But Kieth my calipers look like that right now and I didn't paint them.
Too much brake dust on them.
Seriously, it does take time and patience to do it but very little expertize.
The problem is finding a way to keep them clean and visible and not blasting them with a pressure washer to achieve the right look after.
Any young guy with a bit of time and car knowledge could use the spare cash and do it for you, if you don't have the available time to complete such a project.
Good luck, Derek
Yes ideally you need to take the wheels off (even with the 5 spoke ones) to clean the calipers properly, then 2 weeks down the line & they are dirty again. But it does stop that horrible rusty look I used to get. I do prefer them 'colour coded' to the car though.
Will Comet Grey matches better with the rim or silver? Rim is silver so I think silver might looks better.. I might ask the MB bodyshop who painted the spoiler to paint the caliper.
I very much doubt that you will get the Comet grey in the Caliper paint or even engine paint. The colours for both these types of paint are usually fairly restricted as it is a special type of paint. Usually you only get the primary colours, silver, black, a few dayglo type colours and you might possibly get white & gold. But I think exact colour matching would be out of the question. Even if it were possible I would imagine it would be very expensive.
I just read this thread from front to back for the first time today, what are people's thoughts on using just brake cleaner to clean the cailpers? I thought about doing them this way. Also, I'm guilty as charged for using wand wash (Car Wash) pressure washers, but what do you do in the winter? I am not about to wash my car in -20C, with a bucket-o-water!!
I either use a touchless wash (which I don't think does as good of a job) or Wand wash (In these steps ; soap - (cleaned) foam brush - my own mitt to reclean - rinse - conditioner - rinse - wax - GM synthetic chamois dry - microfiber cloth dry windows and chrome). In the summer, I half and half go with the wand wash and hand wash, but I also hand wax the car and use Carbrite Reflect on the tires. PS Has anyone done the Ming Auto Shine or gotten their car power polished? I think, I am going to do this as soon as the snow melts. Sunny and +16C today so it won't be long, although I thought that before we had the 30cm.
Hey Anthony,
Glad you and the B survived the surprise weather.
There's no perfect way to clean the B during the winter.
I leave it dirty until we get a thaw. I hand wash it when I see +1C with 2 warm buckets.(I kind of freeze when doing it) I hose the wheel-wells and underbody and I hose it before and after the hand wash.
Don't forget to use your brakes a bit before parking the B or the pads can freeze to the discs.(yes it happened to me twice this winter)
Drain the hose, drain the tap, shut the valve; what a PITA.
A heated garage would be nice, if you can find one nearby.
If you must use a pressure washer, then never get to close, even if you're tempted because of the dirt.
It's probably 'OK' when washing the underbody, if you don't nail the brakes too much and if you can adjust the spray volume or pressure, so much the better.
We also are enjoying the early heat with a kayak around the lake ice.
Cheers, Derek
ps: Wouldn't just using brake cleaner, strip the lube from the necessary lube surfaces.
Last edited by Derek Lecours : 04-28-2008 at 07:22 AM.
[quote=kdbcom;2861169]For those that must have red calipers check this out :-
hmmmm. I'd be careful if I were you. If you read their description, apply silicone sealant, then apply the whole 'dummy' caliper on????
I forsee brakes heating, dirt getting between the main calipers and the dummy covers, and a potential warranty problem. I'd go with painting the calipers, thank you very much. . .
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