Here's a simple and easy how-to process to paint your drums and calipers at home. Paint and supplies can be found at most auto parts stores.
Damn they look nasty and dull.
Read on and you'll see what I did to make them POP!!
Prepping:
I suggest spraying down your calipers and drums down in the yard to remove the majority of brake dust, dirt and grime. Use some Simple Green on them to really dissolve the dirt. Now pull your car into a garage or other semi-enclosed area for the final steps. Jack your car up and secure on stands for safety. Remove wheels and set aside. Now you need to prep the metal surface for the paint to stick too. I would suggest a fine wire cup or wheel or sanding disc for a hand held drill. These work great and quickly to strip the metal down to bare metal. Work the entire area and wet sanding can also be done by hand.
Keep area well ventilated to avoid breathing in brake dust. Rear drums are real easy to sand on or off the car but calipers need to be removed from cars wheel hub. You don’t have to disconnect the brake line but removal of the calipers 2-part bracket can be done. Refer to a service manual for this process (I’m not going to tell you how either). Don’t forget to hit the back of your pads and shims if you’re going to paint them too. Sand the disc brake hub and outer edges they also can be painted too or just give them a nice polished look.
Cleaning:
Once you have sanded the brakes to bare metal you now need to clean them once more. A bucket that can fit under the brake is useful for this. I start with a Non-CFC Brake cleaner and spay the whole unit down to remove most of the brake dust and metal partials. Now wash the entire units down with water and more Simple Green cleaner then rinse thoroughly with water.
Again don’t forget your caliper pads if you’re going to paint them. Air-dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.
Painting:
For this a High Temp engine enamel is recommended for doing this. VHT is a brake caliper specfic paint rated at 900 degrees, Dupli-Color and Plastikote can be used but I suggest the 1200 temp over the 500 temp paint. Brakes generate tremendous amounts of heat after heavy use so the higher the temp paint the better. Folia Tec is a complete kit for brakes, which can also be used. The color you choose is up to you, I have yellow looming in my engine bay of my white car that has black trim so those were the colors I used on my brakes. Painting your brakes to match another part of your car is the best way to do it. White can be used but like rims it needs to be cleaned more often.
Okay so now mask off the wheel well and the entire quarter panel on both sides and top if your parts are still on your car. Over spray and wind can make this a necessity, trust me on those. An old sheet over your car does wonders. If your painting your disc hub tape off the wheel studs.
Apply between 5 to 8 light coats of paint on all sides; more coats can be done for longer lasting protection. 10-20min between coats is the proper time span till the next coat. Allow paint to cure overnight before assembly for best results.
Final steps:
Before you replace you disc pads clean the contact surface with brake cleaner and surface of rotor with wetted rag and with the inside of rear drum if removed. Assemble and torque to proper specs. Remount wheels and your ready to roll.
Now that looks a hell of alot better Eh!!!!!
Dupli-Color does make a clear coat spray in 500 degree temp which you can try to seal the paint surface from dust and grime. When cleaning Simple Green and a sponge will keep your brakes looking snappy and touch ups can always be done too. This is the way I painted my brakes, I know this works but you can do what every you think works better. Oh this is also usefull in painting your engine parts too.
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PoBoy:
When my brother and I painted his calipers, we cleaned them with the brake cleaner, then scrubbed them with SOS pads with soap in them and sprayed them again. That was it. No sanding and no wirebrushing. It's been over a year now and no problems with flaking. Which actually kind of sucks because he changed his mind about what color he wants.
We also brushed on the paint with a foam brush instead of spraying so we didn't have to tape everything off. Also, we only had to put on one coat and it was nice and thick.
I think the best way though is to take the caliper off, which is what we'll do next time.
Damn they look nasty and dull.
Read on and you'll see what I did to make them POP!!
Prepping:
I suggest spraying down your calipers and drums down in the yard to remove the majority of brake dust, dirt and grime. Use some Simple Green on them to really dissolve the dirt. Now pull your car into a garage or other semi-enclosed area for the final steps. Jack your car up and secure on stands for safety. Remove wheels and set aside. Now you need to prep the metal surface for the paint to stick too. I would suggest a fine wire cup or wheel or sanding disc for a hand held drill. These work great and quickly to strip the metal down to bare metal. Work the entire area and wet sanding can also be done by hand.
Keep area well ventilated to avoid breathing in brake dust. Rear drums are real easy to sand on or off the car but calipers need to be removed from cars wheel hub. You don’t have to disconnect the brake line but removal of the calipers 2-part bracket can be done. Refer to a service manual for this process (I’m not going to tell you how either). Don’t forget to hit the back of your pads and shims if you’re going to paint them too. Sand the disc brake hub and outer edges they also can be painted too or just give them a nice polished look.
Cleaning:
Once you have sanded the brakes to bare metal you now need to clean them once more. A bucket that can fit under the brake is useful for this. I start with a Non-CFC Brake cleaner and spay the whole unit down to remove most of the brake dust and metal partials. Now wash the entire units down with water and more Simple Green cleaner then rinse thoroughly with water.
Again don’t forget your caliper pads if you’re going to paint them. Air-dry or use a hair dryer to speed up the process.
Painting:
For this a High Temp engine enamel is recommended for doing this. VHT is a brake caliper specfic paint rated at 900 degrees, Dupli-Color and Plastikote can be used but I suggest the 1200 temp over the 500 temp paint. Brakes generate tremendous amounts of heat after heavy use so the higher the temp paint the better. Folia Tec is a complete kit for brakes, which can also be used. The color you choose is up to you, I have yellow looming in my engine bay of my white car that has black trim so those were the colors I used on my brakes. Painting your brakes to match another part of your car is the best way to do it. White can be used but like rims it needs to be cleaned more often.
Okay so now mask off the wheel well and the entire quarter panel on both sides and top if your parts are still on your car. Over spray and wind can make this a necessity, trust me on those. An old sheet over your car does wonders. If your painting your disc hub tape off the wheel studs.
Apply between 5 to 8 light coats of paint on all sides; more coats can be done for longer lasting protection. 10-20min between coats is the proper time span till the next coat. Allow paint to cure overnight before assembly for best results.
Final steps:
Before you replace you disc pads clean the contact surface with brake cleaner and surface of rotor with wetted rag and with the inside of rear drum if removed. Assemble and torque to proper specs. Remount wheels and your ready to roll.
Now that looks a hell of alot better Eh!!!!!
Dupli-Color does make a clear coat spray in 500 degree temp which you can try to seal the paint surface from dust and grime. When cleaning Simple Green and a sponge will keep your brakes looking snappy and touch ups can always be done too. This is the way I painted my brakes, I know this works but you can do what every you think works better. Oh this is also usefull in painting your engine parts too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PoBoy:
When my brother and I painted his calipers, we cleaned them with the brake cleaner, then scrubbed them with SOS pads with soap in them and sprayed them again. That was it. No sanding and no wirebrushing. It's been over a year now and no problems with flaking. Which actually kind of sucks because he changed his mind about what color he wants.
We also brushed on the paint with a foam brush instead of spraying so we didn't have to tape everything off. Also, we only had to put on one coat and it was nice and thick.
I think the best way though is to take the caliper off, which is what we'll do next time.
Godspeed
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