I just picked up from Jer. I'll use the exact same process for the covers as I did for the calipers.

 

On rear calipers all the sanding isn't as necessary, but I would still scrub them with either a scotchbrite pad or some steel wool just to make sure they are clean.

 

Mi amigo where did you get the Bembro decals?

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Mi amigo where did you get the Bembro decals?

 

 

 

I went to a site where they sold me the Stencil that said brembo. I did a set for my old Shelby GT and painted using one of those kits. The problem I ran into was it didnt look very good the brush didnt apply the paint smooth and looked horrible, I am very picky I dont like crappy work especially to a 50k+ car so I took them to a pro and had them powdercoated.

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