Bought a set of 18" ADR Flite 5's and have been waiting to put them on. Over the weekend, I decided I'd paint the brake calipers and rotors while I was doing the wheel swap. Bought the black G2 kit and also bought a can of high temp primer and clear coat. Wasn't sure if I was going to use them, but bought them anyway. I also bought a set of "RX8" caliper decals.

Some pointers/thoughts for those about to paint their brakes.... prep is the most important step. I used 3 wire brushes and 2 cans of brake cleaner for the set. To my surprise. it took me over 3 hours of just scrubbing. I decided against using the primer simply because the G2 kit doesn't mention it and I didn't want to put high quality paint on top of random $4 primer and risk flaking. With that said, I used a very small brush AND FREE HANDED EVERYTHING. NO MASKING AT ALL. I planned on taping everything and lying paper..... but I realized that I'm using a tiny brush. Not spray paint. And I'll never be able to get a clean circular line around the rotor with painters tape. (I was ***** deep into the project and not stopping to buy pin striping) Not even a single drip on the garage floor. Never once did I "screw up" or get any on the rotor face. After a few hours of drying, I busted out the decals with plans of clearing over them. To my surprise, the freakin decals are all the same size and too large to fit on the rear calipers. SOB! Well, I'm not just having decals on the front....so I junked that idea. And since no decals, and already a shiny finish on the G2 kit.... junked the clear coat too. hahaha So I ended up just prepping very well, using a small brush, and just using the G2 kit. Let me assure everyone that the G2 kit comes with PLENTY of paint. I honestly could have done 5-6 coats on rotors and calipers. And now for a few pics! (click to enlarge)







Very happy with the outcome of both paint and wheels. Obvious next upgrade is clear corners. Followed by springs. Thinking H-types or NF's because I'm not spending another 500 on new shocks right now. Oh and I need to tint the damn windows....nothing crazy. Legal tint is fine.

 

Very nice. You are right on with you next planned mods. Clear corners and springs should be at the top of everybody's list instead of intakes, pulleys, etc...

 

looks good!

 

Wow! You must have had some really nasty calipers to go through all that prep work.

 

Also note that the G2 kit is overpriced. A small can of Rustoleum does the same job for only a few dollars and you have way more color choices. I've used it on 5 different cars over several years. It holds up great!

 

Black calipers on a BB is so right, looking good....

 

can you show a closer pic of your rotors and brakes?

the wheels look nice on the BB by the way.

 

Sorry for the blurriness. Using the very first digital camera in existence.




And prep work is key. You could have clear coated right over my prep work and it would have looked pretty damn good. I have confidence the only way it would have looked any better is by using a sand blaster.

 

firebirdude...where did you get those rims and how much were they. Those are the best looking rims I've seen and I would like some on my Rx.

thanks.

 

LOL! THANKS!

Good ol' trusty Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-AD...spagenameZWDVW
Actually, I was very satisfied with every aspect of my purchase. Shipping with the seller was very quick and everything was in flawless shape.

 

Oh, get some tint too.

 

As I said....I know.....