Hi guys and gals,
This is my first post here, i have an 03 mini cooper s in dark grey and have just painted my brake calipers. I noticed there isnt realy a simple guide on here to it, so i thought i would post one here to share my experience and hopefully help you all out.
1. go to your local halfords (or simlar) and get yourself a can of brake and clutch cleaner (better than the caliper cleaner they sell as it wont dissolve rubber!), this will be with the oils and additives (redex etc.). You will also obviously need a can of halfords high temperature brake caliper paint, this comes in either red, yellow, blue, or black. The paint will cost you £9.99 and the cleaner £6.49. Now is also a good time to pick up some axel stands if you dont already have some, the best place i have found is wickes, my local store sold me a pair of 2 tonne axel stands for £1.77, yes thats £1.77!!! You will also need some small artists paint brushes (around 2-3mm) any bigger and you wont get to those hard to reach parts.
2. Now you need to jack the car up, the jacking points are about 8 inches from the wheels and have a block on them with which to locate your jack, the bmw one worked fine for me, as you woint be supporting the car for a long time on it. Once you have it jacked place an axel stand under the car ( just back from the wishbone on the subframe is best for the front, and the pivot point for the suspension at the rear). I did the front first, then the back second as i didnt have 4 stands. When you remove the wheels, you have the perfect oportunity to give these a good clean, i got a friend to help here!
3. You now need to clean up the calipers, get yourself a bucket of HOT, soapy water and a toothbrush (preferably one you dont plan on using again), and scrub the calipers all over, using plenty of water to wash away the the grime as it becomes loose. When you have it nice and clean, get your can of brake and clutch cleaner and SOAK the calipers with it, this will evaporate pretty quickly, taking any water with it. Now run your fingers over the caliper, if they remain clean then your done, if not repeat the process until they are.
4. You are now ready to start painting. If your calipers and old and corroded like mine then you wont need to key the surface as nature has done it for you. However, if they are new it is probably worth giving them a quick rub with some fine wet and dry, just to agitate the surafce and aid bonding. Before you start, make sure you stir the paint well. Now apply a THIN coat of paint to the calipers, by the time you have done the second one, the first caliper will be dry. In total you want to apply 3 to 4 coats. Dont worry if it looks terrible at first, once you build the paint up it gives a solid and smooth gloss finish.
5. once the paint is touch-dry you can CAREFULLY put the wheels back on and lower the car, then do the other end. The paint will need to cure over night before you drive the car. When you do, make sure to get the calipers nice and hot to 'bake' the paint on there good and fast.
6. Your work is now done. You can go on ebay and buy those fake 'brembo' stickers you saw on there last night!! i hope this helps you out guys!
pistonhead
Jul 18th, 2008, 11:42 AM
..I'm in Glasgow so if anyone knows of any shops that would be great!
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..I will have a look later on..just runnin out the door as I type!!
