Painted calipers and rotor hats

[Svashtar]

Hey, followed Cruztakers advice, and taking advantage of the long weekend I painted my calipers today.

Probably painted more than I should, as I got carried away. Hard to tell where some assemblies begin and some end.

I painted the little rubber connectors at the top and bottom, hope that was OK. It might flake off there, but seems to have set up well. And I echo his advice: lots of extra brushes, use the right size in the right place and save yourself lots of grief. Took me about 5 hours as well for 3 + coats, and did most of the insides as well. A couple of little boogers that I was able to fix.

I also painted the rotor hats. I painted the entire face of the rotor, around the studs as well. (No paint on the stud threads!) I used Rust-o-leum Satin Black 1000 degree BBQ paint. Gloss could not be found. Looks good. I thought I'd do it as the wheels were a bear to get off.

Now because the BBQ paint is still tacky I'm going to have to leave the car up on stands overnight, (which kind of worries me. The passenger door was a bit hard to open when I got it up on stands, and I realized it was sagging a bit to that side, so I put a bottle jack 10" in front of it and that seemed to fix things up.)

ANYWAY, once I get the wheels back on are they going to do OK against that paint do you think? I guess the worst that could happen is that they are tough to get off. I'll put a light coating of grease on the inside of the wheels, just wanted to know if paint there was not recommended as I've only seen people do the visible part of the hat.

Thanks as always.

Norm

[Jolly Roger]

Hey, followed Cruztakers advice, and taking advantage of the long weekend I painted my calipers today.

Probably painted more than I should, as I got carried away. Hard to tell where some assemblies begin and some end.

I painted the little rubber connectors at the top and bottom, hope that was OK. It might flake off there, but seems to have set up well. And I echo his advice: lots of extra brushes, use the right size in the right place and save yourself lots of grief. Took me about 5 hours as well for 3 + coats, and did most of the insides as well. A couple of little boogers that I was able to fix.

I also painted the rotor hats. I painted the entire face of the rotor, around the studs as well. (No paint on the stud threads!) I used Rust-o-leum Satin Black 1000 degree BBQ paint. Gloss could not be found. Looks good. I thought I'd do it as the wheels were a bear to get off.

Now because the BBQ paint is still tacky I'm going to have to leave the car up on stands overnight, (which kind of worries me. The passenger door was a bit hard to open when I got it up on stands, and I realized it was sagging a bit to that side, so I put a bottle jack 10" in front of it and that seemed to fix things up.)

ANYWAY, once I get the wheels back on are they going to do OK against that paint do you think? I guess the worst that could happen is that they are tough to get off. I'll put a light coating of grease on the inside of the wheels, just wanted to know if paint there was not recommended as I've only seen people do the visible part of the hat.

Thanks as always.

Norm

What abaout a light coat of Permatex anti-seize between the wheel and the rotors?;)

[Svashtar]

What abaout a light coat of Permatex anti-seize between the wheel and the rotors?;)

Will do. That should solve any problems, and I just thought the hard hi-temp paint has to be better than the rusty mess that was there when I got the wheel off.

[MM2004]

I cannot answer your question, but I would not have painted the surface where the rim resides. Why paint if you can't see it?

Let us know how the rims came off the next time you remove them?

We need pics!

Mike.

[1stMerc]

I believe that is enamel paint and needs additional drying time before puting the wheel back on. You will probably have an issue since the paint will soften again with application of the brakes and then harden again and may adhere the wheel worst than the rust that accumalates. Were it me i would scrape the paint off of that part (since it won't be seen) and also as was stated, apply a light coating of anti-seize to that part.

my 2 cents

[finster101]

I would seriously consider removing the paint between the hub surface and the rotor hat. You are setting yourself up for some real warpage issues. That area should be as clean and smooth as possible. If you think they were tough to get off with rust wait till that paint gets hot and bonds together. JMO

[Glenn]

As you stated be VERY careful about getting the caliper paint on the stud threads. I painted my calipers last year and got a little on the stud threads (maybe 2-3 threads at most) and paid dearly for the mistake. It was impossible to take the stud nuts off because the paint had hardened onto the nut and stud threads. I had to heat the nuts and studs big time to soften the paint to get the nuts off and this was with a hi-torque air lug wrench. So be careful.

Glenn :burnout:

[Svashtar]

I believe that is enamel paint and needs additional drying time before puting the wheel back on. You will probably have an issue since the paint will soften again with application of the brakes and then harden again and may adhere the wheel worst than the rust that accumalates. Were it me i would scrape the paint off of that part (since it won't be seen) and also as was stated, apply a light coating of anti-seize to that part.

my 2 cents

I let the paint harden for 16 hours with the wheels off before putting them back on, and coated the inside of the rim with anti-seize as well. I'll check it again after a couple of days driving. If I see any paint transfer I'll power brush it off for sure.

Thanks very much.

[Svashtar]

I would seriously consider removing the paint between the hub surface and the rotor hat. You are setting yourself up for some real warpage issues. That area should be as clean and smooth as possible. If you think they were tough to get off with rust wait till that paint gets hot and bonds together. JMO

Warpage? I appreciate the feedback which is why I posted, but the paint is rated to 1000 degrees. And if was the dirtiest area of the wheel before, with lots of scale and rust. I scrubbed the rotor hat with a wire brush and WD-40 to loosen everything up, then sprayed it all with brake cleaner and let it dry so it was very clean. Then 1 coat of hi-temp paint which will eliminate any future rusting, and anti-seize on the inside of the wheel hub.

Only reason I painted the face and around the studs was because it was easier than just painting what would be visible.

Are you saying that the paint will not allow the heat to dissipate correctly?

Your opinion is definitely welcome!

Thanks,

N.

[CRUZTAKER]

I did not paint the entire rotor hats on any of our cars mostly due to not being able to see it anyway.

The back sides of my MM wheels are powdercoated. and I merely spread the telecom grease we use called NO-OX ID on the wheels mating surfaces. It's like a triple thick vasaline that it a ***** to wipe off.

Never had any trouble.

I am no engineer, but my thoughts are that the heat from the rotors is 99% disipated through the brake contact areas and not the mating surfaces. The potential issue I see id potentially bonding the surfaces in some way, but it seems you lubed then up nicely to avoid that situation.

[Svashtar]

Thanks to all. FYI, aluminum melts at 659.7 degrees. The BBQ paint is good to 1000 degrees. Looks like I'm good unless it's a particularly hot day and a nuke lands nearby. If that happens I'll check to see if the melted rim hurt the paint. ;)

Seriously, the anti-seize is a great idea and one I should have implemented long ago. It had been a few months since the wheels were off, and this last go round I had to use a dead blow hammer to get them loose. Nothing but orange crud in the inside of the rim and lots of rust and scale on the rotor hat. So much for a clean contact surface!

N.

[Aren Jay]

I saw an awesome bmw with painted calipers, It was awesome because when moving you could see everything perfectly. Now I know why people want to paint calipers, but do you paint them to match your car, or stand out from it?

[Blk Mamba]

Thanks to all. FYI, aluminum melts at 659.7 degrees. The BBQ paint is good to 1000 degrees. Looks like I'm good unless it's a particularly hot day and a nuke lands nearby. If that happens I'll check to see if the melted rim hurt the paint. ;)

Seriously, the anti-seize is a great idea and one I should have implemented long ago. It had been a few months since the wheels were off, and this last go round I had to use a dead blow hammer to get them loose. Nothing but orange crud in the inside of the rim and lots of rust and scale on the rotor hat. So much for a clean contact surface!

N.


1220 Deg. F

[Svashtar]

1220 Deg. F

Yep, you're right. The 660 was Celsius.

In any case, after a few months I wanted to dig up this old thread and post a pic. I pulled the front wheels the other day and took some pics. The little bit of anti-sieze really helped and they came right off.

Remember I painted the entire hat with black BBQ paint and the part that was covered with the tire had faded but was still there and not sticky at all. It's like the heat just changed the color where the rim touched. Take a look:

Anyway, had I to do it again I would just paint a rough circle around the exposed part of the hat and forget the rest. I didn't get any paint on the stud threads, but it would have been easy to do, and would have caused all sorts of trouble.

[Svashtar]

sorry for the dupe post

[Svashtar]

sorry for the dupe. no idea what's going on with this new browser!