Splan8

I have a black 8 with black/Tan interior and have painted the calipers this weekend with G2 brush on Gold paint and painted the rotor centers with plastikote black. The result is a nice job which is not overly obvious. Kind of understated but adds to the attractiuveness to the car.

I was really surprised how well it turned out. We are in Atlanta and it was 87* and humidity was probably 75% all day. Way above the specs for both paints that we used.



THe gold color turns out to be a darker, more tarnished look.

As for how we did it:
Put car in gear, blocked wheels released parking brake

Did initial break on lugnuts

Jacked everything up onto stands

Removed all wheels and washed/waxed with Meg NXT

Followed the instructions on this site for removal of the pads.

Released the caliper which we then hung with coat hangers from the struts so we wouldn't have to worry about the brake fluid.

Used a breaker bar and a good sized philips screw head to get front screws off (they are soft so be careful) of front rotors (no screws to remove in back)

Pulled all rotors off and cleaned with rubbing alcahol (did NOT use any degreasers per instructions)

Taped & Painted the front and back centers of each rotor with Black PLastikote 900* caliper paint (spray can) 2 or 3 coats. THey set in 1 hour & cure in 24.

Let rotors cure and sprayed the included G2 brake cleaner, careful NOT to let it touch paint or rubber parts, by holding a rag next to spray can tube and immediately wiping off.

Mixed the two part paint from G2 and started counting (only 4 hours to work with it before it sets).

Taped off rubber parts of caliper and put stuff to cover garage floor, but no other plastic, etc was used.

Did 2 real coats (use a real art/craft brush instead of the crappy one in the package from G2) waiting 15 to 30 between each. Did 3rd coat/touchups before running out of time. Had PLENTY of paint left over.

Left everything apart until Sunday noon and put it all together, bleeding the brakes. *** Watch your tires as they ARE directional.

End result: great looks & a fun project.

thew

nice job man..

Splan8

Final look:

(looks much better in daylight, this camera and flash combo make it seem brighter than it is)

Splan8

Thanks!
Oh yeah, beware of the Mazdaspeed wasp nests your car may be equipped with (4th picture up top).

thew

Wow your car stings to

crazy

That's one way to beat the competition:D


Looks good:thumbsup:

The calipers goes well with the interior.

Splan8

Thanks for mentioning the interior, it's definitely what drove me to do the gold.

It looks a lot better in the daylight. I'll try and get a picture up soon. It's the first gold I saw and I was worried about the combination, but am very happy with the overall theme.

-T