You guys who have painted your brake calipers, did you find it hard to paint with that little brush they give you? Wouldn't it go better with a little larger (maybe 1" wide)? I just got the kit today, and the brush looks kind of small. Especially if you have to paint all four calipers at one time.

Also, did you put on a second coat after 1 hour or wait 5 days (that's what the instructions say).

I've only got one shot at this and I don't want to screw it up.

 

The little brush is necessary to get in all the curves and small spaces.
30 minutes between coats is fine.
It easier than you will believe. I think I did all for in about 2.5 hours.

 

Joe...

I did my calipers with a brush on kit... the brush that came with my kit failed before I completed the first caliper... my suggestion to you is go to one of your local home supply or art/craft stores and buy a 1/2" natural bristle brush (don't use nylon type bristles), it will last throughout your painting and will give you a better finish than the brush that came with the kit... believe it or not the 1/2" wide brush is plenty wide to do the job, there are some spots that are a little tight for anything wider, especially if you paint them with the calipers still on the car like I did.. I suppose you could use a 1" brush on the wider surfaces and save some time, be sure to keep the second brush in some xylene or thinner when not in use, that caliper paint dries pretty fast.

The job will take you about an hour and a half for one coat after the calipers are clean.. Since you have to clean the surface before paint, I would do a second coat an hour after the first.

Bobby M.

 

The brush that comes in those kits can work, but I wouldn't recommend it. Go with the above recommendation on a brush. You'll be surprised at how well that small of a brush does. Anything larger and you'd get paint all over, and not in the smaller areas.

 

Thanks Bobby, I will get a natural bristle brush and follow your suggestions. I think I can do it. It's always a little unnerving the first time you do something like this. Especially when there's no easy way to fix a mess up. I appreciate the help guys.

 

Also get some Lacquer thinner to clean your brush after you're done. Then close the left over paint and put it in the refrigerator, it'll keep for 24 hours that way. That will give you time to fix any mistakes or missed areas on your calipers.

 

Thanks NJ3. That's a good tip about saving the paint for possible touch ups.

 

Just to add my 2 cents, I found that a small wire brush, mounted in a die grinder (or drill), to clean the calipers and the caliper mounts worked great, followed by the spray brake cleaner. Brake cleaner alone just didn't seem to really clean the metal well (I do have 33k miles, so that didn't help). I used a 1 inch brush and didn't have any issues getting into any of the tight spots.