Brake caliper paint

[willwoll100 0]

I've searched all over but can't find any advice on what paint to use, I was sure I seen a thread on this somewhere before but unable to find it here, maybe somewhere else.

 

Cheers

[g60Dazzaman 0]

Go to halfords mate, they sell specific caliper paint in various colours, costs about £20 i think!

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

Halfords sell specific brake-caliper paint.

I have their red stuff on mine.... seems to do the trick :)

[willwoll100 0]

Yeah I was aware of Harry Halfords doing the reall brake caliper paint but I've read somewhere that there's other paint that is much cheaper, it's doing my head in that I can't remember where I read the bloody thing.

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

Get a dulux tester.

Cheap = free.

But won't last long... lol

[mrbeige 0]

Could you use hammerite instead? More choice of colours!

[dinkus 10]

Smoothrite (Hammerite but umm smooth) is supposed to be good, but caliper paint will probably last longer.

 

Andi - looks like you've beaten someone to death with that caliper! :lol:

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

How else do you expect Ant (Bananaman) to do all the work on my car? ;)

[dinkus 10]

How else do you expect Ant (Bananaman) to do all the work on my car? ;)

 

:lol:

[biggrim 0]

depening on what colour you are after, look at halfords' V.H.T. paint. tis what i used on my calipers (well Henny's calipers to be exact).

[Blue_Joe 0]

If your can clean your calipers up really well - ie right back to bare metal and can do without your car for a few days then use Hammerite Smoothrite as it gives the best colour and finish, but you need to put on about 3 coats with 12 hrs drying time between each to get a good finish.

 

If you can't get that then go to your local boy racer store or halfords and get a brake caliper painting set that has a 2 pack epoxy paint but have all the wheels off at the same time as it drys up damn quick and if you take too long you get a pants finish!!!!

 

This is the voice of experience, I've used both and the Smoothrite is far far better finish and colour!!!

[Furkz 0]

is it not engine paint that was mentioned before somewhere, that works well on calipers

[Blue_Joe 0]

Smoothrite is without doubt the best finish!!!

[flusted 0]

Ive used engine lacquer,hammerite and a paint called qd 90 which is for fork lifts and other industrial equippment.Never pay over £5 for something like this.

[mrbeige 0]

Smoothrite seems to be the way forward. Any idea on price? i.e. is it cheaper than brake caliper paint from Halfords (sorry for swearing :wink:)

[dinkus 10]

Good point Blue_Joe, if you're going to paint your calipers it's highly advisable to give them a damned good clean and de-grease before you paint them.

[Henny 0]

you'll find that Hammerite is oil based and doesn't like some of the wheel cleaning products about. You'll also find that if you're painting FRONT calipers with hammerite, that it will discolour after a heavy braking session as it's not too temperature stable.

 

The best stuff I've found is the Halfords own brand brake caliper paint. It's a single tin (none of this 2 stage expensive crud) but you do need to leave it for a while to set. My rear MKIV calipers have a fantastic finish on them and soooo nearly match my Brembo fronts... 8)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Not had any problems with black smoothrite on my front calipers. Still shiney and smooth :D

 

The Brembos are powder coated with red enamel, and hammerite is enamel, so..... if it's burning off under hard braking, you haven't put enough on :wink:

[borderair 0]

smoothrite every time - use 3 coats as blue_joe says and will look OE.

use paint from a tin not a spray can though

cost about 5 quid from B&Q

[willwoll100 0]

Cheers for all the help I'll think I'll go for the hammerite for now :-P

[Storm 0]

When Prepping calipers for paint. I bought some brake cleaner from Halfrauds and it does squat. I dont want to use an abrasive as this will take the Galv coating off. The rears are alloy and look corroded and bumpy also. What do I do?

[mk1-corrado 0]

just get yourself some strong degreaser from a motor factors and that will work fine. stuff i use at work for degreasing bodywork before spraying is good, strong but still ok to use. gets tar off bottom of doors and stuff too!

[Storm 0]

Know any brands to look for?

[mk1-corrado 0]

well as it's automotive we have sikkens d600 or something, but you might only get that from a paint supplier. I think gunk do an engine degreaser which may well work by spraying onto caliper or cloth so as not to get onto discs? i'll try and find out some others.

[mk1-corrado 0]

sorry, i checked at work and it is Sikkens M600. Available from all good paint supply places.