Painting Brake Calipers & Rotor Hubs (Pictures Included)

[DarkRyda]

Intended Audience: Anyone

Technical Level: Easy - Medium

Duration: 1-2 Days (Varies)

Effort: Medium

Result: High / Good

!!!Caution/Achtung/Attenzione!!!

Follow this guide at your own risk. You have been warned. We are not responsible for any actions you take. The information contained below is a guide and should be acted upon with consultation from your local mechanic. If you are unsure or are not confident don't do it.

Products:

2x VHT FlameProof™ Primer (SP118) $15

1x VHT FlameProof™ Flat Black (SP102) $18

1x VHT FlameProof™ Satin Clear (SP115) $13

2x VHT Caliper Paint Gloss Black (SP734) $15

1x VHT Caliper Paint Gloss Clear (SP730) $13

1x Prep-sol or Degreeser or turps $8

1x 3M ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape (25mmx55m) $10

* Prices are per item listed.

Tools:

Car Jack

Sandpaper / Wire Drill Brush

Newspaper

Stanley Knife

Socket Rench (optional)

Products and tools can be purchased from your local bunnings, super cheap auto, auto barn or any auto parts store.

I purchased a set of R33 5 stud Hubs / Brakes / RDA Slotted Rotors and wanted to give them a fresh look as they where looking quite dull and had some surface rust on them. I decided to go a conservative colour and chose black as i also thought that would best suit the colour of my car (Midnight Purple). If you are thinking of going Red or Blue i would recommend Dupi-Color MetalCast instead of the VHT caliper paint i personally think those colour look better in the dupi-color. For people looking at painting there calipers gold VHT or Dupi-Color are both great.

NOTE: The most important part to achieving a good result is the preperation of your calipers / hubs do not rush the preperation time as it will take the longest 60% Prep 40% Paint and you will most likely be unhappy with the end result and it will not last as long.

1x Paint Can - Front Brakes (4 Pot)

1x Paint Can - Rear Brakes (2 Pot)

1x Gloss Clear - Front & Rear

There will be a small amount of paint left over from the front set use it on the rear set and discard the can and then use the second can your second can of high temp paint should be 3/4 full if not a bit more!

NOTE: When Priming / Painting / Clearing make sure you are at least 20-30cms away from the part you are working on or you will most likely get paint runs and they are diffiicult to get rid of without making a mess. Make sure you work in layers, by that i mean when you spray the first coat you should be able to see the previous colour (even when applying primer) by the second coat you should start to see the previous colour disappear. I did 3-4 coats to ensure everything was covered and it was thick.

Wait 10-15 minutes between each coat (read the back of the spray can as each brand provide there own instructions)

Instructions:

1. Jack the car up and remove the wheel (in my case i didnt have to do any of that)

2. Locate the car in a suitable place (Garage / Carport / Booth etc...). It is recommend to leave the car standing for approximatly 3-4 after spraying the calipers, over night is adviced. locate some old rags / bedsheets / newspapers. Use those to place over your car's guards and wheels arches so you don't spray them or get overspray on them.

3. Sand back the calipers and hubs. I used a drill and a wire brush attachment as well as a hand wire brush it makes it easiy and quick. If not available you can use sandpaper 240 grit, something coarse. Do that for all 4 calipers and hubs once that is completed you will need to use your Prep-sol or Degreeser or turps in order to clean your components read the instructions on the back of the product you are using mine said to leave on for 10 minutes then rince off throughly with water. Make sure you dry your calipers and rotor hubs really well to avoid any issues when priming / painting. Use a dryer if you really have too or an air compressor, but a clean rag / towl / cloth will do just fine.

4. After your parts are clean time to mask everything up, use the 3M ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape, this gives sharp edges and can be left on long than 24 hours without casuing any residue issues etc... it also allows you to remove the tape effortlessly even when paint and other substances have stuck to it. Regular masking tape can also be used its a personal choice. once everything is sanded, cleaned & dried and masked off you can now begin to prime your parts.

5. Apply 3-4 coats of primer let the paint dry for 10-15 minutes between each coat to ensure no runs, clogging etc... again read the back of your spray can in order to get the best results. I worked on my rotor hubs first so i masked off any other components including my calipers. Make sure you apply all coats of primer within a 1 hour period, then let the rotor dry for 3-4 hours while your working on the other 3 rotor hubs doing the same thing (mask off / primer) then go back to your first rotor hub and start to apply your preferred base coat colour (red, black, blue, gold etc...).

6. Apply 3 - 4 base coats of your preferred colour in my case i went with flat black (aka matte black) for the rotors and gloss black for the calipers. Use the same technique as stated above in one of the "note" descriptions. apply the first coat on lightly then the second coat you should start to see the primer disappear leave it to dry between coats, do as many as you like but i wouldnt exceed 3-4 because you wont have any paint left and if your doing a different colour it might turn out too dark. leave to dry and proceed to the next primed rotor.

5. Time for the final step before moving on to the calipers. Clear coat the rotors using the same technique as priming / painting i applied 3 coats of satin clear to each rotor hub. after this is done and you have all four rotors painted and clear coated leave them to dry for 24 hours before proceeding to paint your calipers. you can leave them to dry for around 4-5 hours but over night is prefered, if your in a rush and need to get the job done then cut the drying time down.

6. After waiting the appropriate drying time (24 hours recommended) its now time to paint the calipers. The first step is to cover your newley painted rotors well using a lot of newspaper make sure its taped down and secure you dont want over spray of any kind to hit your newly painted rotor hubs.

7. Using the same method as above paint all 4 of your calipers prime first then preferred base coat then clear coat. I used gloss black for this step and gloss clear. The same primer is used on all the parts. the clears and base coats change to your personal choice.

8. Read the back of the spray can in order to get the curing instructions or you can just leave them to dry for 1 week (7 days). either way they will need have sufficent curing/drying time in order for them to last. again this was easy for me as my hubs/calipers are off the car but for you folks who still have them on the car and need to use it curing via instructions on the back of the can is your best option should take a total of 1 hour.

9. If you wish to sand the "Nissan" logo di it after the 24 hours or after it is cured be careful not to scratch the freshly painted calipers i layed down few layers of tape around the "nissan" logo then sanded it with 240 grit sandpaper.

10. End Result.

[LayneGXE]

That looks really good! Nice tut!

[sultanaz]

Looks good champion, nice work. Neat as.. Really liking the neat colour

[DarkRyda]

Thanks =) any questions post them up and ill try and answer them as best as i can.

[ishyz34]

Photobucket pics have been deleted

[TEFLONMIK]

Just a couple of pointers on this topic...

1. Take the calliper off, makes painting it much easier. only a couple of bolts, not hard

2. You can paint your rotor hubs etc... but if they are on their way out, RDA brake's disc rotors are all now Black Passivated from factory, in STD and Performance ranges, so no need to paint them anymore, + the coating is a rust preventative.

[Wayne.]

some skilled masking tape techniques were used I see