After spending the day detailing the engine bay today (pics in gallery for anyone interested), I've bitten the car detailing bug again...

"Back in the day", when I had my Astra GSi, it was the in-thing to paint brake calipers.  My Astra was Flame Red, and painted the calipers in bright-red VHT Paint.

I think... (as I duck for cover here...!  :D) that my Omega - being Nocturno Blue - would look quite smart with red calipers.

But what's the general concensus - is that a Chav thing to do these days, and make my Omega look pants, or would it smarten it up?  I'd also do the hub part of the disc in grey Hammerite.

What do you think folks?  :y

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 00:09:

What do you think folks?  :y

Honest answer is....... Not my cup of tea, but if you like the idea carry on :y :y

Fair play - cheers fella  :y

It's just that with the CD-spec wheels, the calipers seem to be "on show" quite a bit, and let the side down a bit IMHO  :'(

Black or silver mate would not make it look chav at all but make it look nice and tidy.

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 00:09:

After spending the day detailing the engine bay today (pics in gallery for anyone interested), I've bitten the car detailing bug again... "Back in the day", when I had my Astra GSi, it was the in-thing to paint brake calipers.  My Astra was Flame Red, and painted the calipers in bright-red VHT Paint. I think... (as I duck for cover here...!  :D) that my Omega - being Nocturno Blue - would look quite smart with red calipers. But what's the general concensus - is that a Chav thing to do these days, and make my Omega look pants, or would it smarten it up?  I'd also do the hub part of the disc in grey Hammerite. What do you think folks?  :y

How near Kitt Green are you? I'm just about to go to work in my black Omega with its red calipers front & back. You're welcome to call round to see them.!  :y :y

Always  done mine in Hammerite smooth silver, also I think it's really important to do the internals of the caliper castings.This is for winter preservation issues against the modern trend of sticky road molasses/salt mix. In these conditions I think the crude cast iron exists in a hostile environment to the extreme, and miggy's vented rears cannot be replaced with new, only with exchange recon units, so at the end of the day the condition of the available castings for vented rears is on a ever downward spiral, I don't know about the solid disc calipers if they still can be had new,I suppose one could always do a conversion to solid and have to suffer the downgrade  

i have pained my calipers red, and on my wifes gold mig i painted hers blue....

its looks very nice and smart, cleans it up behind the wheel...

if u dont want it to stand out to much then i would go for darker colours i was going to paint mine black...

u may just catch a look at my calipers on some of the pictures i have posted up

:y :y :y

I personally like gloss black hammerite. but i have red calipers on my silver astra coupe and looks alright actually.They do show up the dirt and brake dust a bit though:(

Mine are in Black to match the car and Wheels.

If you want to paint yours sky-blue orange with henna polka dots - why not? It's your car.

For me, it's a personal thing. As someone has mentioned, it can also have a very helpful protective part to play as well as making the car look how you want it to.

Go get you paint, dude, go get your paint............. :y :y

Matthew

Pics of the calipers on my car.

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac142/Alan-Hearn/Omega/IMGP2822-1.jpg

http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac142/Alan-Hearn/Omega/IMGP2836.jpg


Regards
Alan

That looks good Alan, did you hand paint "Vauxhall" in white too?

blackviper90210 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 15:34:

That looks good Alan, did you hand paint "Vauxhall" in white too?

The white writing is caliper heat resistant vinyl decals. I had them sent to me from Uber9 Custom Design in Leighton Buzzard. As they are intended for the calipers they are slightly curved. Rear one's are slightly smaller to match the smaller caliper obviously.
The red paint is caliper paint. They have been like this for over seven years and have not peeled or cracked. I did laquer over the decals to prevent any loose edges though.
PM me if you want their contact details, assuming they are still trading.  :y :y

EDIT: Just checked and they are still trading, mainly through Ebay.  :y

YZ250 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 16:32:

blackviper90210 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 15:34: That looks good Alan, did you hand paint "Vauxhall" in white too? The white writing is caliper heat resistant vinyl decals. I had them sent to me from Uber9 Custom Design in Leighton Buzzard. As they are intended for the calipers they are slightly curved. Rear one's are slightly smaller to match the smaller caliper obviously. The red paint is caliper paint. They have been like this for over seven years and have not peeled or cracked. I did laquer over the decals to prevent any loose edges though. PM me if you want their contact details, assuming they are still trading.  :y :y EDIT: Just checked and they are still trading, mainly through Ebay.  :y

That would be great mate if you could pass on their details. May well get a set for my baby later on when I finally get round to sorting her out! 

Cheers   :y

Andy B wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 06:47:

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 00:09: After spending the day detailing the engine bay today (pics in gallery for anyone interested), I've bitten the car detailing bug again... "Back in the day", when I had my Astra GSi, it was the in-thing to paint brake calipers.  My Astra was Flame Red, and painted the calipers in bright-red VHT Paint. I think... (as I duck for cover here...!  :D) that my Omega - being Nocturno Blue - would look quite smart with red calipers. But what's the general concensus - is that a Chav thing to do these days, and make my Omega look pants, or would it smarten it up?  I'd also do the hub part of the disc in grey Hammerite. What do you think folks?  :y How near Kitt Green are you? I'm just about to go to work in my black Omega with its red calipers front & back. You're welcome to call round to see them.!  :y :y

Grrr, if only I'd seen this post earlier!   >:(  I'm literally 2mins from Kitt Green!  Would have been great to have seen yours.  Don't remember it having red calipers when you changed the oil in mine - is it a recent addition, or am I just going blind?  ;D

Cheers Andy  :y

Wow YZ250 - they look superb!  :y  What paint did you use?

Thanks for all your suggestions folks - you've given me plenty of food for thought  :y

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 22:22:

... Grrr, if only I'd seen this post earlier!   >:(  I'm literally 2mins from Kitt Green!  Would have been great to have seen yours.  Don't remember it having red calipers when you changed the oil in mine - is it a recent addition, or am I just going blind?  ;D Cheers Andy  :y

My red calipers were done last summer, so you're not going blind.  ;) ;)
I'm back in work next Thurs for 6 days so maybe you could see it next week end. Just tell me when though cos I don't normally use it for work.  :)

That's good news then!  :D

Cheers for that Andy - it's appreciated  :y  I think I'll defo take you up on that matey - I'll drop you a PM to arrange summut later on this week, when I know what's what this coming weekend, if that's ok with you?

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 22:39:

.... I'll drop you a PM to arrange summut later on this week, when I know what's what this coming weekend, if that's ok with you?

that's sounds good to me.  :y :y

You're a gentleman and a scholar!  :y  :)

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 22:48:

You're a gentleman and a scholar!  :y  :)

I do try!  ;) ;) ;)

iv got a silver elite and dident want the chav look

so i done mine in gloss black
personal i thing they look prity good like that

damon80 wrote on 10. Apr 2011 at 22:33:

Wow YZ250 - they look superb!  :y  What paint did you use? Thanks for all your suggestions folks - you've given me plenty of food for thought  :y

I used this stuff.  :y


http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac142/Alan-Hearn/Random%20Pics/FoliatecCaliperPaint.jpg

Regards
Alan

Any paint suitable for metal will do the job on brakes and engines. Hammerite works well, but tends to look crap. Personally, I'd use normal 2 pack  as it's cheap, easily available in any colour you want, goes off quickly and lasts well. Etch primer is a good idea too.
The important thing to remember whatever paint you use is that the surface must be clean, reasonably smooth and greasefree.

IMO anything is better than the rusty brown normally visible...   Red is a bit strong for me though tbh. Silver maybe....    Or pink for Daz?  ;D

Don't want to steal the post but could someone explain what needs to be done to paint the calipers ( acttually not done but removed)

mathewst wrote on 12. Apr 2011 at 11:54:

Don't want to steal the post but could someone explain what needs to be done to paint the calipers ( acttually not done but removed)

I suppose it depends how far you want to go, do you want to paint what is visible or doyou want to remove the pads & paint inside where you can't see.  :-/
Clean & degrease them & then paint them according to the instructions on the paint tin. Use high temp brake caliper paint.  :y

mathewst wrote on 12. Apr 2011 at 11:54:

Don't want to steal the post but could someone explain what needs to be done to paint the calipers ( acttually not done but removed)

As said^^^^^ just remove the wheel and paint what the eye can see through the wheel after degreasing. The main difference between caliper paint kits and hammerite is that the caliper kits mix laquer with the paint so you get a nice easy to clean surface for many years for the sake of a quick wipe over once a week. I used caliper paint as my previous Omega had gold hammerite smoothrite on them and they dulled very quickly. Caliper paint kits include quick evaporating degreaser, pot of paint and a pot of laquer but are considerably more expensive. Personal choice at the end of the day.  :y

the caliper colour would depend on the colour of your car really some colours wont mix and will just look guady red brakes on ablack car ok red on a red car dodgy

omegadan67 wrote on 12. Apr 2011 at 22:50:

...... red brakes on ablack car ok red on a red car dodgy

:-[ :-[ :-[ :-[  ::)

there's a lot more to it that just painting calipers on any car, in my opinion if its the right car with the right wheels it can look stunning

my bora was going to have red calipers done, black car, anthracite wheels, BUT i'm told the coilover kit i want is only available with blue springs which i'm sure will look odd  ::)

i'm not 100% sure Red will look good with nocturno blue though if i'm honest

Danny wrote on 13. Apr 2011 at 15:37:

there's a lot more to it that just painting calipers on any car, in my opinion if its the right car with the right wheels it can look stunning my bora was going to have red calipers done, black car, anthracite wheels, BUT i'm told the coilover kit i want is only available with blue springs which i'm sure will look odd  ::) i'm not 100% sure Red will look good with nocturno blue though if i'm honest

Ahh bugger,I was thinking about it on mine but not so sure now :-?

i just use hammerite

doug4293 wrote on 13. Apr 2011 at 17:44:

i just use hammerite

but if you see YZ250's reply above ........  ;) ;) ;)

Dont do it. Its sadder than stamp collecting ;)

Bent valve wrote on 14. Apr 2011 at 18:42:

Dont do it. Its sadder than stamp collecting ;)

Which would explain things, given I am a philatelist...   :P  ;D

Danny wrote on 13. Apr 2011 at 15:37:

there's a lot more to it that just painting calipers on any car, in my opinion if its the right car with the right wheels it can look stunning my bora was going to have red calipers done, black car, anthracite wheels, BUT i'm told the coilover kit i want is only available with blue springs which i'm sure will look odd  ::) i'm not 100% sure Red will look good with nocturno blue though if i'm honest

Hmmm, you're giving me 2nd thoughts now Danny!

damon80 wrote on 14. Apr 2011 at 18:48:

Bent valve wrote on 14. Apr 2011 at 18:42: Dont do it. Its sadder than stamp collecting ;) Which would explain things, given I am a philatelist...  :P  ;D

Pillar box red would suit the calipers nicely ::)

Bent valve wrote on 14. Apr 2011 at 18:56:

damon80 wrote on 14. Apr 2011 at 18:48: Bent valve wrote on 14. Apr 2011 at 18:42: Dont do it. Its sadder than stamp collecting ;) Which would explain things, given I am a philatelist...  :P  ;D Pillar box red would suit the calipers nicely ::)

Hahahaha!  ;D  Good job I was kidding!  ;D  ;D