Painting brake callipers! Is it bad?

[Revvhead]

Zak,

Dont paint your hoses or any rubber parts - 2 reasons

1-All paints contain solvents, most hoses & natural rubber parts will be affectced by these solevents and lead to deterioration & leaks

2- In the event that any hoses etc are aging and due to fail/ be renewed, you will never be able to tell that the part is on its way out as there will be a coat of paint disguising/covering any defects or wear. Not advisable at all

[speedzak]

Thanx Revvhead!

What about painting the metal pipes like AC pipes, Brake liners, Airfilter pipes etc.. ?
And what about painting the engine itself? Not the whole thingy, but those shiny parts which are seen outside?

[karthik247]

Here's a pic of the Lancer's caliper that me and a few friends painted yesterday. Total cost comes upto Rs28 including paint and brush

[elf]

Hi,

To answer your question, I had my callipers painted screaming yellow on my Esteem about 6 years ago, & the paint never wore off / faded / darkened.

Used the same paint for the Lancer's pads in Feb this year, & no change so far...
I've also had my rear drums painted black on both cars. All with a brush.

The only thing that'll make them look bad is road grime & brake dust, which you need to get washed off regularly, maybe during your service.

The paint used: regular oil paint (Nerolac, methinks). Works wonders, dunno about paint pricing specifically, though I paid Rs. 250.00 for labour, brush & paint!

------------------------

All those guys who wish to paint discs, engine bits, etc.:

Dudes, I suggest you go out & buy about 40 litres of oil paint to paint your engine.

You could use a brush / spray, but a better idea would be to just empty the entire bucket onto a cold engine. That way you'll get paint in all the crevices, etc. & shall get an even, finished, 'professional' look.

After you finish slathering your engine bay, close the bonnet & start the engine. This will serve 2 purposes:
1. The whirly bits that go round & round in the engine bay shall splatter the paint all over the insides of the bonnet, giving you a custom paint job for your engine.
2. Your paint will dry to a high gloss shine due to the heat.

For an even more professional look, & to really impress your tuner, you should empty out another 20 litres of paint into the gas tank & the intake manifold. That way, even the insides shall be coated with the paint of your choice. I suggest you use contrasting colors so you get a nice effect & avoid that boring steel grey that comes as stock.

Painting your discs can be done the same way.

Personally, I don't think you should stop there...
Buy more paint (another 40 litres?) & paint your windscreens, taillamps, headlamps, seats, dashboard, pedals, windows, etc. Think of it that way, it's never been done before. Imagine the money you could save on window film, seat covers, etc.

WARNING & DISCLAIMER:
These modifications might be illegal & dangerous. You are advised to check with your authorised service centre & / or mechanic before doing this. You should also post their advice / reaction to your desires here to warn other people who'd like to do this.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by elf

All those guys who wish to paint discs, engine bits, etc.:

Dudes, I suggest you go out & buy about 40 litres of oil paint to paint your engine.

You could use a brush / spray, but a better idea would be to just empty the entire bucket onto a cold engine. That way you'll get paint in all the crevices, etc. & shall get an even, finished, 'professional' look.

After you finish slathering your engine bay, close the bonnet & start the engine. This will serve 2 purposes:
1. The whirly bits that go round & round in the engine bay shall splatter the paint all over the insides of the bonnet, giving you a custom paint job for your engine.
2. Your paint will dry to a high gloss shine due to the heat.

For an even more professional look, & to really impress your tuner, you should empty out another 20 litres of paint into the gas tank & the intake manifold. That way, even the insides shall be coated with the paint of your choice. I suggest you use contrasting colors so you get a nice effect & avoid that boring steel grey that comes as stock.

Painting your discs can be done the same way.

Personally, I don't think you should stop there...
Buy more paint (another 40 litres?) & paint your windscreens, taillamps, headlamps, seats, dashboard, pedals, windows, etc. Think of it that way, it's never been done before. Imagine the money you could save on window film, seat covers, etc.

WARNING & DISCLAIMER:
These modifications might be illegal & dangerous. You are advised to check with your authorised service centre & / or mechanic before doing this. You should also post their advice / reaction to your desires here to warn other people who'd like to do this.

LOL Good one there Elf should lead to lots of .... PROFESSIONAL ENGINE PAINT JOBS eh!!!

[elf]

Oops, forgot to add...

The brake pads have this dirty habit of scrubbing the paint off your newly painted discs over time, so there's mod for that as well...

There shall be a thin metal pipe connected to a rubber pipe over your brake calliper. Simply disconnect that pipe. Some dirty reddish / whitish fluid may leak when you do this. Don't worry - it's normal.

After all the fluid has leaked out, tie a small knot into the rubber hose. You could also crimp the metal tube if you like, for a more professional look.

Now go out & have fun.

The disclaimer at post #58 still stands.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by elf

Oops, forgot to add...

The brake pads have this dirty habit of scrubbing the paint off your newly painted discs over time, so there's mod for that as well...

There shall be a thin metal pipe connected to a rubber pipe over your brake calliper. Simply disconnect that pipe. Some dirty reddish / whitish fluid may leak when you do this. Don't worry - it's normal.

After all the fluid has leaked out, tie a small knot into the rubber hose. You could also crimp the metal tube if you like, for a more professional look.

Now go out & have fun.

The disclaimer at post #58 still stands.

So this will stop those black, dirty things from rubbing against the discs and ruining the paintjob right!!

Elf - Despite the disclaimer you do know that you are going to be in big trouble soon right!! Some wisecrack is going to try these EXPERT mods you know

[elf]

@iraghava:
Well, what can I say...
Stupid is what stupid does... Heehee!

[speedzak]

Originally Posted by elf

@iraghava:
Well, what can I say...
Stupid is what stupid does... Heehee!

Some nice and very much easy advice you've got lined up here.

But of a serious note, Do you mean to say that no engine painting should be done whatsoever???

[elf]

I personally don't think much of do-it-yourself engine painting.

You may be able to procure pre-colored (factory) bits & pieces, which have been anodized or powder coated. These have been done with paints / coatings tested specifically for the temperatures present in your engine bay.

For example, you may get an anodized intake pipe for your high-velocity aftermarket intake filter. The paint / coating / anodization would have been tested to ensure that it would not peel / crack under normal running of your vehicle. Simply slathering paint onto a pipe would do you no good whatsoever, as (from personal experience ) I have found that the paint simply flakes off.

The same goes for the tappet cover painting. If you can manage to find the specialized paint, it should work for you, but remember that theoretically, it may lead to higher temperatures due to the different heat conduction properties of the paint compounds.

So, to answer your question, if you think you have a good paint / coating & the requisite experience & knowledge to go around making your engine bay your coloring book, please do so by all means.

Methinks you should also take the opinion of Viper, Arush, Ported_Head, Nitroxx, & other guys that may have done this before.

Ciao!

_________________________________
& for the morons... in case you didn't get it, I was kidding in the earlier posts... So don't come after me if you nuts actually do what I was kidding about.

[speedzak]

Guys! Check my garage to see how the engine accents have been painted. They sure make me go BLUUUUUEEEEE!!!

[Mistakenguy]

The engine accent painting looks pretty good in person. Nice work zak!!!
Whats next ????

[team dragstar]

man... i want those stickers..........

[theEnd]

I think its quite lame to paint the calipers of any car that has drum brakes at the rear. Painted drums are particularly hilarious... Its like shouting, "look, i have a slow car with antiquated brakes".

On an Alto? Please dont.

[speedzak]

i"ve painted my brake callipers and Engine accents.
It sure looks good.

No one paints the brake drums!! Very rare maybe! I have'nt done so.