painting wheel hubs/brake calipers

A

AndyC_1

New member
I've tried a search on this without success but has anyone got experience with;



1. Painting wheel hubs/centres

2. Painting brake calipers



What am I saying - this is autopia :D of course someone will have done this!



Richt has already given me a few pointers but I want to achieve a totally clean and detailed finish to my hubs, brakes etc now that I have my shiny new Bilstein dampers & SBC springs fitted plus new discs and EBC pads:D



No pics yet as car's filthy from the "roadtest" ;) and due to Goodrich's inability to pack 2 front and 2 rear hoses (I had 3 front and 1 rear :angry ) the rear suspension lowering/rebuild is on hold for another week or so.



Any articles or suggestions? Google surprisingly wasn't much help apart from a couple of poorly written articles (mind you that was only 4 pages of searching)



EDIT I should add that the work done so far has totally transformed my little Peugeot - to the extent that the roadtest (in torretial rain) lasted about an hour. Handling is tight and precise and I'm still grinning like a Cheshire cat 24 hours later :D
 
Wire brush, brake cleaner first and then hammerrite smooth.



Either by brush or spray. Did mine by brush as I feared overspray. Mask off the bleed nipples and any suspect looking bits.



Thin the paint down with some brush thinners it goes on so much easier.



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That's roughly what I'm aiming for Rich although not to concours level like your 306 was as we discussed the other day. I just want a nice clean finish and there's a lot of surface rust and other crud in there right now which kinda takes the edge off the super-dooper suspension bits!
 
Great job Richt. Only experience I've had with this type of project was using G2 Calliper paint-



A way to spice up the look and at the same time protect the callipers from corrosion. The Calliper Paint System (G2 Manufacturing Inc. Colorado Springs) it features aircraft quality paint, available in six different high gloss colours, Red, Yellow, Blue, Silver, Black, & Purple. The paint is heat resistant up to 932 degrees; this paint won't start running into your brake pads, it also seals and protects against corrosion.



Brake dust and dirt will not adhere to the calliper surface since adding the paint. The kit includes everything you'll need to get the job done, besides paint you'll also get reactor (special bonding agent), high tech calliper cleaner, mixing sticks, and a brush Brake Caliper Paint

JonM
 
Cheers Jon, the Hammerite paint we get here does the same job but is alot cheaper than the specialist caliper paint kits we get here. I dont think it will stand up to the heat off the G2 stuff, but grime washed straight off.



I used some 2 part caliper pants in the past and have stuck to the Hammerite since as it works well.



Andy make sure you get the smooth finish, as the hammered Gold and Silver both look a bit Lairy IMO.
 
I did mine with Dupli-Color hight temp engine paint and they came out great. I was impressed with the results as the paint is pretty inexpensive ($4-6 US per spray can), although I don't know if they sell it in the U.K. I would imagine any reputable brand avalible over there would work just as well though.



I cleaned everything with brake cleaner and a wire brush. If you've got quite a bit of rust you might consider using a wire wheel on an electric drill to remove it quickly.



The biggest plus of painting those parts is that brake dust washes right off with a little water. I just used gloss black as I didn't want anything too flashy. It definately made quite an improvement in the overall look of the car.
 
Its as easy as this (I did it on my '96 Cobra):



Get duplicolor semi-gloss high temp (I used 500 degree) in the color of your choice and some reducer or turpentine to prep the calipers. Mask your rotors, spray two even coats on the calipers and your done. People who take the wheels off, remove the calipers, etc are really doing overkill. Remember, stuff like duplicolor pretty much dries right after it hits the air, so you do not need to worry about overspray. Clearcoat on the other hand, you better cover anything you don't want it on cause man does that stuff fly around and stick to stuff.



I hear you about a clean look, my Cobra was black and I did semi-gloss black. It really cleaned it up nicely without being too flashy. Any other Cobra owners know the brownish, rust like color those calipers can get if not treated.
 
It was about the only one mod that was accepted. Last year I was going to buy some new calipers and discs to have a really clean factory look. I descided against it in the endm things where getting to much, i replaced the rear box of the exhayst due to sligght corrosion and a wheel due to a small chip. Enough was enough. The calipers eing painted as close to the factory colour as I could must off helped to it being accepted I guess. Most id would guess all cars in the show and shine and concours in the Peugeot club had painted calipers. Another guy in the standard class painted the whole underneath off his car Ford RS owners style and got away with that!



In the Autoglym concours im not sure you would get away with it.
 
Thanks guys - I'm going to go with Rich's suggestion but use a wire wheel on a drill (I've got a bunch of Dremel mini wire brushes which are small enough to get into every nook).



Will post pics when I'm done.
 
I've gotta do my calipers and disc centres - these two things are really letting down the appearance of my car. I ruined the finish on my calipers quite some time ago with the repeated use of Megs Hot Rims... of course, I now know better!
 
AndyC_1 said:
Thanks guys - I'm going to go with Rich's suggestion but use a wire wheel on a drill (I've got a bunch of Dremel mini wire brushes which are small enough to get into every nook).
Click to expand...



If you have the time pull the rotors and have them sand or glass bead blasted . Saves alot of time.

Then go about normal prep for painting. :up
 
I used the Plasti-Kote caliper paint for mine .. prepped it by using a wire wheel on a Dremel then Brakleen.. I masked off the rotor and other parts and layed an old sheet in behind the brakes and draped it up over the fender etc and applied 3 thin layers 15 min apart and dried with a hair dryer ..



This pic is after 3 years including 2 Canuck winters and the only touchup is 2 rock chips .. total cost was $12 for 1 can.



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I'm a G2 fan myself. I've used the Duplicolor caliper kit ($9 -15) which did a good job on my brother-in-laws car, but just felt I got a harder, smoother finish with the G2.



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heh, I was just going to ask that myself - that's a good look! I'm guessing there might be heat-related problems if its a sticker?
 
D3mon said:
heh, I was just going to ask that myself - that's a good look! I'm guessing there might be heat-related problems if its a sticker?
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there wouldn't be a problem if it's laid between the color coat and clear coat. As long as its cleared in, it'll stay sealed.
 
Update - I've now painted my hubs/calipers and of course didn't stop there and ended up painting the suspension and wheelwells too :D Here's some pics.



It's not the best job - for that I'd really need to dismantle everything, have it all blasted and recoated/repainted but she ain't a concours contender and no-one but me will see it all anyway!



Wheelwell before



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Hub/caliper after - I used smooth Hammerite in silver and satin Hammerite in black for the wheelwell and suspension components



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Second after shot - I also painted the gearbox casing in silver but missed some grease, so will need to degrease properly and apply a second coat



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Overall I'm reasonably happy with the results - for now at least!
 
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