Painting Brake Calipers

Going to run out early tomorrow for 7am Mass and then heading over to Walmart to pick up some stuff. When I get back I am definitely getting the calipers back on the bike and snapping a few photos while the temps are up in the 40's. Will post them in the afternoon.
 
Well, after getting the okay from the doctor, I went downstairs this morning to install the calipers on the front as well as to remove the rear caliper. The red color matches the rim stripe really well. Over all I am very happy with the results and when you stand back from the bike it really looks cool. He are some pics from today. I know it's been a long while but better late than never. I promise, no more heart attacks when I am in the middle of a project.

dcp_4422.jpg


dcp_4424.jpg


dcp_4426.jpg


dcp_4425.jpg


Sorry for the long wait. I hope it was worth it.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Spin, I know what you mean. The only good thing is that the painted surface is extremely hard and slick which makes cleaning very easy. Soapy water, the garden hose, and blow dry, and they look as good as new. I already put two coats on the rear caliper. One or two more in a few days and I'll be posting some pics again.
 
Looking good!

Just got to find time to do mine now! Oh, thinking of taking rotors off and color match the centers and the edge of the rotors if I decide to go two tone (and paint/install Ivan's kits/port boots/possibly frame & engine/airbox mod/timing advancer......that is the short list)

baby steps.....baby steps.... (oh, and install the Fren Tubo lines and Brembo pads)

jeesh, can't stop...

BroHay
 
Thanks Adam! You know once you start its hard to stop. Hows it going with you out there? I hope your all fine. Everthings good on my end. Feeling good and now just waiting to see if that "Rodent" sees his shadow tomorrow. I can't take another 6 weeks of this weather.
 
The rear caliper is back together and ready for installation. Starting Saturday, we are supposed to have at least four days in the 50's so they say. Hopefully Saturday I will have everything back together and bled so that Sunday I'll finally be able to get out on a ride. This is the rear all done.....
dcp_4437.jpg


dcp_4436.jpg
 
I finished installing the rear caliper this afternoon after work. It came out really nice. It was a real P.I.T.A. to bleed the rear though. The fronts went well but the rear still has a small amount of air giving me a spongy feel. My friend is dropping off his bleeding kit tomorrow morning to make it go easier. With the kit it becomes a one man operation. I did however forget to bring the camera down with me. I will be riding tomorrow and promise to post some pics with everything down. The bike looks really nice with the red calipers. It gives everything a nice contrast. Check out the pics tomorrow. Billy.
 
I picked up the caliper paint from PepBoys in the aerosol format. All they had in the caliper kit was red. I'm going to do a black body with silver plugs (depending upon how the solid black body looks). Then, in the not so distant future, I'll shoot the inner and the outer ring of the rotors (probably when I spoon some new rubber on).

Looks like I'll be joining the darker side of the color spectrum, for I was able to pickup a skunk tail and gas tank for next to nothing, (anyone got leads on a black upper fairing or better yet black/silver??).

Anyway, this will be a good comparison to the work you have done Billy on the hand applied versus the aersol caliper paint.

Oh yeah, where in the heck would you find kerosene at (Hardware and paint stores came up dry)? I would like to soak the misc. parts to get them nice and shiny....

BroHay
 
Last edited:
Your kidding! No kerosene at your hardware store?? Boy, thats strange. Go to any roofing supply house. The roofers use it to clean the tar from their hands. Then again, maybe you guys out there use tiled roof's and not shingles. I am curious to see the spray on type of kit. I didn't even know they had one.

My buddy Ray just left. He dropped by the brake bleeding kit. What a Godsend! I was done in less than twenty minutes, front and rear. Now it's time to head out fro a ride. We have been blessed with 50 degree weather today. Gonna take a few snapshots before going and I'll be back this afternoon to post them. Take it easy buddy, gotta ride!!! Yippeeee!!!
 
I just got back from my ride. I put over 140 miles on the bike today, and the brakes worked just fine. Unfortunately it needs a good wash now. I hit a spot of rain on the expressway. It was enough to muddy things up a bit. Thats my job for Wednesday. Anyhow, here are a couple of shots of the bike before leaving. All the calipers are finished and bled. The only other thing I need to do is the bar grips. I'll probably tackle that on Wednesday as well.

dcp_4441.jpg


dcp_4440.jpg
 
Couldn't find Kerosene anywhere! Lowes had it, but b/c we've had such a blistering winter, they only purchased like a case and it is sold out.

Hopefully found a substitue in a medium grade paint thinner, that had "removes grease" in the description. I hope that I get as good of results as you did with yours Billy.

Glad you were able to put some miles on today. I was going to join you in spirit, but if you can believe it the weather has turned for the worse -- 60+ winds, dust blowing, snow/rain (just waiting for the tornado)

Still hope you are taking it easy and recovering -- project caliper shall be starting on the spare set later this evening.

BroHay
 
BROHAY'S Project Caliper

Billy,

Thank your lucky starts you had someone like David keeping up on the cleanliness of you ride. I started last night with the prep, and I didn't get to spray anything except the retainer clip (just to say that I painted something! AND I was only working on one caliper)

I need to get some varying sizes brushes to get into all the nooks and cranies to remove everything. I'm also planning on masking the inside off to reduce overspray, since I have aerosol cans, from getting into the pistons and possibly causing problems later down the road.

So, If I can impart one word of advice, CLEAN YOUR RIDE REGULARLY (or spend hours prepping :D)

Pictures to come hopefully this evening.....

BroHay
 
BroHay said:
Billy,

Thank your lucky starts you had someone like David keeping up on the cleanliness of you ride. I started last night with the prep, and I didn't get to spray anything except the retainer clip (just to say that I painted something! AND I was only working on one caliper)

I need to get some varying sizes brushes to get into all the nooks and cranies to remove everything. I'm also planning on masking the inside off to reduce overspray, since I have aerosol cans, from getting into the pistons and possibly causing problems later down the road.

So, If I can impart one word of advice, CLEAN YOUR RIDE REGULARLY (or spend hours prepping :D)

Pictures to come hopefully this evening.....

BroHay
Click to expand...


You can say that again. I am so fortunate to have Dave's bike. It was definitely kept in showroom condition, thats for sure. He was extremely meticulous in his upkeep of the bike.
As for your calipers, I was thinking the same thing yesterday. With the spray you have to mask off all the pistons and inside area as to not disrupt the movement of those pieces. You can pick up a 5 piece Crayola artist brush set for a little over a dollar at any hardware store. They have 5 sizes and worked really well with that type of paint. Don't forget to post some pics. I'll talk to ya later.
 
OK, so I was only able to get one painted this evening, and I almost forgot to take pictures.

I used the aerosol version of the caliper paint by Dupli-Color. I masked the inside of the the caliper where the pistons are with some painters tape and cut the excess off to minimize the possibility of overspray on the the pistons. I applied 3 coats and have it hanging in the garage to dry overnight.

I had originally though that I was going to try a two-tone (black/silver) but undecided at this point.

BroHay

100_3024.jpg

100_3025.jpg

100_3029.jpg
 
Side shots of unpainted vs. painted. And just so you know, the spots that are seen are from the flash b/c I checked after seeing picture and it is all glossy black :cool:

100_3018.jpg

100_3027.jpg
 
Beautiful job Adam. I should have gone with the spray had I known they even had it. The black looks real good. Just make sure that you take a blade and scrape away any paint from the surfaces that touch together to the bike. Like the area where the screw head sits. This way when the caliper sits on the mounts, you won't be changing the spacing between the rotor and caliper because of the thickness in the paint. Great job buddy! Keep the pics coming.
 
Well, I had given consideration to not painting those areas, but I just couldn't bring myself not to spray them. Guess I should of listened to the inner voice....

One little f-up in having the masking a bit too high that when I peeled it away, left a boo-boo. In the process of fixing it.

I'll post the new brake setup this evening when I get everything assembled before mounting on the bike.

BroHay
 
Well, to my dismay, it is back to the drawing board. I developed some runs in key areas that were visible as well as some debris caught from spraying (thought I had cleaned the area well enough, just goes to show)

So, did some spot sanding and will try again to achieve the same results.

BroHay
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top