Weekend Project - Paint Calipers - LotusTalk

waydui · 05-15-2006, 07:03 AM

Weather was terrible this weekend, rain all day long, so decided to do a long-delayed project - Paint the brake calipers.

Overall project wasn't too bad, just time consuming as you wait for the paint to set up before applying next coat(s).

I used DupliColor Caliper Kit, red version. Simple to use.

A few observations:
Loosen the lug nuts BEFORE you jack the car up in the air. Too difficult to break free the lugs if the wheels aren't held in place by being on the ground.

I took the time to clean out the wheel wells and then used Mothers "Back to Black" product on the wheel well liners. Really made them shine!

Masking off the calipers took the longest time.

But if you don't do it properly, you'll get paint where you don't want it. A good prep job is worth the effort.

After painting the calipers, I touched up the various bolts with silver paint. They were showing a little rust, so it looks a little better.

All told, it took about 5 hours to do the whole job. I only did the fronts, as the back ones are so small, I thought it might look a little silly. But I may change my mind...

Here are some step-by-step pics.

Wayne

waydui · 05-15-2006, 07:05 AM

Here are some more pics.

Wayne

P.S. Paint Kit cost $16.00

Shiftlock · 05-15-2006, 07:06 AM

Any pictures of the car with the wheels back on? Specifically, showing the front and rear of the car. I'm wondering how it looks with only the fronts painted. I did the fronts and rears, but on the rears I also painted the back of the brake pads to show more color.

SweetDaddyD · 05-15-2006, 07:46 AM

Looks good. I'm still trying to decide on a color for my CO car. I was thinking blue, but not so sure on that now. Ordered the porterfields so hopefully if I ever get around to it, at least there will be less dust.

waydui · 05-15-2006, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD

Looks good. I'm still trying to decide on a color for my CO car. I was thinking blue, but not so sure on that now.

I'd have a hard time too picking a color for CO. I considered blue for my car, but it was a very light shade, more like a Robin's Egg color. Not bold enough.

The Satin Black might stand out well against the CO.

Wayne

Shiftlock · 05-15-2006, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD

Looks good. I'm still trying to decide on a color for my CO car. I was thinking blue, but not so sure on that now. Ordered the porterfields so hopefully if I ever get around to it, at least there will be less dust.

Blue is an interesting idea. I went with red on my CO. I was worried that it wouldn't contrast enough against the CO, but it actually looks very nice. It stands out well, and looks proper.

Dave · 05-15-2006, 08:24 AM

Great post and pictures Wayne

Red05Elise · 06-14-2006, 01:46 PM

so you didn't spray paint, you brush painted?

waydui · 06-14-2006, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red05Elise

so you didn't spray paint, you brush painted?

I used the brush that came with the kit. The paint goes on smoothly and any brush marks blend out after a few minutes.

The key was doing multiple light coats of paint, 4-5 coats per caliper.

Wayne

pchop · 08-31-2006, 01:57 PM

What do you guys think about painting the calipers yellow and highlight the LOTUS in Dark Green/Black?

Slag · 08-31-2006, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pchop

What do you guys think about painting the calipers yellow and highlight the LOTUS in Dark Green/Black?

I like!

dododge · 08-31-2006, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pchop

What do you guys think about painting the calipers yellow and highlight the LOTUS in Dark Green/Black?

That's what I've been planning for my car. I've already got the yellow kit and a black paint marker for the detail work but haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

DragonRider1 · 08-31-2006, 07:18 PM

I was thinking of doing the calipers in red, then using a dremel with a buffer to polish the LOTUS and possibly the raised lines next to it. Something to blend with the silver bolts. Where did you get the kit from?

dododge · 08-31-2006, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DragonRider1

Where did you get the kit from?

I think it was an Advance Auto Parts store. Amazon.com has it if there's no retailer around. For the black details I'm going to try using a high temp 44 felt-tip marker.

Shiftlock · 09-01-2006, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pchop

What do you guys think about painting the calipers yellow and highlight the LOTUS in Dark Green/Black?

I think the problem you might have is that the raised letters don't have sharp edges, so when you paint them, they will end up looking sloppy. I could be wrong, but this is the reason I didn't try to paint the letters on my calipers. If you decide to try it, I'm very interested in seeing how it turns out.

Brian 111 · 09-01-2006, 06:56 AM

originally posted by SweetDaddyD:

Quote:

Looks good. I'm still trying to decide on a color for my CO car. I was thinking blue, but not so sure on that now. Ordered the porterfields so hopefully if I ever get around to it, at least there will be less dust.

I painted my engine covers blue (Krylon Fusion) on my CO Elise. I was hesitant, thinking it might be too weird, but it grew on me after seeing a lot of posts of tape-covered CO cars. If I do the calipers, I'll paint the lettering silver like on the covers.

Oh, yeah, much less dust with the Porterfields. I got them for the Elise after putting them on my Mini, which had to be washed literally every day with the stock pads (the usual BMW OEM crap).

NCElise · 09-01-2006, 07:02 AM

Great post! Thanks! :thumbsup:

Which would look better on GG, yellow or red? I'm thinking yellow to match other accents on the car.

05-15-2006, 07:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
waydui GR8 SCAPE Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kirtland, Ohio Posts: 1,201	Weekend Project - Paint Calipers Weather was terrible this weekend, rain all day long, so decided to do a long-delayed project - Paint the brake calipers. Overall project wasn't too bad, just time consuming as you wait for the paint to set up before applying next coat(s). I used DupliColor Caliper Kit, red version. Simple to use. A few observations: Loosen the lug nuts BEFORE you jack the car up in the air. Too difficult to break free the lugs if the wheels aren't held in place by being on the ground. I took the time to clean out the wheel wells and then used Mothers "Back to Black" product on the wheel well liners. Really made them shine! Masking off the calipers took the longest time. But if you don't do it properly, you'll get paint where you don't want it. A good prep job is worth the effort. After painting the calipers, I touched up the various bolts with silver paint. They were showing a little rust, so it looks a little better. All told, it took about 5 hours to do the whole job. I only did the fronts, as the back ones are so small, I thought it might look a little silly. But I may change my mind... Here are some step-by-step pics. Wayne Attached Images __________________ _______________________ '05 Elise Magnetic Blue, Black, Touring, Hard Top, Star Shield, Stage II Exhaust, Arqray decat pipe, S2 Front Splitter (UK), Sector 111 Rear Tow Hook, Driving Lights, De-Snorkled, K&N Air Filter, Shift-I System, LSS Dampers & Springs, Sector 111 V-Bar, Schroth Profi II 5 point harness, Exige S Probax seats, 1/4 turn undertray screws, Stealth bulbs, BWR SC with PES tune, Innovative engine mounts, SS brake lines.

05-15-2006, 07:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
waydui GR8 SCAPE Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kirtland, Ohio Posts: 1,201	Weekend Project - Paint Brake Cailpers Here are some more pics. Wayne P.S. Paint Kit cost $16.00 Attached Images __________________ _______________________ '05 Elise Magnetic Blue, Black, Touring, Hard Top, Star Shield, Stage II Exhaust, Arqray decat pipe, S2 Front Splitter (UK), Sector 111 Rear Tow Hook, Driving Lights, De-Snorkled, K&N Air Filter, Shift-I System, LSS Dampers & Springs, Sector 111 V-Bar, Schroth Profi II 5 point harness, Exige S Probax seats, 1/4 turn undertray screws, Stealth bulbs, BWR SC with PES tune, Innovative engine mounts, SS brake lines.

05-15-2006, 07:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
Shiftlock Fed Elise #242, Now Turbo Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 1,712	Any pictures of the car with the wheels back on? Specifically, showing the front and rear of the car. I'm wondering how it looks with only the fronts painted. I did the fronts and rears, but on the rears I also painted the back of the brake pads to show more color. Last edited by Shiftlock : 05-15-2006 at 07:09 AM.

05-15-2006, 08:24 AM	#7 (permalink)
Dave OhioLotus.com Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,133	Great post and pictures Wayne __________________ Discount Lotus OEM Parts: OhioLotus.com

08-31-2006, 07:18 PM	#13 (permalink)
DragonRider1 Sports Photographer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Knoxville, Tn Posts: 1,369	I was thinking of doing the calipers in red, then using a dremel with a buffer to polish the LOTUS and possibly the raised lines next to it. Something to blend with the silver bolts. Where did you get the kit from? __________________ 2005 Elise Ardent Red/Black LSS, TP, HT, Knoxville, TN. Surrounded by: Deal's Gap (318 curves in 11 miles) Cherohala Skyway (45miles of sweeping mountain curves) Devil's Triangle (Deal's Gap but with more attitude) ...and of course, the Great Smokey Mountains Parks! Welcome to Elise Country

05-15-2006, 07:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
SweetDaddyD BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: ATL, GA Posts: 7,646 Images: 2	Looks good. I'm still trying to decide on a color for my CO car. I was thinking blue, but not so sure on that now. Ordered the porterfields so hopefully if I ever get around to it, at least there will be less dust.

06-14-2006, 01:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
Red05Elise Loves rolling burnouts Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wilmington, DE Posts: 223	so you didn't spray paint, you brush painted?

08-31-2006, 01:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
pchop Use Chopstix and Eat Rice Join Date: May 2006 Location: New York/Los Angeles Posts: 728	What do you guys think about painting the calipers yellow and highlight the LOTUS in Dark Green/Black?

09-01-2006, 07:02 AM	#17 (permalink)
NCElise Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 357 Images: 4	Great post! Thanks! :thumbsup: Which would look better on GG, yellow or red? I'm thinking yellow to match other accents on the car. __________________ The sports car with no artificial additives

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