DIY Paint Calipers
 

So my eyes are watering after reading so many threads related to painting calipers....I am hoping to do it this weekend, but before ordering paint/clear/decals, I had a couple basic questions for the experts here:

1. Is it silly to try and do this myself with a single jack/stands and a limited supply of tools - I have wrenches, ratchets, but nothing fancy?

2. When reading about the G2 caliper paint kit method, it seems previous members have very positive reviews overall. Am I wasting my time and energy trying to do this without removing the calipers themselves?

3. Anybody have a link or can help point me in the right direction to find step-by-step instructions of the process?

Thanks in advance, F'ers! Much appreciated as always....

you will need 4 jack stands you only have 3 hours to apply all the epoxy before it hardens and you cant paint anymore. I used G2 on mine and was happy with it. You dont have to have any special tools, I did my IS350 with basic tools. If you want to do a thorough job youll need to remove the calipers off the car but you can still paint them with the brake line attached. Youll need something to lay the caliper on, like a box, but put a plastic barrier between the box and painted caliper or else it sticks to the box . Its difficult to reach behind the caliper to get it painted if you dont take them off.

Youll need to allocate an entire weekend for prep/cleaning, paint, paint curing, decal, decal clear coat curing. I started cleaning friday night with the car on all fours, saturday morning started painting took a couple hours, painting each caliper and rotating around the car, give about 15-20 min per coat. I ended up with 3 coats per caliper. Then you have to let it cure for 24 hours. Next afternoon I put the high temp vinyl decal on it, 3 coats of high temp clear spaced about 10 min apart. Sunday night put the wheels back on and took it off the stands.

Did the G2 kit come with the clear or did you purchase a spray?

Also what did you use for surface prep?

Would red caliper paint look good on a silver car?

Has anyone tried this on a car that gets tracked? Just curious how the paint will hold up. The OEM silver Lexus on my calipers turned a gold color after the first track weekend and only got darker with every track event. I wouldn't bother with this except one of the rear calipers had a large chunk of the OEM color chip off and there's no hope of any kind for getting a warranty replacement with both track use and mileage well beyond any warranty.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/mem...-pic-23967.jpg

Red would def work with a MM F, I'm having mine painted Mclaren orange on my SFP F, also gonna try and get the edges of my black pearl F side badges highlighted in the same orange. Yellow seems to be the popular caliper color but I see it everywhere, it looks good but I want something different

G2 is just fine with no worries from track use...like anything else its all in the prep work. I also applied regular vinyl stickers and not brake decals - I shot a very light coat of high temp clear. They have not had any issues. 1 x G2 kit will be enough to do many coats on all of your calipers.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...F/PA210165.jpg

However I have had some chipping from careless tire shops that bang the inner barrel on the calipers during tire removals. The problem with G2, is that I have no touch up for these instances..due to not being able to store it. Also brush stokes will be evident. If I had to do it again sending them out for powder coating would be the best result method.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...ps233e4f69.jpg


Digger08

I was considering that until reading on multiple threads that Brembo and Lexus specifically recommend not to powder coat these...

or professionally sprayed...I suppose i meant....as I did not have the means, and wanted to not invest a lot of money into the project at the time.

Digger08

I hear ya...I started this thread to find out if I could do it solo over the weekend without 'F'ing' it up (pun intended) but now I'm confident I still won't know until doing more legowrk/research.

Me and a few others have sprayed out calipers ourselves.. you can check out my brakes at the next cruise!

booyakasha!!!

Heres thread I did 2 years ago when I painted my calipers on my F, I used G2 paint system along with VHT high heat clear paint, VHT high heat base coat, high heat Brembo vinyl sticker, 600 to1000 grit sand paper, brake cleaner and blue painters tape. I've used this combo on my last 5 cars including my ISx50 I had before my F. G2 system along with VHT clear holds up for yrs with no fade of color or damage due to brake dust. I away's applied several coats of VHT clear this really helps maintain color and ads extra layer of protection no to mention this also help keeps brake dust, dirt, and grime from adhere to vinyl sticker and paint. I also do centers of portion of rotors with VHT high heat black as well.



https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...aliper+project

Here or just few pics of G2 and VHT calipers from my ISF and IS350

Attachment 305974

Attachment 305975

Attachment 305976

Attachment 305977

Attachment 305978

Pics from ISx50
Attachment 305980

Attachment 305981

Attachment 305982

Attachment 305983

Attachment 305984

Sweet!
 

They look amazing for DIYs! I wish i could get some G2 paint where im at. Where did you guys get the decals, or if you dont mind sharing the size, font, or stencil. Thanks in advance!

those blue ones look way too DIY in my honest opinion. the finish and attention to detail on them are really bad. its a downgrade from OEM.

OP, i would stay clear from any brush on type paint like G2 and duplicolor. the texture wont look good.

here are a few pics of mine i did couple of weeks ago. make sure you smooth out the holes where the pin goes in on the calipers.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5495/1...97047d98_c.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3770/1...5d96a1ea_c.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3698/1...af7b6d26_c.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3787/1...2be88912_c.jpg

isfpower

what is the technique used ? Looks great. Also, where is everyone getting their brembo stickers? i'm looking for the GT-R style..

You can get the Brembo decals on eBay. ISFPower I'm interested in what color you used to spray those. That is the color I'm looking for.

seperate spray

brake cleaner, wire brush, lot of elbow grease. 6 hours total for the caliper job half of it was cleaning and prepping

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lexus-IS-ES-GS-LS-RX-GX-LX-Brake-Caliper-Decals-Sticker-4-TOTAL-6-Colors-/200834017483?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec2a3e8cb&vxp=mtr

So, if I opt for removing the calipers before painting and clear coating, what do I need to know about how to disconnect them/tie off brake lines/etc?

Thanks in advance...

Dan

you only need to clear coat the flat face of the caliper where the decal is to seal it in, when G2 epoxy dries it will dry glossy

I think people here were saying they used G2 kits. Have you tried searching da intawebz?

^ Don't worry, nobody truly know what the intawebz is.

If your looking for the burnt orange color, it was probably burnt copper VHT engine enamel rather than caliper paint. At least that's what I used, along with primer, clear and decals. Autozone had the color.

ISFPOWER, what paint did you use, what brand, and what color?

ISFPOWER's calipers appear to be VHT paint and the color is Metallic Burnt Orange

Had the same on a is300 and looks identical, could be wrong though.

Actually I think G2 is great. They sell a spray bottle that you dump the paint into which help yield much better results. Otherwise I would have to agree with ISFpower. If you plan on painting them with the supplied brush it will look horrible. Here's how mine turned out with the spray bottle and G2 paint. It turned out pretty good IMO
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...013729b98a.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...e1199bdfa0.jpg

They look great! Where did you get the F logo decals from?

Thanks!

I got them off ebay. Think they were $7 shipped to my door. You can get then in different colors too!

Have you got a link?

I've used G2 paint on my previous car too for the calipers. It's an awesome paint. It lasted awhile but some spots came off due to remounted the wheels and rubbed in the process over time. It's highly recommended not to do it when the weather is very humid.

The link is no longer active on eBay. I did find them here though,

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1000005837461.html

Thanks got them. I think they will be stencilled the same colour though not like your oem looking ones...

It looks really good. I plan I doing my calipers soon when the summer heats up. I'll post up when I'm all done.