Making Old Calipers Look New

[BenWade7]

Hello guys me again,

Right as you are all aware this lockdown is driving us all crazy so again I'm posting on here again for advice but also keeps me busy working on my car.

So my Calipers, look terrible rusty as anything. So I'm thinking rubbing them down and Re-spraying/Painting them has anyone one got any specific Sprays/Paint to advice me to buy?.

Also any Step by Step methods?.

Thanks Ben

 

[Ennvoqation]

Best results is to get it professionally powder coated as it'll handle the road conditions better than any paint.

For painting, you'll need paint that can handle heat. So use heat proof primer and caliper paints which are rated for ~500°c . When cleaning it's best to sand blast the metal but a wire brush or a drill pad is just as effective but slower, completely clean the surface before priming. Another tip is to put the primer/paint into a bucket of hot water before using to help the spray bond more evenly.

Keep adding coats till you've got the coverage you need. You might want to use a coat hanger to make easier. Also ensure you mask off all pistons/valves/gaskets or remove them. All told it'll take a couple of days to do both. You can get brush paints, which seem to be more common but in either case you can buy kits that give you the materials you need.

There's also quite a few videos over on YouTube that goes over the process, just read the comments to see if they video is worthwhile as there's a few, how shall we say, less than recommend techniques.

[TomsFocus]

You can just wire brush the loose stuff off then slap some Hammerite on them while they're still on the car...  Needs no primer and can be painted direct to rust.   I've never managed to cook the brakes enough to damage Hammerite so far, if one seizes that'll get hot enough to wreck powdercoat anyway.

If you do leave them on the car, make sure the arch liners are clean before you start...very annoying if they start dropping dirt on your wet paint!  

[StephenFord]

Have a look in your garage, if you have a pot of Hammerite (Smooth, or otherwise), this works just fine! I did calipers a while back as a 'temporary' fix with this, lasted 5 years!

[BenWade7]

Stephen,Tom & Rob,

Thank you all for your reply's I'm a newbie on here but have had great advice past couple days that I'm happy with.

Ill take all your comments on board and ill get the job done in this lockdown stage LOL! That's if I can get the paint ordered up okay ha.

Thanks everyone

Ben

[nicam49]

Hi, I've just used Halfords own aerosol caliper paint, they do a few colours, I'm pretty sure they're open for click and collect. 

[F0CUE]

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

You can just wire brush the loose stuff off then slap some Hammerite on them while they're still on the car...  Needs no primer and can be painted direct to rust.   I've never managed to cook the brakes enough to damage Hammerite so far, if one seizes that'll get hot enough to wreck powdercoat anyway.

If you do leave them on the car, make sure the arch liners are clean before you start...very annoying if they start dropping dirt on your wet paint!  

Same here lasts forever and cleans up well every time. 

[nicam49]

If you use  Hammerite, buy a tin of xylene thinners  to clean your brush(es) 

[StephenFord]

Just now, nicam49 said:

If you use  Hammerite, buy a tin of xylene thinners  to clean your brush(es) 

LOL, can't remember the last time I 'cleaned' a brush, PoundLand sell packs of them for, well, a pound! 🤣

[nicam49]

Yes they do, but you won't get a decent finish with cheap brushes. 

[TomsFocus]

How close are people going to get to your calipers?  Everyone will be at least 5ft away from them bar the MOT tester!  

Hammerite 'settles' to a smooth finish anyway though, can get away with disposable brushes for it, I do the same as Stephen...or did at least, I try to be more aware of the environment these days.  

[isetta]

Cheap brushes are fine for under sealer and hammerite. But if doing gloss in your home you need some decent brushes, I can’t believe how cheap decent brushes have got. Screwfix for Harris trade fine tip. I can definitely recomend, I know it’s going off topic but if decorating during lockdown it’s relevant and screwfix are still open

[nicam49]

I always used to swear by 'real bristle' brushes, but now I've found the synthetic ones actually better for  bristle loss (not losing 'em I mean) 

[isetta]

Same here. I think in the past the synthetic bristles did not taper at the end of each bristle like real bristle, but now they do so give a very good finish

[BenWade7]

Thanks for advice lads.

I've had a thought I've only got 2 calipers I think it may look daft as I only have 2 on the front and not the back if that makes sense so I don't think im going to get this done now .:(

 

[StephenFord]

Many cars only have disc brakes on the front, and drums on back. I don't think it'll look silly at all...But if you do them make sure you give the drums at the rear a tidy up too with some satin black.

[BenWade7]

Thanks Stephen,

Ill have a think next week when weather gets abit better got a couple jobs going to clean out my engine bay completely also got slight problem with shifting into gears one of the lads on here have shown me a video on which could possible solve this issue so once ive done these little jobs ill think about my calipers, going for a blue if I do it beinig a Chelsea fan haha

thanks ben

[nicam49]

If you've got rear drums, then a quick and cheap tidy up is to spray 'em with satin black.