IHere is a guide to painting your brake callipers. A nice little touch to give your
brakes the sporting look and prevents rusty brakes in the future.
Tools Needed:
Socket set
Hex key bits
Torque Wrench
Pliers
Wire brush
Screwdriver
Cable ties
Trolley Jack
Axle Stands
Parts Needed:
Brake calliper paint - either hammerite or foliatec paint kit
White spirit
Brake cleaner spray
Masking tape
Half-inch paintbrush
Thinners / paint brush cleaner
Rags
Dust mask (IMPORTANT)
Rags
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Colour!
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Top job
Stop Me Now!
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Loosen the wheel nuts on the front wheel. Jack up the Car using a trolley jack,
support the car with an axel stand and do the same for the other side. Remove the
front wheels and follow Andrews guide for dismantling the front brake callipers
and remove the brake discs along with the brake pads.
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Decide what colour to paint your brake callipers. Foliatec callipers kits are £24.99 from halfords,
which includes: Brake calliper paint, paint hardener and brake cleaner.
They come in all colours too - red , blue, yellow, green, gold, orange, etc.
I found this paint to work better than hammerite as you can re-apply coats every 30 mins unlike hammerite which takes hours to dry.
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Lets look at the rusty brakes before.
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Start of by putting on your dust mask and use the wire brush or wire brush for the drill to remove all the flaky rust
and brake dust from the brake calliper. Please do not breath in the brake dust as it may contain asbestos.
Not good for your lungs and is lethal to your health
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When you have removed all the rust, use brake cleaner spray to degrease the calliper.
When dry I used white spirit to remove the last of the dirt. Mask up the brake line and the bleed valve.
On the fiesta front brakes it is best to paint the brake disc anchor plate along with the calliper to complete the look,
or you will have a big rusty part next to the newly painted calliper.
Same process to paint but make sure you don't paint in the threads or you wont be able to bolt them back on.
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Use a screwdriver to open the calliper paint and paint hardener,
mix the hardener into the paint and stir for around 3 mins.
Take your paintbrush and start to paint the inner part of the calliper.
Avoid painting rubber seals or the piston itself.
Try not to cover the calliper with one coat but apply thinly to avoid the paint running.
With the foliatec paint you can reapply after 30 minutes but don't press to hard,
as you will leave fingerprints. 2 coats of paint are suitable but I did 3 to make sure.
Once your calliper is dry on the inner start on the outer part. Again try not to cover in 1 coat.
While waiting for the paint to dry, you can start painting the other brake calliper.
Clean your paintbrush with thinners or white spirit.
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After 4 hours the paint will be dry enough for you to reassemble your brakes but if you
can leave for 24 hours for the paint hardener to do its magic.
This will make sure you don't chip your new paint.
Once reassembled stand back and admire your newly painted brakes.
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The same process can be done for the rear brake drums.
Clean the rust from the drums with the wire brush and wipe clean with brake cleaner.
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Simply mask up the wheel bolts and get painting, no need to dismantle.
I painted my rear drums in black smooth hammerite paint, for the more toned down look.
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Sit back and enjoy the new factory look
Hope this guide helps in some way.
Guide Written and © On 16 July 2006 by Clark Moss (Knucles) For www.fiestaguides.co.uk
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