Hey guys,

For those of you that are on a lower budget (like me! ) and often buy used parts, one of the things you'll most likely end up wanting to buy is a BBK whether it's OEM Brembos, Stoptechs, or a Wilwood kit. Used calipers although are still good for many more miles, their appearance can be unattractive if its been tracked, used for many miles, or just lack of care.

I decided to refinish my Stoptech ST40 calipers that I bought from a 332mm BBK and found that there is a very helpful thread in the DIY forum that USN HM 350Z Posted a very detailed thread on how to paint your calipers here:
http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235721

However, there are several tips and such that after enduring 2 days of frustration I think I should share:

Refinishing Calipers - Painting Tips & Info:

What paint should I use?
-There are many paint choices but it is most likely 1 brand that every local store has - DupliColor. You can chose any brand but this one was available in many colors for me and I have good experience with them in the past.

What color choice is best?
-The actual color is up to you. I find that metallic colors sticks better to the calipers then say a non-metallic red or blue. I tried red, and white before settling for a metallic gunmetal/bronze color. For some reason the paint in the metallic colors tends to not drip as much. They also dries quicker in my experience.

What condition/position should I paint the calipers in
-Since it's winter time here in Seattle my conditions are crappy as hell. Its in the low 40s...in my garage. So, I had to come up with a way to heat up the paint. My buddy flyinglumpia was able to get a heating lamp and we set it up close to the calipers as we spray to try and heat it up as much as possible and it worked perfectly drying the paint much faster

Should I remove the calipers or leave them on the car?
-You can do either. If you don't mind rebleeding your brake system you should remove it. If not just leave them and make sure you do a good tape up job to make sure your car don't get any over spray.

-If you remove the calipers, hanging them up to just below eye level is preferred, it gives you the ability to spray all over the calipers without missing any parts. I hung mine using strong strings from the garage ceiling.

Primer or no primer
-I highly recommend primer. The reason is that used calipers has a lot of nicks and chips that the primer would hide nicely and make the surface clean and easy to be painted over. I would also use sand paper in 200, 400, then 800 to sand the primer lightly.

Clear or no clear?
-I used clear on mine because metallic paint does not shine as much as normal paint. If you are using non-metallic paint it isnt necessary unless you just want the extra gloss.

List of material used?
-Duplicolor High Heat Primer (1200 degrees)
-Duplicolor High Heat Paint (500 degrees) - DE 1651 Cast Coat Iron (not sure but I'll double check)
-Duplicolor High Heat Clear (500 degrees)
-Assorted Pack of sand paper - including 200, 400, 800, and 1000
-Large cardboard boxes to put on the ground of the painting location
-Heat lamp if you are in cold conditions. I painted in 40 degrees weather so heat lamp is a must
-Strong string/fishing lines (to hang the calipers up)
-Painters' tape (to tape off any parts you do not want to paint over)
-A FRIEND! Yes having a friend there to calm you down and tells you not to spray thick coats or give opinions on a color is a great asset!

Thanks to my buddy Ernie for his help in getting this painting process done.


Here are my calipers all completely painted and ready to go. I will take better pics once I get them down. The color is a bronze-ish gunmetal with lots of flakes. Very stealthy but also a very nice color My other choices were blue or yellow. Previous to that I tried white and red but the paint color is not vibrant as I had hoped so I got this color instead and I'm very happy with the outcome





One pic of them behind my spare work meister (excuse the wheel it hasnt been clean since its a spare I had in my garage)

 

very good write-up alvin! I'm not feelin the color so much though, maybe i gotta see it in person.

 

Thanks bro. I'm still waiting to get it on the Z and see how it looks on the car. Its a lot nicer in person though.

 

Great write up, thanks! Hoping to paint in the spring

 

Tito, it looks better in person, plus its different. Also it is alot better than the yellow and the different shade of blue he was thinking.

I told him pink to match Scott's pretty princess outfit but we passed on that.

 

Awesome news! My hook up from the body shop had to refinish a set of ferrari calipers and he had some extra paint...gave them to me and this is the result woot....much better in person but I did what I could a point and shoot

 

Shakes my head all my work. ha ha j/k, I am sure if I could see photobucket I would be saying they look great.

 

haha nah bro considering you did the sanding and that made it all nice and smooth

 

is that the caliper wholy hell thats huge

 

Yeah they're a lot bigger than the OEM Brembos even though both are 4 piston calipers. The ST40 will come with a larger 332mm rotor size though - also a 2 piece rotor design which saves a bit of weight.

 

are you going to use a stoptech decal?

 

Yep, found a seller that charges only $15 for 2 front stoptech decals and 2 rear "B" emblem (stands for brembo) for my rear Brembo twin-piston brakes. He can do it in any color and size.

 

How many coats did you put on? That stuff looks thick! Is it a two part (catalyst) type paint?