Hopefully someone can help me. I started to paint my calipers today. I cleaned the calipers the best I could and then began to paint. I'm using a 600 degree manifold paint. So I slap it on and it dosn't look to good on the first coat. So it starts to dry and I put on another coat. While I do this the first layer of paint comes off. So I try this a couple more times and the same thing happens. When The paint is dry there is no way its coming off. But put a little more paint on over top and its like instant paint stripper.
I'm so pissed off because now my one caliper looks like shit and I'm at a loss as how to fix it.
So do you think i did a crappy job of cleaning the calipers?
it was 40 degrees out, was it too cold?
if you can help I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Mike

 

Personally, I wait for temps closer to 60 or above for good adherance. I smoothed my calipers a couple of weeks ago, but I'm waiting for warmer weather to paint them.

Make sure you have cleaned them with a good chemical and scrub brush, then make sure you got all of the chemical off. Wash it with a quick coat of water and let air dry (compressed air works wonders here...).

 

Mike, bummer about the calipers. I had a couple things that MAY help you. You may recall that I used the red Folia Tec paint on my calipers last summer. Well, after the very first track day, the paint was burned and so was I! Needless to say, by the end of the year the calipers were looking like shit and I wasn't sure just how to handle it. Over the 3 weeks that Scarlet was in Juliann's bunker, I took the calipers and mouting bracket completely off the car and used about 3 different kinds of chemical strippers and solvents to remove the old red paint, or what was left of it. This was a BITCH! It took 3 days of applying these chemicals and waiting, then applying more.

Well, once the solvents did their trick, I used a wire brush and 3M sander thing to make the calipers smooth and remove all debris and dirt. So they looked like this...



Then I used the Krylon black hi temp paint, up to 1200 degrees. The first track day is this weekend, so we'll see how it stands up.

I think you may have goofed on two points. One, the calipers weren't clean enough when you applied the paint. Two, it was just too cold for the paint to adhere.

So what you may have ahead of you is the same process that I had. Take the calipers off and remove the paint, clean the snot out of them and them paint them again, or just put them back on without paint. It's just not possible, IMO, to be able to do all of this while the calipers are still on the car. Yes, you CAN do it, but it's much more difficult to do a good job with them.

And while you are at it, put some of the stainless steel brake lines on. MG Racing is going to have a kit for that soon...

Anyway, I hope this helped...!

 

Thanks, Greg. It did help, I learned I should stay away fro paint
I was about to buy th foila stuff till I read you post. Thats why I picked up the reg. Hi temp stuff. I think your right though. My car had sat for the day and I guess the metal was just to cold. Since I'm so impatient I just couldn't wait.
Is this Summer ever gonna come?

Thanks guys

Mike

 

IVe painted my calipers using some high heat engine enamel. Much cheaper than the folia tec stuff...
I did it in October of 2000 and its now March 2001.
The paint still holds up...i'd say 99%
Some stone chips have carved out some bits of the paint...but thats fine by me...need to look close up to notice...
VERY detailed instructions on how i did it are here:

http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/vivisect/P...ipers/index.htm

 

Oh, I forgot to post this link.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?...&a=11158931&f=0

More pics of the caliper painting process...

Also, I bought two cans of the Krylon paint and used almost all of it over the two days that I painted the calipers. Spray, let it dry for a while...repeat ad nauseum.

I bet it will hold up pretty good. The good thing is about the Krylon paint is that it is readily available and I can touch it up when I need to by just buying another can...well, it's not quite that easy...you can buy freaking SPRAY paint in the city of Chicago!!! THAT pisses me off!!!

Anyway...that's another story.

Good luck, Mike, let us know what you do...!

 

Greg,

It that "CAN'T"? You can't buy spray paint in Chicago? What, because of taggers?

The said thing is you can probably buy a gun.

 

I took the time to paint them once and the paint has held up reasonably well but not perfectly so in less than a year I am unhappy with them. The combination of heat from the track, chips from swapping wheels, and all the brake dust clinging to the rough surface has them looking dingy again. I

 

Thanks again for your input. I think I'll wait for it to warm up a bit and give it another try. Not to much longer though, all the guys were laughing at my quasi red caliper then in the winter I'll have my buddy powder coat them. Should have just done it this year but I was just to lazy

 

The problem with buying spray paint in Chicagoland probably has to do more with the inhalers than the taggers. In Texas they still let adults buy spray paint.