Brake Caliper & painting
Discussion
Was driving down the M1 yesterday from York when a very tasty looking black XKR cruised past, one thing that stood out from behind the 20" alloys was the bright red brake calipers.
I'm assumming this was an optional extra, mine has Brembo brakes but the calipers are silver. Being the sad git that I am I quite fancy painting mine red too.
Couple of questions:-
1. Has anyone done this - is it a pain to do?
2. Anyone have any pictures of the red calipers?
3. Assume you can buy brake caliper paint, Halfrauds?
4. How long does the paint last, ie. will it look a mess in 6 months time and I'll regret doing it!
Cheers in advance
Graham
I'm assumming this was an optional extra, mine has Brembo brakes but the calipers are silver. Being the sad git that I am I quite fancy painting mine red too.
Couple of questions:-
1. Has anyone done this - is it a pain to do?
2. Anyone have any pictures of the red calipers?
3. Assume you can buy brake caliper paint, Halfrauds?
4. How long does the paint last, ie. will it look a mess in 6 months time and I'll regret doing it!
Cheers in advance
Graham
Sounds like it could have been an XKR Portfolio you saw.
You could paint the calipers using high temperature paint designed for this, but you'd need to make sure that the calipers were spotlessly clean first, otherwise they would end up looking unattractive very quickly. Also, if you ever do track days with your car, the paint is unlikely to stand up to the higher temperatures for long.
Personally I'd keep the calipers as they are.
You could paint the calipers using high temperature paint designed for this, but you'd need to make sure that the calipers were spotlessly clean first, otherwise they would end up looking unattractive very quickly. Also, if you ever do track days with your car, the paint is unlikely to stand up to the higher temperatures for long.
Personally I'd keep the calipers as they are.
Here a link to info for the XKR 100 if your interested.
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/1972...
Davy
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/1972...
Davy
NormanD said:
Paint the calipers you mean? bigdavy said:
The car you saw was probably an XKR100. Mettalic black with 20" wheels and red brembo calipers as standard.
XK100's have silver calipers. The first XKR's with the factory Brembo brakes were silver, with the word 'JAGUAR' on them. Later editions the newer XKR's had the Brmbo's in red with just an 'R' on them. My first XKR had silver and my second had red, now my third has black, though I ahve to say the red Alcons were on my wish list.
Anyway, please don't paint them! You will never get the quality of a factory product. If you want them that much, why not buy a set of red brembo calipers from Jaguar or look on ebay, they always come up. Because you already have them fitted, it is simple enough job.
G
I have painted the calipers on my 300zx, tried all sorts of paints, after about 5 attempts I nearly gave up, then at a car show there was a lovely M3 on show, when asking the owner how he had done it, he said he had simply used red hamerite, tried it myself and its been ace, been on for 2 years now & still looks as good as new, and iv been to a few track days since
You can get brake caliper paint kits from Halfrauds and they will give fairly good results. This is a pic of a caliper I did on my son's Corsa with a Folia Tec outfit. This goes on thickly and hardens to a "baked" finish which is really easy to wipe clean.
HOWEVER to get a really decent finish you need to clean and degrease the caliper properly. You should then either (a)strip the caliper down to its component parts, or (b) have had a good schooling in careful brushwork by building Airfix kits in your youth. There is nothing worse than seeing splashes of paint on the rubber bits or over any adjacent components. If you look carefully you will see a tiny drop of red on the inside caliper bellows. This had to be removed (after the "D'oh!" of discovery) with a cotton bud dipped in thinner.
Done properly it can look quite good : done badly it looks BLOODY AWFUL. No amount of extra cash spent on bling wheels and tyres will cover for a poorly finished caliper. Additionally its a bit like having a tattoo - once done it can never be removed without a lot of pain, effort and expense!
As a cheaper option I have disguised calipers suffering from surface rust with heat-resistant aluminium paint. This gives good results, lasts well and simply makes the component look new rather than cosmetically enhanced.
HOWEVER to get a really decent finish you need to clean and degrease the caliper properly. You should then either (a)strip the caliper down to its component parts, or (b) have had a good schooling in careful brushwork by building Airfix kits in your youth. There is nothing worse than seeing splashes of paint on the rubber bits or over any adjacent components. If you look carefully you will see a tiny drop of red on the inside caliper bellows. This had to be removed (after the "D'oh!" of discovery) with a cotton bud dipped in thinner.
Done properly it can look quite good : done badly it looks BLOODY AWFUL. No amount of extra cash spent on bling wheels and tyres will cover for a poorly finished caliper. Additionally its a bit like having a tattoo - once done it can never be removed without a lot of pain, effort and expense!
As a cheaper option I have disguised calipers suffering from surface rust with heat-resistant aluminium paint. This gives good results, lasts well and simply makes the component look new rather than cosmetically enhanced.
Thanks guys for all the comments. Shar2, out of interest how much did Paramount charge (PM me if you like). Any pictures?
My calipers look spotless on the outside, however inside is probably a different matter. Currently they are silver with the Jaguar written in green and a red 'R'. I'll try and take a pick and post.
Cheers,
Graham
My calipers look spotless on the outside, however inside is probably a different matter. Currently they are silver with the Jaguar written in green and a red 'R'. I'll try and take a pick and post.
Cheers,
Graham
I actually saw a new XKR portfolio for the first time yesterday, the alcons didn't impress me as much as I thought they would, I had considered putting them on the first time my brakes needed done but don't think I'll bother now. Also didn't like the polished cremona wheels or the celestial black paintwork, Glad I didn't hold off for a portfolio now 
John.
John.
Shar2 said:
Hi Graham
I believe they charge £299 + VAT and require the car for two days. They did mine cheaper as they had have used my car on some of the trade stands at JEC and XKEC shows as it has had almost every mod they do fitted to it.
Cheers
Dave
He he, dont think I'd get away with that at the minute having just had an exhaust fitted and a new PS3! Something to keep in mind once the dust settles a bit I believe they charge £299 + VAT and require the car for two days. They did mine cheaper as they had have used my car on some of the trade stands at JEC and XKEC shows as it has had almost every mod they do fitted to it.
Cheers
Dave
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