Painted Brake Calipers the wrong colour

[Bobton125]

I spray painted my Porsche brake calipers using VHT primer, VHT yellow caliper paint and VHT lacquer.
However they are way too bright and don't look like the OEM Speed yellow colour.

How can i go about changing the shade of yellow?
Do i have to go through the faff of sanding off all the layers and starting again from scratch or can i just key down the lacquer and apply the new shade of yellow followed by more lacquer?

Any advice is much appreciated

Edited by Bobton125 on Monday 25th February 15:06

Edited by Bobton125 on Monday 25th February 15:06

[paintman]

Key the lacquer surface - scotchpad or something similar.
Do a small test on an out of sight section to ensure no reaction & if all OK colour coat to cover old colour & then clearcoat.

[Bobton125]

Thanks,
What grades are we talking to key it with? should i be sanding off the layer of lacquer so that it doesn't have too many layers of paint?

[paintman]

No need to remove the paint unless you particularly want to start again.
Scotchbrite pad. Use either the grey or red, the red being the coarser. All you're doing is making the surface nice uniform matt which will help the new paint adhere.
Available at motor factors etc, this link to give you an idea of what you're looking for: www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/abrasives-blocks/scotch-...
You don't need to use them between coats.

[Bobton125]

Great, thanks. Some questions though..
Would you key it down with water or just dry?
Would you work your way through finer grades of sandpaper after to smooth it or just use the scotchbrite?
What would you wipe/clean the surface with after before spraying the new paint on?

Edited by Bobton125 on Tuesday 26th February 22:37

[paintman]

You're only providing a bit of roughness for the new colour coat to grip onto.
I prefer to use wet, lasts longer & keeps the dust down. A flatting compound might also be worth considering as it will help speed up the process to a uniform matt surface.

If your original refinish is like the surface of the moon & you want to smooth it then you could use wet&dry wet to do so.
No point in using scotchbrite as the w&d will provide the key.
You will then need to use guidecoat -either the powder or aerosol form - so you can get the surface uniformly flat. Guidecoat will reveal low spots.
I'd suggest 400 used wet - but if you want to get into technicalities then you will need to get the manufacturer's Technical Data Sheets (TDS) relevant to the paints you are using & follow the instructions therein as that contains all the pertinent information.

To clean the surface before & after prep & before painting I use either panelwipe or 'clutch & brake cleaner' as a wipe on wipe off with clean paper towels. Aldis 'Saxon' brand paper towels are pretty good.

Let's not overthink this. Are you just wanting to DIY a better colour match with paint that won't fall off at the first opportunity?
If you want something else then you'd be better letting a bodyshop do them.

[paintman]

Just to clear any confusion you might have about scotchbrites.
These are slightly more abrasive than the scouring side of a washing up type pad - the sort with sponge on one side & a green coloured pad on the other.
There will be no sanding marks left to sand smooth & if you clear coated straight onto the area you would see no sign of the abrasion through the clear.

[Bobton125]

Ok thanks for the advice
The finish isn’t like the moon btw haha it’s actually a very good finish surprisingly, just not the right colour.

Cheers, I will be off to the shop then for some panel wipes and grey scotchbrite pads

I’m hoping all of these layers won’t affect heat dissipation of the caliper or allow the callipers to overheat? But then again, rattle can paint it very thin and I never really drive it that hard..

[Mignon]

If I were you I'd sand off the laquer completely and then paint over the base coat again. Then apply more laquer.

[Bobton125]

What grades would you use to sand off the lacquer?