Painting new brake calipers

toopy

Club Member
Ive ordered some brand new Hilux calipers and want to paint them, probably in a gun metal grey.
They are yellow zinc plated, but this coating, while nice doesnt last well in use on brake parts,
and besides i think it would look odd behind the wheels on a purple car!

Ive got some high temperature paint already, but i cant seem to find any definitive answer on wether to use a primer first,
and wether said primer should also be high temperature.
Most caliper 'kits' you can buy dont seem to use a primer, but plenty of manufacturers seem to make one nonetheless to compliment the top coat!

Would you also lacquer them as well, as i have an unused can of that from years back, which was intended for engine ancillaries?
 

johnymd

Club Member
I'm kind of hopeing the zinc plate will stay. Or shall I just paint them gloss black?

What colour are you thinking of?
 

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AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Well Mr. T, in my younger and more foolish days (when the car was ritualistically loved and polished for four hour every weekend) I used to spray mine with Halford's finest high temp silver spray paint on all my cars. It NEVER let me down or peeled; and as you know my right foot is rather leaden so they must have gotten pretty toasty and suffered regular close up jet washing.

My advice is get them super clean and oil free using brake cleaner or thinners (mind the rubbers of course), then build up the coats rather than one big one. Get a nice thick layer of paint on and it will last the brake dust abuse.

Never use the calliper kits, they leave a horrible finish. Makes your callipers look Iike they belong on a car pulling doughnuts in the Tesco car park on a Saturday night!

Under coats I never bothered with but if you do go that way and your callipers aren't likely to get very hot then get the 1K acid etch undercoat as it sticks much better.
 

toopy

Club Member
I'm kind of hopeing the zinc plate will stay. Or shall I just paint them gloss black?

What colour are you thinking of?

The trouble with these sort of coatings John, is that they tend to be very thin and more cosmetic than corrosion inhibiting,
especially seeing as these calipers are not 'genuine Toyota' and therefore far less likely to have Toyota quality applied surface coating!

Plus, when was the last time you noticed a brand new car with yellow passivate coating on the brake parts, theyre all either metal colour or have a greyish/silver coating.
IMHO they will look odd, black or silver or grey/gunmetal would look more appropriate :)
 

toopy

Club Member
Well Mr. T, in my younger and more foolish days (when the car was ritualistically loved and polished for four hour every weekend) I used to spray mine with Halford's finest high temp silver spray paint on all my cars. It NEVER let me down or peeled; and as you know my right foot is rather leaden so they must have gotten pretty toasty and suffered regular close up jet washing.

My advice is get them super clean and oil free using brake cleaner or thinners (mind the rubbers of course), then build up the coats rather than one big one. Get a nice thick layer of paint on and it will last the brake dust abuse.

Never use the calliper kits, they leave a horrible finish. Makes your callipers look Iike they belong on a car pulling doughnuts in the Tesco car park on a Saturday night!

Under coats I never bothered with but if you do go that way and your callipers aren't likely to get very hot then get the 1K acid etch undercoat as it sticks much better.

Thanks Ali, food for thought :thumbs:
 

Jimbo

1978 260z in yellow
Club Member
no primer just straight on with the hi temp paint.
like smiley inside says make sure they are clean VERY CLEAN, then spary lots of light coats so you have good even build up.
 

johnymd

Club Member
OK. so black VHT it is then. You can see from my picture above that they are pretty clean.
 

toopy

Club Member
John, what pads are you using please? I was going to order some EBC green stuff, but they are quite pricey at approx £49 :unsure:
 

Jimbo

1978 260z in yellow
Club Member
are EBC green stuff any good in datsuns?
i only ask as ive had EBC green stuff break up and fall apart in my VW and wouldnt touch them with a barge pole.
maybe theyve got better since then?
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I have mintex on the my Toyota callipers and they stop the car very nicely indeed. I've heard / read some strange reviews on the green stuff pads so who knows.

On the down side the mintex will cause more brake dust. On the upside, I have black wheels ;)

Ps. You guys have the advantage of having fresh metal without brake dust to put paint onto. Also the fresh zinc will help with not rusting from below the paint surface!
 
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toopy

Club Member
I’ve been happily using green stuff for a few years.

Same, all though not on the Z as yet, but on several past daily vehicles, I always thought they performed pretty well, and the lack of excessive brake dust is great.

That said I dont exactly clock a lot of miles in the Z, so the dust is a bit of a moot point.

Ive got some I believe semi metallic sport/fast road type pads on the Z at the moment, supplied by Mr F, and they seem to work as expected just fine.

OE spec Pagid pads to suit the Toyota calipers from Eurocarparts are around £26 or EBC Ultimax2 pads for £29 off Fleabay, Brembo or Ferodo generally another £10 atleast on top :confused:
 

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
I've had no personal experience with green stuff so can't compare. But what I would say is I have consistently found Feroddo on the daily drivers head and shoulders above others that I have tried and worth the money.

On the last A4 I ditched a set of front pads at 1k miles to switch to the Mr. Frodos and even my wife commented on the difference in stopping power.
 

Jimbo

1978 260z in yellow
Club Member
hmm it must have just been the VW fitment they were bad on or a bad batch at the time.
a pal used to use red stuff on his saxo and swore by them although they never lasted long.
after my experience though i still need convincing.
 

johnymd

Club Member
I’ve gone for the EBC ultimax2. I’ve used them on my Toyota surf and that stops really well.
 
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