any tips on do/do not of priming, painting and clearing calipers. I've read until my eyes are bleeding...LOL need some what you did real world DYI caliper painting. thanks Frank
LOL.. after all that restoration work on that rear housing you'd think you'd be worn out for a few more weeks. More power to ya though! And I speak from great experience when I say.. gluttony can be a virtue. As with anything.. prep is the key. Good prep makes even the cheapest coatings last and bad prep makes even the best coatings fail. Depending on the quality and longevity expected it's always best to disassemble the parts and tape off the bores. That way you'll extend overall lifespan because the unprepped and unfinished edges are where much of the coating failure grows from. Pay particular attention to bolt holes and the nooks and crannies. Liberal amounts of assembly lube or anti-sieze also helps avoid galling up damaging(breaching)the freshly coated surfaces during reinstallation too. We did my bro-in-laws 85? Mustang race car about 2 years ago and it still looks like new. Would have to ask him for sure but IIRC it was KB coatings or something like that. I remember it was an expensive kit but was impressed with the products ingredients(off the MSDS sheet). As a painter most of my life I tend to look past the fancy labels and advertising by going directly to the composition of ingredients for the real potential. PRECLEAN FIRST! Starter fluid or carb cleaner works well enough. Disassemble and tape off machined surfaces(preclean before blasting if you do this) Heavy sandblast with 60-80 grit abrasive Acetone wipe Blow gun dust and lint Hi-temp primer Hi-temp paint oven cure at around 250 for several hours to achieve faster curing and less potential for coating failure compared to trying to heat cure on the car Hope that helps. PS.. if you want them to look anything like your last project.. smooth them out and lose all the casting lines and flash prior to sandblasting.
I did mine a few years back. I used brake clean and a wire brush to prep. Let dry and then used caliper paint, no primer.
Not to say that you can't go direct to metal(DTM) with caliper paints, I've done it many times in a pinch or as a quick bandaid to hide rust. Many parts store kits are single component 1 step deals too. But.. without using a zinc fortified primer under the topcoat the rough poruos surface of the metal will allow oxygen to grow rust from the inside out. Primers also allow the topcoat to retain its gloss and resist dirt biildup and coating breaches a bit better too.
Alsa has an extreme heat chrome kit that looks just like this standard chrome kit and it looks awesome on parts I’ve seen at one of their trade shows. Def one of the closest chromes you’ll ever brush on and look great on calipers if you feel like polishing the brake dust away they sure do shine. We watched them use the standard chrome kit on a bumper and it looked like tricity plating dipped it professionally. Just a thought since you’re going to all the trouble on your rearend. The kit is expensive but it’s hands down the best diy chrome you can get currently
that's amazing... a place in town does the spray on chrome and it's about the same price as "real" chrome.
Same way I did mine. I've wondered if some of the ceramic engine spray paint wouldn't hold up just as well.
I've read where some have used it with the high temp primer/clear. to follow the HVT brand instructions seems to be a hassle and a crap shoot as for it staying on after the 3 different cure temps and times...
Hadn't seen the brush on stuff yet. Pretty cool. Looked through their website and couldn't believe the pricing for non-catalyzed supporting components! Also didn't see anything mentioned about extreme heat of that product or its related primers. But maybe it's base materials metal composition lends itself to higher heat capabilities? Keep in mind there is no free lunch when it comes to coatings like this. VERY THIN MIL THICKNESS and the need to clearcoat is just about mandatory if you want anything resembling durability. By the time you bought all the specialized high temp components seems pricing would be out of sight and mixing and matching might cause intercoat compatibility issues. Would be great for a trailerqueen showcar or pure drag car though.
I just cleaned mine with brake-clean spray, and painted them with engine enamel. Never had any problems.
At one time or another I and just about everyone else has done that too and they never last nearly as long as doing full tilt higher caliber resto's. Self etching primers make all the difference in top coat retention and gloss holdout too. Then there's the fact that some people drive their cars WAY harder than others, especially in regards to top speed braking habits. And let's not forget that some have bigger wheels that open the sight window into what they look like after a few years. Lots of variables. I believe it all boils down to how long you want/need them to last and how much time and money investment you care to spend on the project.
