Painting Calipers, On Moondust Silver Focus Mk2 .5

[gforce]

Looking great Lenny. Pity we didn't end up with the Foliatec kit, but that stuff has turned out really well. You'll appreciate it even more once the new wheels go on!

By the way, how did you find the extra bits and bobs they flogged you? Were they much use/essential/a waste of money?! When I've painted calipers in the past I always meant to get a wire brush drill bit and try tidy them up a bit with that rather than any special cleaners. Think that's the good thing about the hammerite though, just lop it on!

I notice you've done the pads as well, I tried to keep the brush off mine as I'd read advice to keep them clear rather than risk them being stuck on when it comes to pad change time, but found it near impossible! Bit of forgiveness using the dark blue though as the mistakes didn't show up as much as red would.

I was actually very tempted yesterday to give them a freshen up, as I was giving the car a bit of a spring clean in the sunshine, but went to see Wreck-It Ralph instead!

[Lenny]

Looking great Lenny. Pity we didn't end up with the Foliatec kit, but that stuff has turned out really well. You'll appreciate it even more once the new wheels go on!

By the way, how did you find the extra bits and bobs they flogged you?

I notice you've done the pads as well, I tried to keep the brush off mine as I'd read advice to keep them clear rather than risk them being stuck on when it comes to pad change time,

I was actually very tempted yesterday to give them a freshen up, as I was giving the car a bit of a spring clean in the sunshine, but went to see Wreck-It Ralph instead!

Good call Gary,

Took the kids to see wreck-it Ralph on sunday, excellent movie lol poor Nokia Snake homeless lol

The caliper cleaner in the spray can didn't do any better than a drop of petrol on a cloth would.

So if buying again, id pass on that one.

I used a wire brush to clean the carbon from the surface while spraying with the cleaner, but id recommend paint thinners or petrol and a wire brush instead.

I should have worn a dust mask though, as the brake carbon kills your lungs and you end up coughing up black brake dust muc lol

Keeping them wet while using the wire brush helps keep the dust levels down though.

And the paint preperation wipes were fantastic at getting soapy and bringing the calipers back to a sort of silver state after wire brushing,

Masking tape was a must and a half inch paint brush would have been better than the 1" I used for mine,

So if I was shopping again id purchase;

Halfords caliper paint

Half inch paint brush

Masking tape

Two packets of Halfords paint prep wipes.

And some petrol from the garage aswell as wire brush and dust mask, (cough splutter)

Ive painted the rear of the pads just to complete the red lump on the brakes and maybe appear to be more aftermarket at a glance.

The foliatec kit was an enamel paint and I done the pads with it on the starlet and almera before, both had pads changed with no problems,

A quick score with a stanley blade on removal of the pads will break the bond on the paint between caliper and pads.

It would be almost impossible to mask up the caliper so as not to get paint on the rear of the pads so I just went ahead and painted the lot lol

Thanks for the comments, I personally think its a little too bright at present but a few weeks driving will tone it down a bit.

[gforce]

Yeah, great show. Was almost offended at Snake though...he's still got pride of place on my old Nokia brick since I still haven't replaced my iPhone after I dropped it in a river end of last year!

That's good to know about the cleaning and prep accessories, should be useful for anyone trying this for the first time.

If you think it's too bright and may dull down a bit then it should be spot on by the time the wheels go on ;)

[Lenny]

If you think it's too bright and may dull down a bit then it should be spot on by the time the wheels go on ;)

lol true mate, will be a good few weeks until may,

Wish it was today,

I've got a Nokia 6303 Classic in black, cost me 90euro in 2008 and still going strong, no snake on it though lol has taken all the images for the guides and the forum, had a Nokia N95 before that but battery was usless. Maybe upgrade the mobile when I finish the car ..... someday lol

[Pete80]

Looks really good mate, will be doing my calipers when weather brightens up, will be going for hammerite smooth black, just want the clean look.

[Lenny]

Looks really good mate, will be doing my calipers when weather brightens up, will be going for hammerite smooth black, just want the clean look.

Thanks Pete,

Hope the weather improves soon in your area,

You could always purchase a clear plastic painters sheet for 1.50Gbp in your local DIY store,

Using maskin tape stick it to the side panel of the car,

Creating a sort of tent style inside area to cover yourself and the calipers for painting.

Upload some pictures of the calipers when you get them done anyway mate.

[Big_dom91]

Looks really nice qnd clean there lenny :) im gunna be doing my callipers in that Halfords red so made up to see the colour turned out how it hae but how long fid you leave the car after painting before you drove it obv for getting to work and that need to find adequate time to do it ?

[Lenny]

Looks really nice qnd clean there lenny :) im gunna be doing my callipers in that halfords red so made up to see the colour turned out how it hae but how long fid you leave the car after painting before you drove it obv for getting to work and that need to find adequate time to do it ?

Thanks mate,

This is my third time painting calipers on a car, but my first time using the Halfords paint,

It doesn't dry as quickly as the foliatec paint that I used on the previous two cars, but on the other hand; foliatec drys like concrete in 40minutes so you don't get much time to apply after mixing as the foliatec is a two part mix.

The Halfords paint is slightly watery and will run if applied too heavily, so a total of 3 thin coats is required to complete,

Spacing the coats 40 minutes apart from each other,

Wrap the paint brush in a plastic bag when not in use to prevent drying between coats,

Regardless of how much cleaning/preperation you do on the calipers, the first coat will still be a mix of black carbon and red paint, so you need to let that dry,

Then apply a clean red coat on top of that again.

Once fully painted id wrap the wheel just like I have done on previus page then leave to dry for 10-12hours if possible,

I work shift so it was easy for me on 7-3 paint one side by 18:00 then not drive until 06:00

Or on nights paint by 14:00 then not drive until 22:00

But even if I was using foliatec paint id still give it at minimum 8 hours drying time to fully set.

[b1g_dav3]

Not sure what to do with mine, seeing I have drums on the back lol. Might just paint them black.

[Lenny]

Not sure what to do with mine, seeing I have drums on the back lol. Might just paint them black.

Hi Dave,

I've got drums on the rear of my focus and I've wire brushed them, then a quick clean using petrol and an old T-shirt after wire brushing,

Masked the hub behind the drum and painted them with hammerite smooth finish silver, I like them to look like discs on the rear,

One coat on each drum back in october 2010 and their still 100% today,

If purchasing hammerite ensure it says smooth finish on the label

Do not purchase hammerd finish, as it has a black web style finish to it, wouldn't look rite lol

Here are my drums pictured a few weeks ago and painted in october 2010

[Pete80]

Thanks Pete,

Hope the weather improves soon in your area,

You could always purchase a clear plastic painters sheet for 1.50Gbp in your local DIY store,

Using maskin tape stick it to the side panel of the car,

Creating a sort of tent style inside area to cover yourself and the calipers for painting.

Upload some pictures of the calipers when you get them done anyway mate.

That's a good idea, tbh work is mental at the moment and the thought of getting grubby painting my calipers is not appealing, but I will eventually get time and of course there will be plenty of pics mate

[Lenny]

That's a good idea, tbh work is mental at the moment and the thought of getting grubby painting my calipers is not appealing, but I will eventually get time and of course there will be plenty of pics mate

All the more reason to take some time out, stick on some headphones and do some artistic painting lol

I use latex gloves saves getting paint on my hands or on anything I was to touch in the process such as the side fender.