DIY REQUEST: Painting the Calipers..

[lucaa135]

has anyone out there painted their calipers a different color? let me know

[dorkytom]

I did it a few weeks ago on a 128, i think its the same for 135... Did lazy method (left it still attached to car, but only still attached by the lines, some people dont even bother taking it that far). I painted them black just for rust protection.

This was actually my first mod ever, and basically the first time ive ever really worked on a car.

1. Take off tires and rims/ put car on jack stands (see manual for each sides stand locations)

2. Remove the 2 bolts on the back of each calipers (top back and bottom back). I think it was a hex.

3. Remove the metal clip by bending them out with plyers. I was worried id snap the clip but they are actually very strong. Putting the clip back on later was actually really easy.

4. Slide the calipers from the rotors, this was difficult but i just kinda slowly moved it
back and forth and eventually they came out.

5. Stabilize them somewhere on the rotor by wedging it somewhere on top just so you dont need an extra pair of hands to hold the calipers and dont drop the calipers which are attached to the car only by the lines. (I didn't completely detach the calipers from the car)

6. Scrub off any rust (i used a wire brush) and clean the areas to be painted with brake cleaner. Brake cleaner comes with g2 kit.

7. Mask off the areas you don't want to paint.

8. Prepare the paint according to Paint instructions. (Use stuff that can survive high temp like G2)

9. Paint the calipers. I did 4 coats on each caliper. I also painted the center of the rotor where it attaches to the rim and very top edge of the rim, since mine had rust there which made it difficult to get the rim off, so i wanted to prevent that.

You can also paint the clip, I think some people paint it a different color.

10. Leave to dry overnight or longer.

11. Then reassemble. When reassembling put a light brake grease on back of brake pads, i also put a very light coat of that same grease on the bolts when i put them back in the calipers, not sure if this greasing of the bolts is necessary. Also reassembly was extremely easy and took very little time.

I was messy and got paint on parts of the rotor i wasn't intending to paint, this burned right off the first time i drove the car.

Time for complete newb was about 8 hours, but i didnt know what i was doing.

Looked great when i was done...

[lucaa135]

pm me some pics! i think I'm going to go ahead and do this within the next week or so!

[JimD]

I painted mine red on my 128i shortly after I got it. I bought a brush on kit from JEGS. I think it was about $20. The kit had a large can of brake cleaner, a few flux brushes (sold to put soldering flux on when doing copper plumbing) and a small can of paint (which was plenty). I had no rust to deal with. I just used paper towels and the brake cleaner to clean the calipers and brushed on the paint. I pulled the wheels for access. The brake rotors stayed on the car. A couple years later, the paint is not visibly deteriorating. I haven't cleaned them and looked at them closely, however.

If you do this, I would go to a hardware store and get at least half a dozen more flux brushes. I found areas where I had not cleaned adequately and I had to throw a brush away to avoid getting brake dust into the paint. I had plenty of them, I use them to apply glue when I am doing woodworking.


Jim

[peeti]

Note to OP - 128 has different brake calipers than 135. Method of madness may be slightly different.

[dorkytom]

Originally Posted by peeti

Note to OP - 128 has different brake calipers than 135. Method of madness may be slightly different.

While the brake calipers are different, I don't think the process is different. However I could be wrong.

[dorkytom]

Originally Posted by lucaa135

pm me some pics! i think I'm going to go ahead and do this within the next week or so!

Best I can do for pictures...

Also this is the paint kit I bought G2 ... supposedly they guarantee that it will not chip. Your suppose to keep the receipt and email them pics if it chips. Also the kit has way more paint than you actually need, which unfortunately cannot be saved.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/acces...tail.jsp?ID=41

[dorkdog]

I think I'll do this when it's time to do brakes - might as well - only thing missing is the replacement of the parts with new ones.

[dorkytom]

Originally Posted by dorkdog

I think I'll do this when it's time to do brakes - might as well - only thing missing is the replacement of the parts with new ones.

Good plan.. The only reason i did it was because the rust on the calipers was sooo ugly i couldnt stand it.