Getting the Zed on axle stands - Painting calipers
- Thread starter daveg
- Start date
Thanks for the comments everyone - just can't wait to get the front calipers and new discs/pads on as this project has been a while coming after a lot of to-fro with CJ and pawnsacrifice who saved me messing up a couple of times.
I have to admit pictures of your brakes were an influence
I don't know if I set the bar high or just did things unnecessarily thoroughly. Don't clean the calipers in an enclosed space - everything in the garage is now covered in a layer of black dust! I painted the calipers with a Foliatec kit, bought here. That listing is "New Old Stock" so bit dusty and labels peeling but did the paint did the trick. You mix a tin of paint with a tin of hardener - I think it's an epoxy based paint. You leave for 5 mins and it starts to go thick. You have time to do a coat, wait 15 minutes and then do the second. After about 30 minutes the paint cures so best to only mix how much you need. The brake cleaner aerosol didn't work so chasing up with seller - get some in if you get that pack. I only got it because Halfords didn't do black caliper paint - not sure if the extra cost is worth it over this high temp enamel paint.
The clips were done with a coat of black caliper paint and then some chrome spray paint from BnQ. Nowhere near as good as real chrome clips but these would have been £16 for new clips and about £35 for someone to chrome plate them.
All cleaning was done with a power drill and the wire brushes I mentioned earlier. Definitely get Dremel ones too as they are great for all the corners and tricky areas. Get a couple of each size as they don't last too long, this seems like a good deal on a decent power Dremel if you don't have one yet.
I like the red on CJs car as I think the sportier 108s get away with it. Was a tough choice between red and black but in the end I think they look good as black/chrome matches really well with freshly gel'd black tyres and chrome effect wheels.
They are - just my choice of photos tricked you
The car was actually sat on stands with the jack just below as a safety net. I let it down a tiny bit to make sure the stands were taking all the weight and gave it a good shove before taking wheels off to make sure it was sturdy.
Dreamer said:Good to see that like me you went with black paint, it looks very smart and with a silver clip just adds a bit of class
I have to admit pictures of your brakes were an influence
PawnSacrifice said:
I don't know if I set the bar high or just did things unnecessarily thoroughly. Don't clean the calipers in an enclosed space - everything in the garage is now covered in a layer of black dust! I painted the calipers with a Foliatec kit, bought here. That listing is "New Old Stock" so bit dusty and labels peeling but did the paint did the trick. You mix a tin of paint with a tin of hardener - I think it's an epoxy based paint. You leave for 5 mins and it starts to go thick. You have time to do a coat, wait 15 minutes and then do the second. After about 30 minutes the paint cures so best to only mix how much you need. The brake cleaner aerosol didn't work so chasing up with seller - get some in if you get that pack. I only got it because Halfords didn't do black caliper paint - not sure if the extra cost is worth it over this high temp enamel paint.
The clips were done with a coat of black caliper paint and then some chrome spray paint from BnQ. Nowhere near as good as real chrome clips but these would have been £16 for new clips and about £35 for someone to chrome plate them.
All cleaning was done with a power drill and the wire brushes I mentioned earlier. Definitely get Dremel ones too as they are great for all the corners and tricky areas. Get a couple of each size as they don't last too long, this seems like a good deal on a decent power Dremel if you don't have one yet.
I like the red on CJs car as I think the sportier 108s get away with it. Was a tough choice between red and black but in the end I think they look good as black/chrome matches really well with freshly gel'd black tyres and chrome effect wheels.
cj10jeeper said:
They are - just my choice of photos tricked you
The car was actually sat on stands with the jack just below as a safety net. I let it down a tiny bit to make sure the stands were taking all the weight and gave it a good shove before taking wheels off to make sure it was sturdy.P.S. anyone looking to paint calipers off the car I would highly recommend getting some Bilt Hammer Deox-C. It's a rust removal chemical that would have saved so much time - look at in action:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=55949
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=68583
Worth it to do just the carriers and clips. Don't think you could really use it on caliper unless you were re-building it though.
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=55949
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=68583
Worth it to do just the carriers and clips. Don't think you could really use it on caliper unless you were re-building it though.
Excellent - I'm so glad of the safety with stands and jack like that. Those who wonder why - then it's because as a young guy I had a friend who was killed when his cars fell sideways off a jack pinning him to the wall and crushing him. 
