My Red Calipers

[Shanghai Dan]

Any problem with painting the back of the brake pads with G2 paint? Or should I avoid the brake pads

Don't paint your brake pads, for a few reasons:

1. ANY paint will add an insulative layer, keeping heat in the pad, which is exactly where you do NOT want it. There are certain ceramic and metal-based coatings which could be safely used, but you'd have to debond the pads from the backing plate in order to apply them - effectively destroying the brake pad.

2. Any finish on the pad runs the risk of scraping off. Pads will move around a bit - they "float" by design to allow for thermal expansion/contraction, wear of components, bearing wear, etc. Unless you leave a fairly large gap around all contact points, you WILL have some of the finish rub off - and that runs a major risk of rubbing off right into your calipers and piston seals.

Just don't do it.

IF you want the red caliper look, take the weekend and do it right. Remove the calipers, clean them up really well (paints require - REQUIRE - a very clean surface for adhering), prime them and paint them with APPROPRIATE paints (high temperature and high wear), and ONLY paint the outsides - NOTHING on the insides.

Brakes are the things that keep you from crashing - don't screw with them unless you're 100% certain of what you're doing. Remember, when driving a car and messing around with critical safety systems like brakes, you're not just putting your car and life on the line - you're endangering those around you as well. I running the risk of vehicular manslaughter worth some cheaply painted red calipers?

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[Blk2015GT]

Don't paint your brake pads, for a few reasons:

1. ANY paint will add an insulative layer, keeping heat in the pad, which is exactly where you do NOT want it. There are certain ceramic and metal-based coatings which could be safely used, but you'd have to debond the pads from the backing plate in order to apply them - effectively destroying the brake pad.

2. Any finish on the pad runs the risk of scraping off. Pads will move around a bit - they "float" by design to allow for thermal expansion/contraction, wear of components, bearing wear, etc. Unless you leave a fairly large gap around all contact points, you WILL have some of the finish rub off - and that runs a major risk of rubbing off right into your calipers and piston seals.

Just don't do it.

IF you want the red caliper look, take the weekend and do it right. Remove the calipers, clean them up really well (paints require - REQUIRE - a very clean surface for adhering), prime them and paint them with APPROPRIATE paints (high temperature and high wear), and ONLY paint the outsides - NOTHING on the insides.

Brakes are the things that keep you from crashing - don't screw with them unless you're 100% certain of what you're doing. Remember, when driving a car and messing around with critical safety systems like brakes, you're not just putting your car and life on the line - you're endangering those around you as well. I running the risk of vehicular manslaughter worth some cheaply painted red calipers?

Just as a note the fronts (Eco PP/GT) can probably be painted in place since they are self contained mostly if you look at OP's pic of the fronts. Just tape off the rotor and the top portion that show the clips and is open. The G2 is a small paint brush so you have a lot of control over where the paint goes.


As an aside I would freak out if some morons had my car held up by 4 floor jacks on rolling wheels instead of jackstands. Just a flat out numbskull stupid move and shows a complete lack of car knowledge and common sense. OP should be thankful he's not buying new bumpers and side skirts as the whole car could have easily fallen breaking all of the plastic at ground level around the car on impact.

 

[Shanghai Dan]

Just as a note the fronts (Eco PP/GT) can probably be painted in place since they are self contained mostly if you look at OP's pic of the fronts. Just tape off the rotor and the top portion that show the clips and is open. The G2 is a small paint brush so you have a lot of control over where the paint goes.

Yeah, theoretically you could do it. But there area TON of small openings and crevices into the internals of the caliper. Best to take it off and do it right, don't spray anything unless you're totally stripping them down and masking them appropriately

As an aside I would freak out if some morons had my car held up by 4 floor jacks on rolling wheels instead of jackstands. Just a flat out numbskull stupid move and shows a complete lack of car knowledge and common sense. OP should be thankful he's not buying new bumpers and side skirts as the whole car could have easily fallen breaking all of the plastic at ground level around the car on impact.

Fully agree. Definitely NOT a shop to ever do business with. Safety 101 violations.

 

[Blk2015GT]

The dip job is also terrible. Sprayed over all of the moving parts on the back brakes- the slides, slide boots, pad clips everything. Safety hazard waiting to happen with spray rubber gumming up the brakes. Could've done that bad a job in your driveway with a $6 can of dip, a garbage bag and your spare tire jack 1 wheel at a time.

Would have been a lot better loosening the calipers with the 2 bolts and then properly taping from the inside (and the slide boots and moving parts) and then spray.

 

[Anthony@HTM]

I am kind of in shock that anyone would spray liquid rubber onto braking components.

At the track with a heat activated decal and infrared temperature gauge I'd see my calipers get well over 350 degrees on my old race car. Rotors and pads get to almost twice that temperature.

I wish all the luck to you.

 

[EcoSwag1990]

I honestly don't see how it would even cross someone's mind to spray plastidip all over their brakes. Its like painting your car with acrylic paint

 

[Shanghai Dan]

I honestly don't see how it would even cross someone's mind to spray plastidip all over their brakes. Its like painting your car with acrylic paint

I prefer a latex. It coats the roller better.

;)

 

[Mustang99]

I do have a good bit of plastidip on my car (emblems, hood vents, fender hash stripes, and wheels) but I'm not sure I'd put it on the calipers. For me the plastdip is a cheap temporary solution. Painting your calipers should be done with something more permanent, especially if you're already going through the trouble of jacking your car and removing the wheels. I'm waiting for AM to release covers.

 

[SloS14]

It looks funny without the rotors matching. Here's mine

 

[Mustang99]

I'm hoping that's a joke

 

[Rickycardo]

Everyone needs to learn at their own speed. :lol:

 

[Shanghai Dan]

I'm hoping that's a joke

Hey, rubber on rubber has to be stickier than pad on steel, right? That should be worth, like 3 VTECs of braking or something...

 

[Blk2015GT]

I do have a good bit of plastidip on my car (emblems, hood vents, fender hash stripes, and wheels) but I'm not sure I'd put it on the calipers. For me the plastdip is a cheap temporary solution. Painting your calipers should be done with something more permanent, especially if you're already going through the trouble of jacking your car and removing the wheels. I'm waiting for AM to release covers.

I have my emblems blacked out and OEM wheels done and it looks fine. Would never put it somewhere it could melt though.

Personally, I wouldn't use caliper covers. There is a general consensus from mechanics that they are terrible on brakes and cause the heat to get trapped in the cavity between the halves with the caliper. They also look cheesy. A $30 can of G2 caliper paint will look much better and not cause potential overheating issues. Or for the same $100 the covers cost, a shop will paint the calipers for you and do all of the work.

 

[Farmundeh]

All great feedback which makes a ton of sense. What I don't understand is that seemingly a ton of people have dipped their calipers with no problems. Admittedly I'm basing this off a quick google search which isn't the most reliable source in the world. But I would have figured that if it caused serious problems it'd be detailed in some online forum by now.

 

[SloS14]

I'm hoping that's a joke

Joke? Sounds like somebody is jealous. I DIY all of my mods. My upgraded diff is going back in soon

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