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They sell two part clear coat in a can FYI. I grabbed one from work, but they have it on amazon and a bunch of automotive websites. That's what I used, the finish came out like factory paint.
Hi everyone, I'm actually coming here from a Merc forum because I am going to be painting my oem brembo calipers the burnt orange by VHT that many of you have. This thread came up when googling and I had a couple questions.
Seems like people that used the 2k clear coat are extremely happy with it. According to VHT's website on their burnt copper engine enamel one needs to bake the parts to get the best finish. IE: Something like 200 degrees in the oven for an hour. With their clearcoat that is also rated at 500+ degrees, I would assume that after you spray their primer/baseboat/clear you bake the entire item.
However with the the 2k clearcoat that has it's own hardening agents inside how does one bake their parts or do you?
Very happy with the results. Next time I paint the calipers, I will take my time between primer and base coats. Removing the decals was a pain in the *** because my coats of black weren't fully dry when applying the decals.
Speaking of decals. How did everyone that has painted their own removed their decals. I don't have the most steady of hands, so it was quite the process. lol
What were your exact steps in getting this result? IE: How much time did you wait in order from spraying the burnt copper base coat to using the 2k clear coat?
Originally Posted by FFM
Because 2 part clear is substantially better than the garbage they offer in Vatozone. Much better finish and shines like factory clear. Definitely the way to go.
I did that burnt copper on my last car. Looks badass in person.
Does the 2k clear coat have any issues with engine enamel paint? I keep reading on the manufacture's specs that it should be used with urethane paints rather than enamel paints?
Originally Posted by v8sedan
No in fact it's way better. The one stage clearcoat cannot resist the acid used at your carwash to wash your wheels . Not resistant to uv (become yellowish) and will eventually crack and fade. One stage clearcoat should be used only for spots in interior of parts or on 1000$ less ****boxes. Way to go with the 2k clear (wich is a little expensive if you consider that a gallon of good clearcoat is about 120$) but you need a spraygun and a compressor wich is not in a typical homeowner toolbox 😉
Is the 2k clear coat more durable if chemicals are used to clean wheels that have brake dust on them? My concern is washing the car and then having the calipers look bad because the clear coat has faded...etc. Also how does this clear coat resist heat from the calipers? I can't find anywhere on the specs of the working temp that this can handle.. and as we know calipers will get hot if driving spirited...etc.
Originally Posted by MpKSonic
Others have answered the clear coat questions. It really made the burnt copper pop. I believe the base coats of black helped out a lot too. One can of each primer, black, copper and clear coat is more than enough to do all 4 calipers.
I left the brakes on the car. I spent several hours prepping everything. Definitely worth the time, as you can see. I'll post some pictures tomorrow of how is masked the brakes and car.
Like said above, pictures don't do this color justice.
Any update now that time has passed on the durability of it on the calipers?
Sorry for all the questions everyone. This is just one of those things that since the calipers are off the car and disassembled via pistons/seals/orings. I want to make sure I do this properly and not screw it up. IE: Should have baked the calipers with the engine enamel on, then wetsand, the use the 2k clearcoat. OR use the engine enamel then 2k clearcoat and bake..etc.
I didn't do any type of baking, aside from when I drove the car for the first time post reinstallation haha. Still looks great.
Disregard the dirt haha. Weather has been crap.
Looks awesome! Such a nice shine/gloss to it. That's exactly what I am going for...
Do you mind telling me what exactly you did on achieving that. IE: Time between coats, then clear..etc? Did you use VHT as the base coat? Or did you use some other type of paint?
Do you have any issues with chemicals when cleaning the calipers? I don't use harsh chemicals but that's one thing I keep reading in regards to single stage VHT clear coats... they just don't withstand anything. I don't want to put all this work into it then have the shine/gloss go away.
Regular prep, primer, and then paint. Let the paint dry overnight and then went straight for the clear coat. I'd have to look at the can again, but I am pretty sure I did coats every 15-20 minutes. I didn't go stupid heavy in which would cause a run, but definitely sprayed it enough to look wet.
Once it kicks it's pretty tough stuff. Obviously it can chip if you smack it with a hammer installing the pins, ask me how I know lol. Drinking and putting brakes back together was a back choice.
Not gonna lie, if you got the brakes completely disassembled, I'd powdercoat personally. I actually plan to redo mine in PC at some point to opt for a candy red rather than this metador red that I did. Mainly due to a couple of screwups on my end during the prep work that show.
Regular prep, primer, and then paint. Let the paint dry overnight and then went straight for the clear coat. I'd have to look at the can again, but I am pretty sure I did coats every 15-20 minutes. I didn't go stupid heavy in which would cause a run, but definitely sprayed it enough to look wet.
Once it kicks it's pretty tough stuff. Obviously it can chip if you smack it with a hammer installing the pins, ask me how I know lol. Drinking and putting brakes back together was a back choice.
Not gonna lie, if you got the brakes completely disassembled, I'd powdercoat personally. I actually plan to redo mine in PC at some point to opt for a candy red rather than this metador red that I did. Mainly due to a couple of screwups on my end during the prep work that show.
What did you screw up on the prep work? Not enough sanding?
Used aircraft paint remover and it didn't strip them bare. Would have taken me a week trying to sand them perfect so left a bunch of imperfections when I primered over a lot of them. Bugs me knowing they are there. I would have scuffed and painted over the existing paint had I known. Now they need media blasted for a fresh start and at that point just powdercoat.
FFM:
I thought about powder coating but the only rebuttable place around me charges $610 for all 4 calipers. Honestly that is just a bit too much considering I paid $1100 for the calipers. I can't see spending half the cost to get them coated, but who knows, that might be an option later if this turns out bust. Excellent point about the aircraft stripper. I was planning on going this route and figured it would take the paint off with ease... but now I'm wondering if I should just simply sand down the and get the rough spots where the paint is chipped but make sure the entire caliper is roughed up. That way it might be easier for the primer to adhere to. You did use the 2k clear coat right, or did you use the VHT clear coat?
Learn from my mistake. DONT use the aircraft paint remover. The paint on the calipers is so hard it doesn't strip like normal paint. I had to use a gasket scraper tool to get the paint off it didn't remove fully. Which then added hours of sanding to get the leftovers smooth.
Thus why if if you look at my pic you can see remnants in the radii that I just gave up on. Basically just finished the job half assed knowing I'll have to correct it later. A media blast would have been ideal. Otherwise like you mentioned, rough sand, prep, and primer over the existing paint.
Then use a two part clear. It hardens and has a super glossy finish which is ideal for the abuse a caliper is going to endure. It holds up well to standard wheel cleaners too.
Learn from my mistake. DONT use the aircraft paint remover. The paint on the calipers is so hard it doesn't strip like normal paint. I had to use a gasket scraper tool to get the paint off it didn't remove fully. Which then added hours of sanding to get the leftovers smooth.
Thus why if if you look at my pic you can see remnants in the radii that I just gave up on. Basically just finished the job half assed knowing I'll have to correct it later. A media blast would have been ideal. Otherwise like you mentioned, rough sand, prep, and primer over the existing paint.
Then use a two part clear. It hardens and has a super glossy finish which is ideal for the abuse a caliper is going to endure. It holds up well to standard wheel cleaners too.
Excellent! That's what I will do. I am all for doing it right, but it sounds like a huge nightmare to try and get it to the bare metal. It will probably be better as well since I can sand down all the high spots where the paint has chipped and really just make everything smooth! Buying the paint and primer tomorrow at autozone and will buy the clear coat on amazon and hopefully have it by the weekend.
Is there a limit on how many coats of clear coat one can use? I planned on getting one can of primer, two cans of color and two cans of clear coat. Figure there will be 6-8 light coats of color and the same for clear. I'd rather have an extra can than to realize half way through I'm not going to have enough color or clear then have to start over.
FFM:
I thought about powder coating but the only rebuttable place around me charges $610 for all 4 calipers. Honestly that is just a bit too much considering I paid $1100 for the calipers. I can't see spending half the cost to get them coated, but who knows, that might be an option later if this turns out bust. Excellent point about the aircraft stripper. I was planning on going this route and figured it would take the paint off with ease... but now I'm wondering if I should just simply sand down the and get the rough spots where the paint is chipped but make sure the entire caliper is roughed up. That way it might be easier for the primer to adhere to. You did use the 2k clear coat right, or did you use the VHT clear coat?
Thanks,
-Nigel
Whereabouts in VA are you? A friend of mine (& fellow IS-F owner) recommended this place in Manassas: http://ascoweb.com/
I called & they quoted $75 each to powder coat brake calipers. One caveat to that price is you must hand them the calipers ready to go (all pistons & seals removed). I don't know what additional (if any) labor that shop you mentioned was including. Also, I neglected to ask ASCO about removing the old paint beforehand, so that might be an additional charge to blast clean them.
If they are completely torn down a lot of powder coaters will chemical strip them, so they won't charge you additional labor. I had a set done where they had to do additional media blasting but didn't charge me extra which was nice of them. I was a regular customer though.
$75 is a pretty fair price. The online companies charging around the $600 generally includes the teardown and rebuild. There's a few online stores that specialize in calipers.
Did you buy high temp ones? Even if I bought high temp ones, I'd still be weary of leaving them on. Brakes can get hot hot hot. I'd be scared that they discolor.
If you placed the decal on over the base coat/primer, (my case was a primer then black), and then your desired final color and removed the decal, how did you remove the decal? I waited a day to remove my decals and some parts of the decal also removed bits of the paint. It was not easy or as clean as I would have liked.
Speaking of decals. How did everyone that has painted their own removed their decals. I don't have the most steady of hands, so it was quite the process. lol
Not sure if anyone answered this question. The original sticker (at least on a 2012) was a silver/white Lexus on a black caliper. not sure if it was a sticker or painted on, but my solution was not to remove Lexus, but lightly sand it with fine grit sandpaper, then paint over it. In my case I was staying with a black caliper so admittedly this was easier; I just had to apply a light coating of high temp black. Next was to apply a Brembo sticker; Large sticker on front and small sticker on rear to match the available flat space on the different size calipers. Finally a couple coats of clear gloss.
This process is so quick and easy (without removing calipers) that even if there is chipping or fading a few years down the road, its easy to re-do them.
Did mine about 6 months ago and they still look like this.
EDIT: Sorry MPSonic, i think i misunderstood but then re-read this. from what you're saying i guess some people use a sticker as a "template" for a color and then remove it? if that's the case, yes i imagine that would be tricky. one problem with "Brembo" emblem is the very narrow cross slash in the letters, it would be hard to maintain it. Anyway i think many of us just got the sticker from an eBay site, placed it on, and glossed it. not sure if it is a hi-temp sticker, but as i say, holding up pretty nicely so far...
Blue Brembo on black caliper
Last edited by DBrian; 01-18-17 at 11:11 AM.
Reason: re-read the original question more carefully
07-01-16, 05:41 AM
