# Brake Caliper & Hub detail



## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

I've seen a lot of people making a big difference to the look of their wheels by painting hubs and calipers, and with a decent day today decided to try it myself after advice from Neil_S, Adam (Ads2k) and others :thumb:

First up - what I was dealing with: Saab 9-3 2007 rear wheel and brakes. Not too bad, and not rusted, but unsightly and the hubs are on the brink of starting to show rust 



















Gathered all the tools: Hammerite Smooth silver spray and black paint, brake cleaner, wire wool, safety glasses, jack, stands etc etc










Then it was wheel off and clean up the hub and caliper with brake cleaner and wire wool, to leave a clean and keyed surface for paint.










Then the slightly tricky stage of masking up. Luckily the Saab has a nice lip to the hub, making the task easier and I took Adams great advice of using insulation tape for the lower edge as you can stretch it around the curve of the disk :thumb:










Then out with the rattle can of Hammerite Smooth silver and first thin coat applied










and left to dry.... Annoyingly it was 90 mins before it was really dry and ready for another coat, but looked good afterwards 










In the meantime I steam cleaned the wheel (write up here) which gave superb results without the use of any chemicals, and applied Jeffs Prime Strong on all surfaces, then 3 layers of FK1000, to leave an amazingly slick glossy flaketastic finish 










When the 2nd layer was fairly dry, I removed the masking and was impressed with the finish



















then it was time to paint the calipers using Hammerite Smooth black paint. The first layer left a very patchy finish, and looked terrible, but I always planned on 2, so left it to dry.










After about 90 mins again, during which time I also steam cleaned the arch and dressed it with some AG Bumper Care, it was time for a 2nd coat which made a big difference and gave me this result 










Back on with the wheel, tyre had 2 coats of Z-16 and some final shots. Makes a subtle but noticeable difference IMHO, and was a very satisfying job. Just have 3 more to do in my next session later in the month :lol:



















For comparison: The other rear wheel NOT touched...










The finished wheel...










Thanks to Neil and Adam for inspiration and advice and thanks for looking :wave:


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## gingerstig (Feb 28, 2009)

looks good matey
i like how the paint you used matches the wheel lol


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## Vyker (Sep 17, 2008)

Very good!

I ought to do the same to my hubs!


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## hallett (May 22, 2008)

looks good, we are planning on getting our calipers powdercoated so i think i will have a go at spraying the hubs while the calipers are away, thanks for the insulation tape tip as well :thumb:

Daniel


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Great job mate! :thumb:


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## jcmac (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice job. Looks great now.


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## Dazzy130/VXR (Dec 5, 2005)

looks much better mate :thumb:


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

hallett said:


> looks good, we are planning on getting our calipers powdercoated so i think i will have a go at spraying the hubs while the calipers are away, thanks for the insulation tape tip as well :thumb:
> 
> Daniel


Who is powdercoating ur calipers? im really wanting to get mine done, will any powdercoating company do them do u know


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## dizzydiesel (Aug 12, 2008)

Neat job.


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

top job


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

Should have done the disc vents too...


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

Teddy said:


> Should have done the disc vents too...


yep - I did think about that AFTER I taped it all up :wall:

yours look very impressive I must say, although the gold is a little OTT for me. I dont think I'll go back and do the edges though, as I think I got 95% of the improvement with the hub and caliper...


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Two write ups in the one day. Good show and good man. 
Nice to see some detailing on the site again.

Great results Damon. Just mind and fit the other 3 in now. I know you can be busy from time to time.

Looking forward to the up dated thread.
Thanks for sharing :thumb:

Gordon.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Much better mate :thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

hallett said:


> thanks for the insulation tape tip as well :thumb:
> 
> Daniel


No problem , I thought people would like that one :thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Looks great mate :thumb:

Glad the advise was useful and it looks like you've achieved a really nice finish. Just 3 more to go :lol: come on hurry up......


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Much better Damon

Really does just smarten the appearance up

As i was cleaning up my wheels today, this became another thing on the to do list.

I've told Mrs Epoch it's Neil, Adam and Damon's fault


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

Epoch said:


> Much better Damon
> 
> Really does just smarten the appearance up
> 
> ...


last time she'll make me dinner then :lol:


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## drive 'n' shine (Apr 22, 2006)

I would have just brought new discs, those ones look a bit scored Damon!


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## CupraRcleanR (Sep 2, 2007)

Looks much better. 

How did you prep the caliper before painting?


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

CupraRcleanR said:


> Looks much better.
> 
> How did you prep the caliper before painting?


thanks - brake cleaner sprayed on, wiped over, then once over with some fine wire wool to make sure its really clean and keyed to accept the paint. This left some fine wire wool dust, so I gave it a quick spray with brake cleaner again. Came up really well....


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## Slick 77 (Jun 19, 2007)

looks great and thanks for the write up, going to do mine now :thumb:


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## Bluetacker (Feb 6, 2009)

Looks so much better. :thumb:

Added to the list of things to do on mine!


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## dizzydiesel (Aug 12, 2008)

Anyone know how long it will last? Before it'll need another coat?


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Teddy said:


> Should have done the disc vents too...


Ted, which gold paint is that?
Hammerite smooth, VHT, or E-Tech?


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## M1cha3l84 (Aug 17, 2008)

Looks great mate, caliper painting is a service i do amongst everything else, recently done my brother's Vectra calipers - 

















I think painted calipers can really make an already nice wheel look even nicer, wheather you go quite bold or subtle.

Nice job, yours look great.


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

PJS said:


> Ted, which gold paint is that?
> Hammerite smooth, VHT, or E-Tech?


Just Hammerite spray for both calipers and discs.


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## robbo51 (May 1, 2007)

I did mine too with Gold Hammerite. 








Looks great on the car I think


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Great work Damon - tidies things up no end.

robbo51 -  @ the stickers on the caliper and wheel 

Teddy - Concourse finish!!


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Looks good fella, think I will have to do the Volvo now.


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## robbo51 (May 1, 2007)

Rich H said:


> Great work Damon - tidies things up no end.
> 
> robbo51 -  @ the stickers on the caliper and wheel
> 
> Teddy - Concourse finish!!


Why? Whats wrong with adding Honda to a Honda Caliper?


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Just not keen I'm afraid - doesn't look "right" to me that's all.


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Great results Damon and how long did it take you to do each wheel, so to speak?

Fancy doing this myself to be honest.......you going to do the A3 as well?


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## james_RScos (Mar 13, 2006)

looks great mate.


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

Baker21 said:


> Great results Damon and how long did it take you to do each wheel, so to speak?
> 
> Fancy doing this myself to be honest.......you going to do the A3 as well?


thanks

took a couple of hours, but the longest chunk of that was waiting 90 mins for the layer of silver spray on the hub to dry  I think in the warmer temps recently that time would go down a lot. I also did a full wheel clean and arch etc, which you might not need to do in the same session? Once you have done 1 of course, you'll no doubt speed up loads on the others...

The Audi needs doing but not as much as the rest of the Saab wheels. Need some more dry days later in the month and they'll all get done


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> thanks
> 
> took a couple of hours, but the longest chunk of that was waiting 90 mins for the layer of silver spray on the hub to dry


Use a heat gun first to get some heat into the hub then do the same to help them dry


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

ads2k said:


> Use a heat gun first to get some heat into the hub then do the same to help them dry


now you tell me :wall:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> now you tell me :wall:


Sorry mate I thought I did


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

ads2k said:


> Sorry mate I thought I did


I was wondering how the hell you did 4 in a day :lol:

Now I know though, so heat gun's at the ready for next time - any bits to be careful of? I guess it gets pretty hot in there anyway so just the obvious rubber bits etc....


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

^^^ yep just the obvious - no direct heat on any of the rubber.

Just keep the gun moving and don't let it stay in any 1 position for to long.

I did wonder if you'd work out how I did 4 in a day :lol:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

ads2k said:


> I did wonder if you'd work out how I did 4 in a day :lol:


assumed you sprayed like you waxed 

or that it was just another load of BS people put up in the showroom to look cool


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> assumed you sprayed like you waxed


Maybe..... :lol:



Bigpikle said:


> or that it was just another load of BS people put up in the showroom to look cool


I hope you know me better than that


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

ads2k said:


> I hope you know me better than that


of course - just teasing 

I knew you had all the hubs done professionally anyway while you took the pics :lol:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Bigpikle said:


> I knew you had all the hubs done professionally anyway while you took the pics :lol:


Damn it - who told you.....


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