Painting your C5 calipers - a how to...

[mqqn]

Edit - oops - I guess Z06 folks won't be painting the calipers.....unless you go to black....Perhaps Patrick could move this to C5 gen for me.... (thanks Patrick!)

Hi Folks -

I have done a couple of these over the past few weeks, so I thought I would at least take some pictures for my C5 tech site -

Have a look and tell me where I can improve -

http://www.iammoon.com/c5tech/caliper_painting.htm

best regards -

mqqn

 

[68Roadster]

Great job mqqn.....thats going on my "to do" list....

 

[Patrick]

No problem- consider it moved, Andy.


-Patrick

 

[TWOBUELLS]

Looks great. Can I borrow your lift?
Joe

 

[MsSchroder]

Wow, Andy. What a great pictorial.
I am one of those people who has to "see a picture" before I get it.

I believe a great deal of that info could be used for changing the pads as well.

 

[BTDOG]

Looks like something I could do. I'm a picture person too.
Thanks a bunch.

Mike

 

[yellow_2002_germany]

Great article! Now I need to get mine painted. I take it the paint dries quickly?


Another tip I heard to get the paint off is to use a knife sharpening stone. I have used that tip to shine up my caliper letters and it works quite well.

 

[Nevets2004]

Very nice :BOW :BOW :BOW

But did you have to use FORD Red !!

 

[Ed02]

mqqn, great set of instuctions. You make it look very easy. Question: do you know if there is a torque value for reinstalling the caliper bolts? One thing I do when trying to avoid painting over things like the corvette letters is to put a thin coat of vasoline or grease over the part you don't want painted. You can usually wipe off the grease with the paint and avoid scraping or sanding. Another product us modelers use is a liquid latex called Maskol which most hobby stores carry. Just brush it on and after your done painting, peel it off. Thanks again for the great article.
Ed

 

[Grizzly]

Very nice job!

I took the chicken's way out on the 92. Cleaned them up with brake cleaner and assorted small wire brushes in a drill while still mounted on the car. Then used a kit from Mid America. It is a two part epoxy that you brush on. Gave a nice smooth surface with two coats. Painted the mounting brackets with Duplicolor black paint for brakes (not epoxy). We'll see how that holds up against the epoxy paint.

With epoxy paint you must be ready. I had all four wheels off and all the cleaning done before I mixed the paint. Put two coats on with an hour in between. I doubt if I could have done at third because the paint was setting up.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!....................

 

[stearnman]

That is sweet! I definitely been wanting to do this to my '92! I've only had my car for a week and I'm not sure if the front calipers even have "CORVETTE" on them, so I was thinking of going the route of buying '96 GS calipers and changing the finish from black to red.

Couple question though. Did you need to sand or scratch pad the calipers any after cleaning before painting? Is that brand of paint you used made to handle high temperatures from the brakes?

Thanks again for the info!

 

[mqqn]

Thanks for all the great reviews!

Patrick - Thanks for moving it...

TWOBUELLS - It is a standing invitation for any CAC member who is near enough to make it to my house to have lift time. C'mon over!

Tammy - Yup - I would only have to add how to push the pistons back in to allow new pads to be installed to make this a brake pad replacement tutorial. I'll make one of those when I do the brakes on my Z this winter.

yellow_2002_germany - A sharpening stone would have worked great - I'll add that to the page somewhere. Thanks!

Nevets2004 - I know - ford red :ugh - but it does match the TR very well - and the DupliColor is good paint.

Ed02 - Yes, there is a torque value - I think it is 45 ft-lbs - I'll add that to the page when I get home - I'll check the service manual. I also used Locktite on the bolts when re-installing.

Grizzly - One of my friends di the brush on method, and his car came out very nice. The epoxy paint might hold up better in the long run. Touch-ups could be done by just spraying paint in the lid of the spray can and then brushing over the bad spots.

stearnman - The calipers are fairly rough in texture, so I did not do any surface prep other than a thorough scrubbing with simple green and a toothbrush. The paint I used (I put a link to a picture of the can on the tutorial in the item list) is Duplicolor ceramic engine enamel, and it says it is good to 500 degrees. I know that in a racing application the calipers could get hotter than that, but I think 500 is good for most street applications.


Thanks again for the input!

best regards -

mqqn

 

[Bill Coke]

Caliper painting

Great job!1 They really look good!! The pictoral is an excellent how to process. Thanks for sharing. I also like the rims on the red car. What are they called and where do I look for them?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[mqqn]

Great job!1 They really look good!! The pictoral is an excellent how to process. Thanks for sharing. I also like the rims on the red car. What are they called and where do I look for them?
Thanks,
Bill

Hi Bill -

They are C5 versions of the upcoming C6 Z06 rim - they cvan be had at most of the forum vendors -

If you are planning on going to the Mid America Funfest this weekend - free shipping back home....and a 10% discount I think

http://www.madvet.com/shop?frame=1.296.7084

best regards -

mqqn

 

[Mike99PA]

Wow This Is Exactly What I Was Looking 4! Excellent Pictorial Post!

 

[mqqn]

Wow This Is Exactly What I Was Looking 4! Excellent Pictorial Post!

Thanks Mike!

PM me if you have any questions - happy to help!

best regards -

mqqn

 

[82shark]

Has anyone ever painted their calipers black?

Thanks for the how-to. I've been toying with the idea of painting mine black, since the car is black. How does that look? Red would be my fallback choice. Anyone have pics of glossy black calipers?
Thanks
Ed

 

[mqqn]

Hi 82shark -

I will see if I can find a pic - but I can tell you - gloss black is a good choice - I was toying with that idea - and painting the corvette lettering red - it would be a nice change of pace from the red everyon picks.....

But the reason everyone picks red is because they look so darn nice (to most people....)

best regards-

mqqn

 

[Wegone]

 

[MM-C5]

Thanks for the how-to. I've been toying with the idea of painting mine black, since the car is black. How does that look? Red would be my fallback choice. Anyone have pics of glossy black calipers?
Thanks
Ed

Check my avatar. I think I can find a link to the actual pics or email them to yo if you will pm your email address.

Tom