Weekend project

[Appleguy]

I thought that i'd take advantage of the long weekend and do a little caliper painting. I used the Duplicolor Red Engine Ceramic paint and was surprised how well the paint came out. Add some lettering from Suncoast and viola, all done.

If anyone is skeptical about doing this mod, don't be. Its super easy as long as you take your time on the cleaning and prep work.

Car all jacked up and ready for paint


Calipers being prepped (you can also see my red H&R springs that I just installed last week :dance: )


All masked off and red applied with lettering


The hats on the rotors were looking shoddy, so i hit them with some high temp silver. (ironically, my drilled rotors arrived today so i'll have to rip everything apart again!)


All tightened up and back on the ground

[tuanle16]

looks awesome. been wanting to do this for years, but never got around to it. maybe i should do it.

[WhipE350]

Originally Posted by tuanle16

looks awesome. been wanting to do this for years, but never got around to it. maybe i should do it.

And they would look like the below...only in yellow or black! Considering all that OEM Textar brake dust that never gets washed off, black might be a good decision

[mikehkang]

Applyguy,

Q: Can this DIY job be done WIHTOUT removing all the parts and connections to the caliper? I can't tell from looking at your pictures how much you had to take off from the caliper.

[WhipE350]

Yes just use a bunch of 7x11 paper and plenty of blue painting tape. Remember also the caliper is easy to take off and rest upside down on the rotor (paper protected) to get the hard to reach places...let dry then put back on and finish the rest. Removing rotors is not a most...though I'm sure it helps!

If you are flushing your brakes you could actually remove the calipers, I did that with my son's bmw.

My advice is use VHT and not Dupli-Color. The VHT I had access to at the Automotive stores dries faster and is a really good color match. After you put the decal on (yes decal) put a coat of clear engine paint on, really makes the shine pop! You can do many thins layers in less then an hour, you'll know you have enough coats when it starts to shine.

Oh and Appleguy, they look great! I'm curious how you like the H&R springs, please let us know. Also pics of height of car with the new springs.

[tuanle16]

Originally Posted by WhipE350

And they would look like the below...only in yellow or black! Considering all that OEM Textar brake dust that never gets washed off, black might be a good decision

but red looks so good! whip, you do have a point though. seriously, will i be able to keep it clean? whip as most people on this forum are very anal about keeping their 986 spotless...but what about the average joe, like me? any daily drivers out there who did this? is it too difficult to keep the dust off?

[WhipE350]

Naa, just paint them black, hose them off and switch out those expensive Textars for Akebono brake pads

Actually you would be surprised, I find the rims/wheels collect a lot more dust then the calipers do.

BTW - the Benz sold...headed to a nice home in Greenville SC this Sat.

[Appleguy]

Originally Posted by mikehkang

Applyguy,

Q: Can this DIY job be done WIHTOUT removing all the parts and connections to the caliper? I can't tell from looking at your pictures how much you had to take off from the caliper.

I'm sure you can do it without removing everyhing. I found it easier to clean the caliper if I removed everything (i.e. Brake pads, sensors, clips, rotors, etc.). I even unbolted the calipers for easier access to everything. I did remove the bleeder dust caps and masked off the bleeders with tape. I also masked off the pistons and seals on the inside of the caliper as well. Just make sure that you use a rope or coat hanger to hold the caliper up so that you don't bend the brake line too much.

[Appleguy]

Originally Posted by WhipE350

Oh and Appleguy, they look great! I'm curious how you like the H&R springs, please let us know. Also pics of height of car with the new springs.

Thanks. The H&R springs do have a good ride. They dropped the car about 30mm overall. They are bit firmer than stock so you feel more of the road yet not bone jarring. I'd compare the ride to that of my 2009 M3 when I put it in "M" mode. Keep in mind tho that I'm still rolling on 17" rims on the boxster. I'm sure when my 19" comes in that the ride dynamics will dramatically change.

I had a ride in my buddies Ferrari 360 over the weekend and his ride was much harsher. (I'd still take it tho because its a Ferrari for petes sake! )

[WhipE350]

Yes please post pics, either/both with 17s or 19s, 30mm seems like a lot, I bet it looks nice when you are done!

[tightbox]

How long did the springs take to install?

[Appleguy]

Originally Posted by tightbox

How long did the springs take to install?

About 4 hours. I cheated and had a friend who's done a few of these help me.

[Appleguy]

Looks like I'll have part 2 of the weekend project this upcoming weekend :dance: