Restoring Our Brembo's To beautiful Conditon!!!
I'm not familiar with the Brembos paint quality as far as bond or flaking, since I haven't had my evo for very long. If the Brembos are not known for any kind of flaking and the bond is good I would suggest to try not to take the paint down to the metal. I do know that some of this may be unavoidable. Do you know the sealing properties of the engine enamel? I would look into sealing before spraying the enamel. This might help with streaking and help with moisture so you can avoid doing this again. Then again I'm not familiar with the product you are using so you may not need to use sealer, if you sand down to the metal.
Very nice work though! I'm probably going to be doing this after the winter is over.
Another thing you can do if you want is create a simple paint booth in your garage by spraying ur floor down with water, getting a fernas filter, and take 1 fan and have it blow out of the garage. Using the fernas filter as the air inlet and fan as exhaust. Lay some tarp down to seal the rest of the garage door. This will help with getting any particles in the paint.
Did you wet sand the clear? Is there orange peel? How well does that pant adhere to the metal on initial contact? It looks really nice from the pics.
Sorry to jack the thread in any way! I hate how faded mine calipers look.
Another thing you can do if you want is create a simple paint booth in your garage by spraying ur floor down with water, getting a fernas filter, and take 1 fan and have it blow out of the garage. Using the fernas filter as the air inlet and fan as exhaust. Lay some tarp down to seal the rest of the garage door. This will help with getting any particles in the paint.
Did you wet sand the clear? Is there orange peel? How well does that pant adhere to the metal on initial contact? It looks really nice from the pics.
Sorry to jack the thread in any way! I hate how faded mine calipers look.
Last edited by Graphic; Nov 23, 2010 at 12:23 PM.
There are alot of ways to do this. Depending on how bad yours are you can skip most of those steps. My clear was peeling badly and here's what I did, and they look as good as new -
1. Jack the corner up you're working on.
2. Take off wheel closest to the caliper you want to work on.
3. Take a can of brake parts cleaner and spray the caliper (this will dribble under the clear coat and cause it to separate from the paint and also clean the caliper off).
4. Using a wet cloth wipe down the caliper which should get rid of the old clear coat and the dirt (for stubborn areas I used a tiny flathead with a cloth on it to help the clear coat come off).
5. Now that you are at the layer of paint wet sand it with 1600 grit very gently getting all the areas.
6. It should look pretty jacked up now so get a clear of high temp clear coat and lightly spray it on to bring back that new caliper shine.
7. Skip this step if you don't have any heaters but I did so I put one heater on each caliper to help them dry/cure. If you don't just let them sit and dry (have some cereal perhaps).
I did the last step 3 times and the calipers look excellent and have held up great.
The biggest issue I have with these damn calipers is that it's almost impossible to get the retaining pins in and out without causing the clear coat to chip, no matter how careful you are it's designed to be a tight fit and it pops off the clear coat which in turn starts the process all over
1. Jack the corner up you're working on.
2. Take off wheel closest to the caliper you want to work on.
3. Take a can of brake parts cleaner and spray the caliper (this will dribble under the clear coat and cause it to separate from the paint and also clean the caliper off).
4. Using a wet cloth wipe down the caliper which should get rid of the old clear coat and the dirt (for stubborn areas I used a tiny flathead with a cloth on it to help the clear coat come off).
5. Now that you are at the layer of paint wet sand it with 1600 grit very gently getting all the areas.
6. It should look pretty jacked up now so get a clear of high temp clear coat and lightly spray it on to bring back that new caliper shine.
7. Skip this step if you don't have any heaters but I did so I put one heater on each caliper to help them dry/cure. If you don't just let them sit and dry (have some cereal perhaps).
I did the last step 3 times and the calipers look excellent and have held up great.
The biggest issue I have with these damn calipers is that it's almost impossible to get the retaining pins in and out without causing the clear coat to chip, no matter how careful you are it's designed to be a tight fit and it pops off the clear coat which in turn starts the process all over
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Ok so here is an update. I did the back ones with out a write up, and i changed one thing. I did not sand down to the metal, but i still striped completely through the clear to make sure it had a dull red. Now for all the haters out there. I can care less what you said about brake squeals and so forth. ( never been an issue! Painting my calipers has no effect on brake squealing! So next time you install your brakes thw wrong way or dont apply the proper grease on your pistons and it squeals you tell the evo forum your mistake.) Don't predict on my tested work. I have painted over 1000 calipers in my lifetime bc i do about 15-20 cars a month for friends and in our auto body a few ppl have seen my car and asked do we paint calipers. Point is my new evo has been the first time i had ever done a set of brembo brakes. So one thing to be changed is sanding down to the metal is not required. Bc brembo has good paint but crappy clear. Now as for the guy that said use a screw driver to take off clear. ( dude are you dumb?) Your gonna scratch it all up. Write a picture write up and show us! Not a 1 min paragraph. To sand down to the bare metal, only do it on like simple brake calipers for example the lancer. For the person that said use your hand. Simply go for it! Really do! Let me know when your done in a week or 2 bc if you got it done faster you didnt sand enough. For the guy that said use 1600 sand paper to sand a caliper! Dude you can wipe your wipe your butt with a 1600. Easily could use a 800 safely. We sand cars down with 600-800 grit. But overall for all the guys out there that were respectful thank you. I tried bc ppl out there try for us. So for something that i have experienced for many years i thought i could share. Also for the guy that asked about the pins. These pics are the ones with the pins removed after painting and no chips or scratches. Its called be gentle and take the proper tools and its fine. Also the rear calipers for both took me 1 hour to sand to the paint with the die grinder and a 600 da for flat surfaces. And for anyone else that wants to hate plz save it for someone else. Im here to help,answer questions, and make friends not enemy's. Also for the product of paint. It dont really matter just as long as its high temp caliper paint. Dupli color has always been fine for me. Thanks all
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From: KY
There are alot of ways to do this. Depending on how bad yours are you can skip most of those steps. My clear was peeling badly and here's what I did, and they look as good as new -
1. Jack the corner up you're working on.
2. Take off wheel closest to the caliper you want to work on.
3. Take a can of brake parts cleaner and spray the caliper (this will dribble under the clear coat and cause it to separate from the paint and also clean the caliper off).
4. Using a wet cloth wipe down the caliper which should get rid of the old clear coat and the dirt (for stubborn areas I used a tiny flathead with a cloth on it to help the clear coat come off).
5. Now that you are at the layer of paint wet sand it with 1600 grit very gently getting all the areas.
6. It should look pretty jacked up now so get a clear of high temp clear coat and lightly spray it on to bring back that new caliper shine.
7. Skip this step if you don't have any heaters but I did so I put one heater on each caliper to help them dry/cure. If you don't just let them sit and dry (have some cereal perhaps).
I did the last step 3 times and the calipers look excellent and have held up great.
The biggest issue I have with these damn calipers is that it's almost impossible to get the retaining pins in and out without causing the clear coat to chip, no matter how careful you are it's designed to be a tight fit and it pops off the clear coat which in turn starts the process all over
1. Jack the corner up you're working on.
2. Take off wheel closest to the caliper you want to work on.
3. Take a can of brake parts cleaner and spray the caliper (this will dribble under the clear coat and cause it to separate from the paint and also clean the caliper off).
4. Using a wet cloth wipe down the caliper which should get rid of the old clear coat and the dirt (for stubborn areas I used a tiny flathead with a cloth on it to help the clear coat come off).
5. Now that you are at the layer of paint wet sand it with 1600 grit very gently getting all the areas.
6. It should look pretty jacked up now so get a clear of high temp clear coat and lightly spray it on to bring back that new caliper shine.
7. Skip this step if you don't have any heaters but I did so I put one heater on each caliper to help them dry/cure. If you don't just let them sit and dry (have some cereal perhaps).
I did the last step 3 times and the calipers look excellent and have held up great.
The biggest issue I have with these damn calipers is that it's almost impossible to get the retaining pins in and out without causing the clear coat to chip, no matter how careful you are it's designed to be a tight fit and it pops off the clear coat which in turn starts the process all over
Dude using brake cleaner WILL NOT REMOVE ALL THE CLEAR! Not to mention will not prepare your surface for painting. If you really wanted to go the easy way, its called buy paint remover or use Lacquer thinner. Even then your not getting the proper adhesion.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 84
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From: KY
There are alot of ways to do this. Depending on how bad yours are you can skip most of those steps. My clear was peeling badly and here's what I did, and they look as good as new -
1. Jack the corner up you're working on.
2. Take off wheel closest to the caliper you want to work on.
3. Take a can of brake parts cleaner and spray the caliper (this will dribble under the clear coat and cause it to separate from the paint and also clean the caliper off).
4. Using a wet cloth wipe down the caliper which should get rid of the old clear coat and the dirt (for stubborn areas I used a tiny flathead with a cloth on it to help the clear coat come off).
5. Now that you are at the layer of paint wet sand it with 1600 grit very gently getting all the areas.
6. It should look pretty jacked up now so get a clear of high temp clear coat and lightly spray it on to bring back that new caliper shine.
7. Skip this step if you don't have any heaters but I did so I put one heater on each caliper to help them dry/cure. If you don't just let them sit and dry (have some cereal perhaps).
I did the last step 3 times and the calipers look excellent and have held up great.
The biggest issue I have with these damn calipers is that it's almost impossible to get the retaining pins in and out without causing the clear coat to chip, no matter how careful you are it's designed to be a tight fit and it pops off the clear coat which in turn starts the process all over
1. Jack the corner up you're working on.
2. Take off wheel closest to the caliper you want to work on.
3. Take a can of brake parts cleaner and spray the caliper (this will dribble under the clear coat and cause it to separate from the paint and also clean the caliper off).
4. Using a wet cloth wipe down the caliper which should get rid of the old clear coat and the dirt (for stubborn areas I used a tiny flathead with a cloth on it to help the clear coat come off).
5. Now that you are at the layer of paint wet sand it with 1600 grit very gently getting all the areas.
6. It should look pretty jacked up now so get a clear of high temp clear coat and lightly spray it on to bring back that new caliper shine.
7. Skip this step if you don't have any heaters but I did so I put one heater on each caliper to help them dry/cure. If you don't just let them sit and dry (have some cereal perhaps).
I did the last step 3 times and the calipers look excellent and have held up great.
The biggest issue I have with these damn calipers is that it's almost impossible to get the retaining pins in and out without causing the clear coat to chip, no matter how careful you are it's designed to be a tight fit and it pops off the clear coat which in turn starts the process all over
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
From: KY
Very nice work though! I'm probably going to be doing this after the winter is over.
Another thing you can do if you want is create a simple paint booth in your garage by spraying ur floor down with water, getting a fernas filter, and take 1 fan and have it blow out of the garage. Using the fernas filter as the air inlet and fan as exhaust. Lay some tarp down to seal the rest of the garage door. This will help with getting any particles in the paint.
Did you wet sand the clear? Is there orange peel? How well does that pant adhere to the metal on initial contact? It looks really nice from the pics.
Sorry to jack the thread in any way! I hate how faded mine calipers look.
Another thing you can do if you want is create a simple paint booth in your garage by spraying ur floor down with water, getting a fernas filter, and take 1 fan and have it blow out of the garage. Using the fernas filter as the air inlet and fan as exhaust. Lay some tarp down to seal the rest of the garage door. This will help with getting any particles in the paint.
Did you wet sand the clear? Is there orange peel? How well does that pant adhere to the metal on initial contact? It looks really nice from the pics.
Sorry to jack the thread in any way! I hate how faded mine calipers look.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
From: KY
I'm not familiar with the Brembos paint quality as far as bond or flaking, since I haven't had my evo for very long. If the Brembos are not known for any kind of flaking and the bond is good I would suggest to try not to take the paint down to the metal. I do know that some of this may be unavoidable. Do you know the sealing properties of the engine enamel? I would look into sealing before spraying the enamel. This might help with streaking and help with moisture so you can avoid doing this again. Then again I'm not familiar with the product you are using so you may not need to use sealer, if you sand down to the metal.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 84
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From: KY
Thank you sir, your absolutely right.
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From: KY
this how-to is a semi-fail on several easy steps you overlooked but would have taken you no time at all! i dont see your excuse of using new pads later as excuse to be lazy.....
1. you didnt mask the bleeder nipple, that area will crack soon as you bleed your breaks. often cracked paint will travel and possible ruin all your work.
2. you didnt mask the springs or the pistons. paint inside the caliper will flake in no time. at minimum paint inside will not adhere as you didnt even bother cleaning the springs which is always coated with brake grease (same with inside the caliper). you may run into brake squeal issue until you clean the inside again with paint thinner and brake grease again...
3. your paint condition was fine, only people who need to truely sand the paint down completely is for track evos who's paint turns brown. you only needed chip off the clearcoat which lifted; you dont need any special tool besides your fingertip or careful application of exacto knife.
1. you didnt mask the bleeder nipple, that area will crack soon as you bleed your breaks. often cracked paint will travel and possible ruin all your work.
2. you didnt mask the springs or the pistons. paint inside the caliper will flake in no time. at minimum paint inside will not adhere as you didnt even bother cleaning the springs which is always coated with brake grease (same with inside the caliper). you may run into brake squeal issue until you clean the inside again with paint thinner and brake grease again...
3. your paint condition was fine, only people who need to truely sand the paint down completely is for track evos who's paint turns brown. you only needed chip off the clearcoat which lifted; you dont need any special tool besides your fingertip or careful application of exacto knife.
There were no intentions of lazy here. And if you think my paint condition was fine 
thats you opinion and i would like to see you do a write up. 
Just saying.
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From: KY