maxperformance

What are the basic essentials to spray my calipers? Thats all.

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

One thread! One!

You need wheelcleaner to eat off the brake dust, a toothrush to scrub it, water to wash it off, and VHT brake caliper paint (available from www.JCWhitney.com ). Don't let anybody tell you that you need to spend $20+ on a brake caliper painting "kit".
-Cyrus

jayanth

i used engine paint ceramic based... autozone has it for 3.95 a can.Works well

SE Maxima

if you look around on the FAQ here, you'll find a good write-up on exactly how to do it. i did mine about a month ago and all i had was:

brake cleaner
toothbrush
an old cooking pan
engine paint from autozone (your color choice and a can of clear coat)
masking tape
lots of newspaper
jack stands

i did it basically like the write-up here suggests. a couple extra things though...the toothbrush to scrub the calipers was practically useless. the brake cleaner does a fine job on its own if your brakes aren't totally caked in dirt. one can is enough. also, the cooking pan to catch the drippings was practically useless too. the cleaner mostly dries before any of it can drip off. mask everything off real well with the tape and newspapers...and make sure you pick a day that's not too windy. i did my fronts first then rears last, using the jack stands so i could put a coat on one wheel, then move to the other side for a coat, and back and forth. i did probably about 4-5 coats of thin paint on each side, followed by about 4 coats of clear coat on each. the clear coat is what really made a difference...it adds lots of gloss. don't skimp on that part.

good luck

JR_Anders

Did you sand the paint to make it smooth? Wet sand?

endus

iTrader: (1)

I also used engine paint from autozone...seems ok to me. I just cleaned them with a toothbrush and then grinded them a little with a wire wheel on the drill since my calipers were a little rusty. I tried to get as much rust off as possible then masked everything off well with masking tape and newspaper, then painted (2-3 thin coats).

taeMAX97

iTrader: (1)

i just did mine couple weeks ago and ive noticed that front calipers were getting dirty, and i tried to wash it off and its just there. what should i do? do i have to scrub them off and repaint em?

JDM4LIFE

iTrader: (2)

i just painted one of my calipers on the drivers side to test out some new anodized caliper paint from autozone (since my buddy works there). we cleaned the surface thoroughly using a wire brush drill bit and a regular toothbrush-style wire brush. we then used a few good coats of the anodized primer (the primer color's gray) and then we used about about 3 coats of the anodized blue. don't get me wrong, i think the normal engine painted calipers look good and are cheap, but i really love the polished/finished look of the paint. in any case, just make sure you get the caliper thoroughly cleaned and prepped by scrubbing and apply as many coats as you can!!

btw, TAEmax, if you come to the nissan bbq tomorrow at busse woods, i'll take a look at your calipers. i think it should wash off..

taeMAX97

iTrader: (1)

shoot it's tomorrow? dang i gotta work tomorrow...
how come i didn't know about this?

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

Well it might be different if you used a different paint, but all I have to do is spray some wheelcleaner on there, let is sit for 5 minutes, then rinse it off. Should be clean.
-Cyrus

SE Maxima

With my calipers there was really no rust and not a whole lot of dirt or grease build-up. Cleaning was easy...just the brake cleaner and tooth brush seemed to work fine.

I didn't sand between coats either. The engine enamel went on very smoothly. But like I said before, the clear coat enamel is what really gave the glossy look. They looked better than I thought they would in the end.