I’ve seen passing comments but thought I’d throw it out for recent experiences. I’d like to change the color of the calipers, with minimal downtime. I’m also a paranoid nut about things never being put back exactly as they are removed.

So who has done this? (Pics?). Was thinking of buying new calipers ($800ish) sending them to get done, then having the dealer install them, then sell my old ones?

I’ve also seen examples of high temp 3M caliper wrap being done too, without removing them.

Any thoughts from those who did it? Thanks!

 

I’ll leave the other stuff to others, as while I’d trust “my” people to fully disassemble, coat, and reinstall everything perfectly, I can’t speak to your comfort level and talent of those you’ll use. (It’s not complicated, though.) That said, I wouldn’t plan on anyone buying your used calipers. If someone does, it’s a nice bonus, but I don’t see it happening. Plan accordingly. Maybe it’s still worth buying a new set so you’re only down for a few hours while they swap them, but do your math assuming that the old calipers will only be useful as paperweights or the scrapyard price by weight.

 

I painted mine using the G2 caliper paint kit. If you go this route order 2 so you get enough paint, I ran out after 3 coats and would have liked to do a 4th plus a touch up coat to really get full coverage. The finish is excellent on the g2 kit because it cures as an enamel, so it's glossy and doesn't require a clear coat. I was going to ceramic coat them as well but people said it's not necessary as brake dust washes off easily enough so I did not bother, and they are easy to clean.

Alternatively you can mask everything off and spray paint with a high temp paint. This is the fastest and probably easiest way but you'll also want to clear coat and then ceramic coat for ease of cleaning.

The wrap is an interesting idea but it will certainly take a lot more time to get right and will have to be done in multiple pieces so you don't get wrinkles and or have to overstretch the film.

 

I had this done on my ISF, not on my LC. I went to a paint shop with the decals I wanted. They disassembled the calipers painted them attached the decals and then clear coated them. Turned out GREAT.



Lou

 

Gorgeous…I have an USB as well. How long did this take? 1 day? Was prep a beast? I did watch the vid on G2 kits but they always seem easier than real
life.

 

It’s not hard to do yourself.

I have a vintage Volvo I dote on. A year or two back I rebuilt the front brakes, and added SS lines prior to upgrading the turbo and tuning. Any high heat paint will work; I did these with Rustoleum Engine paint (Ford Blue, as it’s a near-perfect match for the Swedish racing colors, aka “Swedish Racing Green” ). I did the rotor hat, edges, pad backing plate, and the dust shield backing in silver high-heat paint. You can do this yourself with little cost.

I am near the end of a mid-life refresh on an 09 GS350awd. I had (have it) on stands for an extended period so just did the calipers in place, cleaning carefully, masking and taping, as I did not feel like breaking the lines and rebuilding, which was unnecessary.

You can do anything inbetween. It’s not hard at all, just takes time and patience. I have the wheels about to get their final gloss coat at the moment…

This is Rustoleum engine paint - extremely durable.

 

Which colour did you use please, its hard to tell from pics & websites

 

I did it within a week of purchase so prep wasn't too bad. My biggest issue was that I live in FL and doing it in the dead of summer was the wrong choice. The heat and humidity worked against me. For prep I used their supplied brake cleaner and a wire brush to rinse the caliper and scrub the nooks and crannies. After that I painted, working aorund the car starting at a front corner and working fronr-rear-front-rear. By the time I got done with the 4th I'd take a quick 10 minute break then start the rotation again with the next coat. Then I let the car sit for 24 hours.

I started at 530am and was finished by 8am and the heat+humidity still worked against me, plus ran out of paint because the calipers are huge. I did the prep and masking the night before and that took about an hour altogether. So total time investment for me was like 4-5 hours. I'm about 90% satisfied with the result. With a better working environment and more paint I'm sure I'd have gotten perfect results though, should have done it in November lol!.


That's their orange kit.

 

I’m also in FL. It worked against you because of the heat and humidity effects on the paint? Or just because it was miserable as Hades?

thank you for all your wisdom!

PS- wanna do mine?? Haha

 

Both lol. The heat and humidity made the working time with the paint shorter so I felt pressured to hurry, even starting at 530am it was already 75+ degrees in my garage. At one point when the sun started reflecting into the garage and hitting the paint it was drying almost as fast as I was painting it on. So much so that on one area (thankfully toward the back of the caliper so you can't really see it anyway) I had a drip that dried before I saw it and so I wasn't able to spread it out to fix it.

I would use the kit again in a heartbeat if I had to do it again but I'd definitely do it in a cooler month and buy some additional product. I've seen others recommend buying a better paint brush too and I could see that being beneficial to timeliness but I didn't have a major problem using the brush they supplied.

​
If you decide to use the kit and want a hand I'd be happy to help out if schedules align!

 

I did this on my GS350 a few years back. Here is what I used.

For cleaning

Primer

Paint

Clear


Just have to mask all the rest from paint overspray.

 

easy peasy if U have time.
remove wheel
clean caliper,lightly sand to scuff up surface, tape off areas not to be painted,

clean again rubbing alcohol
3-4 coats allowing each coat to dry
apply decals(i chose white, black is good too)
few coats gloss coat
any color U want ..I went with a more Porsche Gulf Orange
enjoy,,think I spent $35for everything..

 

I used G2 a few months ago and it took me about 4 hours total. I know, I know... they aren't brembo brakes but I loved the Brembo gold calipers and wanted to replicate that look.

 

This looks SO good. Very OEM+

 

Not a fan of the sticker but I like the gold