since painting the caliper requires you to take off the wheels and calipers..someone told me this automaticaly voids the warrenty on the breaks.Is this true?

 

IMO, I don't see how taking the wheels and calipers off would void the warranty. Unless you damaged the calipers doing so. Maybe somebody working at a dealership can give you a definate answer if removing the caliper would void the warranty.

But, if that is so for the caliphers, you don't have to remove them. Just protect the pad and the surrounding area with plastic or something else to protect from overspray and paint the calipers. That's what I would do. Not that I would be worried about a warranty issue, but having to bleed and readjust the brakes if I removed the calipers. Too much work.

 

I read on some other forum a while back about people painting their calipers.

What they would do is spray the paint into a container and then brush it on with a spong or something, something that won't leave brush strokes. It takes longer but it solves the removing issue and it solves the overspray issue.

 

There was another thread about a product from G2 that is sold at the Tire Rack. This stuff is supposed to be really durable and is a brush on paint that dries to look almost like powder coating. It seemed much easier since everyone said you only needed to remove the wheel and not the calipers.

I think I am going to try this route, I will try and post pictures if I can get some time to undertake the project. Probably go black or silver as other mentioned a bit more subtle than some of the other colors.

 

what's so hard about taking the wheels and calipers off/??

btw, regardless of which brand of paint, a good idea is to semi-heat up your calipers before painting them to bake in the paint.

 

There's nothing hard about taking off the wheels. However, the calipers are a different story to some, especially when you have to readjust the brakes after you are done. Some may not be as mechanical as you or they may want to take the extra time to do it. Although "baking" in the paint may be more durable, there are people that painted the calipers in other ways and it's durable enough. Taking off the calipers is an unnecessary step that many do not want to take just to paint the caliphers.

 

The G2 product yeilds very pleasing results

 

Close-up

 

That looks so good I'm gonna do mine this weekend

 

Thanks, Take your time. The instructions say that if it's 80 deg F the paint sets up in 20-30 min. I used a small cooler with ice in the bottom and a towel to prevent direct contact. It seemed to slow the set time down. I put on three coats and still had plenty of paint left.

 

TNRED8

looks good, can you clarify which paint product you used, brand name / paint type?

 

The paint comes in kit form from "G2 Products". This is a high temperature paint kit for painting calipers. Igot my kit through "Tire Rack" , but there are a lot of retailers handling the G2 kits. I may paint our Miata's calipers next.

 

ta, i wonder what the equivalent will be in the UK

 

Any suggestions as to where to get the paint? (red is preferable)


Thanks.

 

try pep boys or autozone or kragen its like 10 bucks

 

I just finished painting mine with the G2 product. I tried the silver since I thought the brighter colors would be to much for a black car. I didn't remove the calipers and it was pretty easy to apply, although if you want to get all of the caliper you would need to take them off since there are portions that are too difficult to reach, they aren't visible.

One other note the silver is darker than what is shown on the package. I wanted it to be lighter to match the wheels a little better. This color would be a great match for the titanium color RX-8 paint.

I will post pictures if I get the time.

 

Please post your pics. I'm thinking about painting mine silver to match my 8 (sunlight silver). I like the red but not sure if that would look too gaudy.

 

After listening to many of your ideas, I went ahead this weekend and painted the calipers yellow (I've got the yellow RX8). As I was prepping to paint, I noticed rust around the hubs that was visible through the rims.

After cleaning the rust off, I used the G2 to paint the hubs so they didn't rust again. The car just hit the port in July, and they were rusting already. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about the yellow hubs or not.

Thoughts? Should I repaint them with G2 silver? I plan on keeping the calipers yellow though - I like those.

 

FWIW, I'd keep the calipers yellow (nice touch) and repaint the rest in silver.

 

the calipers look great

 

For some reason (I can't put my finger on why), painting the hub makes the wheel look, um, GAY.

I would repaint them silver.

 

quote:
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Originally posted by RX8Lover:
For some reason (I can't put my finger on why), painting the hub makes the wheel look, um, GAY....
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Thanks. I gathered that from the last two replies - I think I've got it. The silver paint is on order.

But, I am happy that the rust will be taken care of. I noticed on the 350Z, the rust is not an issue. They have used a coated metal / surface that does not appear to rust. It's the one thing I believe Nissan may have done right with the car.

 

lol

 

would black calipers look good on my red 8?

 

IMO yes