So today I finally had a whole day free to get to the final project on cleaning up the appearance of the wheel area. Since I finished the rotors in Silver (see here:
Painting the Rotors on the Solstice - How to ) I figured I would have to do a complementing color for the calipers. There were only three choices to go with my "Pontiac Arrowhead" theme and those are Red, Silver and Black. Thought about Red for awhile, but decided against it since my Solstice is in Aggressive and figured it might be too much Red. Really didn't want to do Silver cause they wouldn't contrast with the rotors enough, so the only choice was Black and I'm glad I went with that decision. Keeps it clean looking, doesn't draw the eye and looks like it might come from factory.
Here is what you will need for the project.
-Brush on Caliper Paint kit from Dupli-Color (avail. in Red, Black, Silver, Blue, Yellow)
-Set of brushes for detail and coverage.
-old toothbrush
-old cleaning cloth
-2 small cups
-paint thinner
Here is what you will start off with. A stock caliper bare metal finish.
First thing you have to do is jack the car up and remove the wheels. I jacked the whole side of the car up to remove both wheels at once as it saves some time. Once the wheel is off you have easy access to the Caliper.
Follow the directions with the Caliper kit. Start with using the Caliper cleaner in the aerosol can. Spray liberally on the caliper and agitate immediately with the toothbrush. After using the toothbrush to loosen any grime, wipe that away with the cloth. Be sure to get into the nooks and crannies real well.
Once the caliper is clean you are ready to paint. I didn't bother using the masking tape included with the kit since I got two brushes that would help me with the detail work. One brush for the fine detail work and the other for coverage and building coats.
Prepare the two cups, one with about 2oz of paint thinner and the other with just water. These will be used for cleaning the brushes between coats as the paint dries quickly and will make the brushes useless if you don't do this between each coat.
Once again, follow the directions to stir the paint and keep that paint stick handy as a you might have to keep stirring the paint so it won't form a skin on the top.
Using the small brush first get a small bit of paint on it and do the edges near the bracket and any areas where the bracket come close to. (thats only if you don't want to paint the bracket as well. I left it stock looking) You also want to use the small brush in the hard to reach areas and the underside areas. Take your time and be sure to get good straight lines near the brake pad outer areas. Place the small brush in the cup with paint thinner.
Once you have it outlined you can use the large brush to fill in for a full first coat. Be sure to do light coats of paint, do not glob it on. Place the large brush in the cup of paint thinner.
You will have to wait 20 minutes between coats and this time can be used to go ahead and clean the other caliper on the side of the car you are working on. Once you finish cleaning then the 1st caliper should be ready for a second coat. Take the larger brush out of the paint thinner and dip it in the water dabbing it on the bottom of the cup to loosen the paint. Then wipe the bristles with a disposable towel. Using the larger brush to get good coverage on the whole caliper using little paint on the brush to get a light coat. While the second coat dries move directly to the other caliper and clean the small brush from the paint thinner/water and use it to do the outline detail work.
Go and finish the final coat on the 1st caliper using once again light coats to get fine coverage. You will see the paint starting to build up and get some shine.
Once finished with the first caliper you can concentrate on the second and fill in the detail work you did before. Clean the large brush from the PT/W and use it to fill in the first coat.
Place your brush in the Paint thinner for cleaning and wait for first coat to dry. While waiting why not clean up the wheel well using just a wet towel to remove dirt and grime and a dry towel to finish it up and decrease water spotting. Filty wheel wells can really ruin the appearance of a clean car.
After 20 minutes go on to the second coat. (notice the clean wheel well area compared to the same area in above pic)
The final coat of paint.
Now, clean your brushes to have them ready for the next side. Put the wheels back on and set the car back down. Stand back and appreciate the work you just accomplished!
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