IwannaSportSedan Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Most high-dollar cars have forged or billet brake calipers with pistons on the outside of the disk, not just the inside. Certainly looks more "bling" than a pull-type caliper, where the pistons at the back also pull the front pads against the front of the disk (front being the side you see from the wheel-side.) A cast caliper like the Legacy, and most other everyday cars have are pretty roughly cast, hence the rough surface. A forged or billet milled brake caliper is also denser, stiffer, and theoretically less porous than a cheaper cast caliper, so it isn't just looks. On the cheap, I'd probably paint visible cast calipers in a carbon grey, to hide them, and make them a uniform finish, instead of stained or oxidized bare metal, and put in new pads and stainless lines. However, I would do a brake kit if I had the money, for the better hardware, with much better looks being a nice side benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team23jordan Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 how did you paint it? like did you use brush? looks good man Perrin BIG maf intake Perrin Turbo Inlet HKS SSQV BOV Megan Racing header with UP (ceramic coated) HKS DP (WRX) DMH E-cutout Custom 3" catback UTEC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warnoldscu Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I like it... it's similar to the Cobb brakes which I think look really good - if I were to do this I think silver is my choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimbeaver Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 wow that looks surprisingly nice... nice and subtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mele63 Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 I sprayed the paint into a container and put on the first coat with a foam "pipsicle" brush. The foam brush is O.K. but not good enough to fishish the job. After the first coat dried (few hours at most), I came back with an artist's type paint brush and brushed paint on the largest surfaces to smooth them out a bit and add a second layer of product. I also used the artist's brush to really dab the paint into the nooks and crannies. Here are three "encore" pix: http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5922/ap72000676wa.jpg http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6889/ap72000685kw.jpg http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/1343/ap72000690gd.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtlimited05 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 What kind of paint should be used to paint the calipers? I'd like to paint mine black but don't know what paint is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgags31 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Very sharp looking! Nice Job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mayor Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Awesome work Mele63...just the color I was thinking of;) ...now to find the time to do it (when I don't need to use the car for a few hours). How long did it take for...perhaps I can do it in the evening and let it dry overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mele63 Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 What kind of paint should be used to paint the calipers? I'd like to paint mine black but don't know what paint is best. Please see my very first post at the top of this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mele63 Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Awesome work Mele63...just the color I was thinking of;) ...now to find the time to do it (when I don't need to use the car for a few hours). How long did it take for...perhaps I can do it in the evening and let it dry overnight. Obviously, you want to let it dry as long as you can before driving it. Once your'e driving, new brake dust is being produced and that could mess things up if it's tacky. Other than brake dust and water you could drive it as soon as you wanted to. It took me about twice as long as it would take if I did it again. This was the first time I jacked up this car, or removed the wheels, or placed jackstands, ect. What I'm saying is the painting part only takes about one hour for all four wheels, two coats. You don't even have to wait after cleaning with brake cleaner, that stuff dries instantly. Oh, and like I said, I also cleaned all four wheels inside and out and gave them two coats of Wheel Wax, so that took some time as well. I'm anxious to see how this looks on other colors! Please post pix after you do yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenWeasel Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I like the way it looks. I don't care for the cheesy fo sheezy colorful calipers trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_rex Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 i never understood the obsession with painting calipers. wow, blue OEM calipers!!!111 amazing!!1 but the silver looks great. it's OE, but nice and clean. i wonder if they'll clean easier too. dR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWP-LegacyGT Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Let me put this into perspective. Silver w/ Gold or Bronze wheels... HOTT. Looks good stock too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 I didn't want my stock calipers to attract attention, so I just went with black. I think the way they look stock is so ugly that they have to be painted with something. To really point in making them stand out, but I had to make them blend in better. Before: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/158-5892_IMG.jpg After: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/158-5893_IMG.jpg I think it had to be done. Here are a couple more for reference. The silver wouldn't have looked as good on blue, but it definitely looks better than that crusty looking color they come stock as. +1 for caliper painting. _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldc2335 Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 i think red looks the best with white cars, i get compliments all the time, people think its stock http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/8589/s30100695fg.th.jpghttp://img377.imageshack.us/img377/9267/s30100271tw.th.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 Very nice job on the paint up and pics. Shows it off really well. I'm personally going with red on my SWP Wagon... but could be "induced" to consider a darker gray paint instead. Thanks for sharing your handiwork. SBT - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlabs Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 Love those caliper jobs! I agree with OCDetails - almost *any* color is better than the stock metal rustic finish. -=- Livin life at 140 BPM -=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy25GT Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 Finished mine....3.5 Hours ...$4.99 can of 500 temp gloss black...7.99 for subaru caliper logos...I read that someone paid $160.00 to have them done at the dealer...CRAZY !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCDetails Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 It kind of looks like you sprayed them while they were still on the car in that last picture. Run your hand over the fender or the hood. I'll bet you've got crazy overspray all over your car from that if you did. I did the same thing on the first car I painted calipers on. It's nothing some clay won't fix, but it nearly stopped my heart when I felt the paint. Tip for painting calipers: Cut the top off a soda can and spray the paint in there. You can use a paper towel to keep the paint from spraying back out at you. Anyway, you'll figure that part out. The key is to just spray the paint (high temp) into a can and then use a brush (preferably foam) to paint the calipers. That way you don't need to mask anything and you can get everything painted without the overspray. You can also paint whatever that part that has the lug bolts sticking out too. That makes it look so much better. http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/wheel.gif _________________________________________ “Cleanliness becomes more important as godliness becomes more unlikely.” O C D E T A I L S . C O M OCDETAILS BLOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallschirmjaeger Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 Okay.....but where can I find the arched Subaru stickers? I'll take a run down to the autoshop this wknd, I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy25GT Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 No...Im smarter than that...I taped everything off and covered all areas with newpaper....plus in my garage there is no wind and this can had no overspray.... The stickers I got off of e-bay....look under "subaru caliper" and you will find them...he has about 25 different colors... __________________________________ '05 Legacy GT LTD - Ob Black Pearl '05 Forester XT Turbo - Champagne Gold Check out www.MyLegacyGt.com (coming soon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlabs Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 The stickers I got off of e-bay....look under "subaru caliper" and you will find them...he has about 25 different colors... Oooh good info. +1 -=- Livin life at 140 BPM -=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Simpletons Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Very nice. Much better than that stock dark dirtynessness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 here's my pic of the calipers painted in silver/aluminum with the wheels spinning (thanks Phil for the pics!): http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m103/teh_Phil/Summit%20Point%20July0806/Summit009.jpg too bad my paint boiled up in that pic due to the high heat from the brakes.. time to use some 1500F paint. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2subu Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Red works for me. See my pic with dirty rims. Please don't slam me. I've since washed the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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