# Painted Calipers



## JayTrail (Apr 28, 2005)

i just painted my calipers what do you think?


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## kmccann (Jan 5, 2005)

JayTrail said:


> i just painted my calipers what do you think?



Nice man. Looks good!


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Hey Jay,

Funny that you posted that pic, as I have caliper paint sitting in my garage from last week, as I'm planning to do exactly the same LOL 

I'm painting them in bright red however.

Are you able to give me some advice on what do or not do when painting these calipers?

Have you taken them off fully or painted them while they're on (after removing the pads I presume)?


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Nice Job Jay,
I just painted mine silver a couple of weeks ago.

Looks neat.


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

Hmmm... another exterior mod to think about. :crazy: 

I'm was actually wondering if any of you know of after market brakes for our X-trail. Brembo and the like. Any info?


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

thetimster said:


> I'm was actually wondering if any of you know of after market brakes for our X-trail. Brembo and the like. Any info?


Tim: HERE is the info. on the aftermarket brake pads I went with including a do it yourself guide.


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## ViperZ (Feb 9, 2005)

The Orange looks different, which is nice!




aussietrail said:


> Are you able to give me some advice on what do or not do when painting these calipers?
> 
> Have you taken them off fully or painted them while they're on (after removing the pads I presume)?


Jalal, use a liberal amount of brake cleaner on the calipers and use a brass brush to get the surface really clean.

I painted my BMW's calipers gloss black to match the car. They were Silver to start. I used VHT's Caliper spray paint and it does a very nice job. I painted the calipers while on the car. The Pads were removed as I was doing a brake job as well. While I was there I sprayed the vented portion of the rotors and the hat area. 


Valboo, My X-Trail's calipers are silver already, are you going for a different look?


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Viper,
No. I just wanted them clean looking, cause after one winter they were all rusted.


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## JayTrail (Apr 28, 2005)

thanks guys what i did was jacked up the car removed the tire and thats it... i didn't use any tape or removed anything.... first i cleaned the caliper with the VHT caliper spray and brushed all the excess brake dust off which is very dangerous and harmful so be careful when doing this (wear a mask). i then painted the calipers very carefully and let them dry for about 15 minutes... i was also doing this on a very hot day so try and give it as much time as possible.. what i did was remove each wheel and do each caliper seperatly but a smarter thing to do is to go to a walmart or any appliance store and get stands so that you can do all the calipers at the same time which would save a lot of time! well let me know if you guys end up painting them and show pics!!!

PEACE


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## ViperZ (Feb 9, 2005)

Very good point! I used a dusk mask and safety glasses when I put the brass brush in my drill. :thumbup:

Valboo, you mean I have rusted calipers to look forward to next year :thumbdwn:


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*Caliper Painting in Progress*

Hi Guys,

Am painting the calipers as I type this message, I have 20 minutes wait before my 2nd coat.

So far so good and I have started with the front ones after jacking-up the car and cleaning the dust off (holding a cloth to my face) 

The bright red is coming really good 

Will post pics later when the job is finished.


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

Sounds like fun Jalal. Will wait for your pics.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*My new colourful shoes*

Hi Guys,

Just finished painting the brake calipers using bright *RED* heat resistant brake caliper & drum spray paint (made by Stepone Automotive) and the result is amazing 

I have done wheels at a time by jacking the car up from the middle.

Had to clean all the brake dust off using a metal brush (wearing a mask of course and this stuff is really dangerous to breath-in) and then I masked-off all of the areas surrounding the calipers and started painting.

It needed 2 coats on each side for the perfect finish.

Here are some pics:

Masking and painting in progress





The painted calipers are ready (they came-out orange looking in this pic, but that is just the lighting effect when taking a photo)





The green colour you see in the pic are my EBC Green Stuff brake pads, so that has added even more colour to the calipers 

Here is the finished product with the alloys on


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

VERY NICE, Jalal! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: 

This should be on my to-do list.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks Tim, The rear ones gave me a bit of trouble, as it was a bit difficult to jack the car up and get enough ground clearance to take the wheels off. The rear calipers needed 3 coats each side.

Looks much better than the dirty and rusted calipers


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

I'm just wondering now how much more difficult it will be when its time to clean the vehicle. 

Doing something with the brakes has been on my list for a while. Still wondering if there are other brake kits available... you know, like rotors, etc. The search continues...


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## Sergei_dekker (Jun 4, 2005)

dude any steps in painting the calipers??? I feel like painting them in red....


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

thetimster said:


> I'm just wondering now how much more difficult it will be when its time to clean the vehicle.


Shouldn't be any difficult compared to when the calipers were rusty. The dirt will be easier to remove from a painted surface.



> Doing something with the brakes has been on my list for a while. Still wondering if there are other brake kits available... you know, like rotors, etc. The search continues...


I have also seen a spary paint that can be directly applied to the rotors, but that I think is gonna be too flash for my liking.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Sergei_dekker said:


> dude any steps in painting the calipers??? I feel like painting them in red....


Who is this question addressed to Sergei?  Tim or me?


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

Uhhh... I think its you Jalal... seeing as how I currently have zero experience in it. I would think it's fairly straightforward, wouldn't you say? Or is there anything unusual or unexpected that happened while you were doing this?


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

thetimster said:


> Uhhh... I think its you Jalal... seeing as how I currently have zero experience in it. I would think it's fairly straightforward, wouldn't you say? Or is there anything unusual or unexpected that happened while you were doing this?



Sergei and Tim, It's really a straight forward job, nothing special was done, except surface preparation for painting and masking the area arround and away you go. 2-3 coats of paint (20 minutes apart) and then 45 minutes for touch dry later, it was all done. It's better not to drive the car for 24 hours until fully dry.


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## thetimster (May 6, 2005)

That sounds great Jalal. I hope to share a positive, colorful and successful experience when I finally get to do mine. 

Thanks as always!


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

thetimster said:


> That sounds great Jalal. I hope to share a positive, colorful and successful experience when I finally get to do mine.
> 
> Thanks as always!


No problems Tim 

Oh, I forgot to add one last thing, it's better to undo that bottom bolt on the calipers and lift the cyclinder up while painting, that way you can mask the brake pads and the cyclinder itself from the inside to ensure no paint gets there. Doing this will also save you the trouble of removing the pads (as they can remain in place).


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## Sergei_dekker (Jun 4, 2005)

aussietrail said:


> Who is this question addressed to Sergei?  Tim or me?


well if both of u can help me on this itd be great


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Sergei_dekker said:


> well if both of u can help me on this itd be great


No problems mate, read my posts above and if you still need any further help, just ask.


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## GRRemlin (Jul 30, 2005)

I was told that the paint on calipers fades in about 3 month, and you have to repaint the again. How true is that?


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

GRRemlin said:


> I was told that the paint on calipers fades in about 3 month, and you have to repaint the again. How true is that?


I'll let you know on the 3rd of October. It'll be 3 months then  so far no signs of fading at all.


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## Oreo (Nov 5, 2004)

Hi everyone,

Thinking on painting my calipers as well. I have a red xtrail and would like people's opinion on what color of paint I should use on my calipers.

Greg


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Oreo said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Thinking on painting my calipers as well. I have a red xtrail and would like people's opinion on what color of paint I should use on my calipers.
> 
> Greg


Red of course


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## Oreo (Nov 5, 2004)

Was considering red, but concerned with it not matching well with the red of my xtrail.

Greg


aussietrail said:


> Red of course


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

If you look at the photos I posted on page 1 of this thread you would notice that only a small portion of the calipers would end-up showing anyway, so colour matching to the exact colour code of your car is not really necessary if you don't go to the extreme colour shade variation.

You can always take your colour code with you and try to match it with a heat resistant paint of the same code. Not sure if that would be available.

The choice is yours  what other colours you had in mind?


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## Oreo (Nov 5, 2004)

Thanks for the quick input.

Was considering silver, and black as well.

Greg


aussietrail said:


> If you look at the photos I posted on page 1 of this thread you would notice that only a small portion of the calipers would end-up showing anyway, so colour matching to the exact colour code of your car is not really necessary if you don't go to the extreme colour shade variation.
> 
> You can always take your colour code with you and try to match it with a heat resistant paint of the same code. Not sure if that would be available.
> 
> The choice is yours  what other colours you had in mind?


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## Oreo (Nov 5, 2004)

Finally painted my brake calipers (I really need to start posting some pics). I did it in silver. I may change it to red once I see how I like it and how it stands up to the winter.

I used VHT caliper paint, but was wondering if dulpli-color was any better or worse.

Greg


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