Painting Brake Calipers

Here's how I did mine.  I used Folia Tec red caliper paint.  The Folia Tec kit comes with: 400ml of Brake Cleaner (aerosol), 150gr. of brake caliper paint, and 50gr. of hardener (clear).  It's not spray paint;  it's meant to be painted on with a brush.  I used a fairly wide brush, but I was still able to do a decent job.  The stuff is made in Germany.

First, loosen up the lugnuts  while the car is still on the ground.  Jack your car up using a floorjack and jackstands.  GeeSeR's got a good page on doing it if you haven't tried it yet.

http://integra.vtec.net/geeser/jacking.html

I'd recommend using knee pads or putting some towels on the ground to sit on as you're painting them.  Put some towels under the car too to keep your garage clean.  You'll also have to get underneath the brake assembly, so a flashlight and mechanic's creeper is handy to see that part as you're painting.

I had a small garage, so I did the front one night, turned the car around, and then painted the  rear calipers the next night.  Note that you'll have to leave it in the garage overnight on the jackstands to let the paint dry, so don't do it in your driveway!  

Here's what the calipers look like before you paint them-

You'll need a wire brush to get the brake surface smooth.  Get one at a hardware store or department store such as Target, it shouldn't be more than a few dollars.  Scrub the calipers with the wire brush to get the rust off.  You should see a nasty cloud of brake dust and rust, so you may want to put on some safety glasses.

Next, use the brake cleaner to wash away all of the fine deposits.  The stuff evaporates very quickly. You can use a LOT of this stuff on each caliper (I've still got some left).  I did the process of scraping the calipers and washing them at least 4 times until it was smooth.

Mix the paint and hardener using a 3:1 ratio (paint-to-hardener).  The Folia Tec kit comes with PLENTY of paint for 4 calipers.  To mix it, I used a spare 35mm roll container (the black ones with grey lids) to roughly measure it.  I put 1 full film container of paint and approx. 1/3 of the hardener into a glass.  Believe it or not, this was enough to do 3 generous coats of paint on the 2 front calipers;  I had a lot left in the glass left over, too.  Next, thoroughly mix it.  The directions said to wait 5 minutes before using it.

The first coat of paint on the calipers may look very thin and watery, especially if you don't wait the 5 minutes after making the mixture.  Don't put too much on the first time as you'll get an uneven layer and drips.  It took at least 3 coats before the rough surface of the brake caliper was not visible.  Wait 15 minutes in between each coat.  As this paint dries, it has a 'rubbery' texture, like latex paint.  I'd recommend in the morning take a razor or scraper and remove any paint that you didn't want on the actual brake pad.  It should be a lot easier to remove.  The best way to do it is use masking tape along the metal piece holding the brake pad or any other part of the assembly  you don't want paint on.

Wait 24 hours before driving on them.  Be careful when mounting the wheels back on, so that the caliper paint won't get scratched.

Here's the front calipers-

Here's the smaller rear calipers-

Here's them with the gunmetal rims-

And the car...after a wash.

* Disclaimer - I'm not a mechanic, and definitely not a painter!  You may be able to find a different or better way of doing it, so go for it...  Feel free to e-mail me with suggestions.

5/2001