Weekend before last, I painted my brake calipers with G2's brake caliper paint kit. Followed all their instructions on cleaning and after care (not driving it for 24 hrs to cure properly) and was thrilled with the look. A couple of days ago I saw a couple of silver specks on the right rear caliper. I went out today and was completelly sick when I noticed most of the paint has chipped off the left rear and the right rear is on it's way there. :bang:

Now before I get flamed for not cleaning the calipers right, how come the front looks great on both sides and the back are the only ones with problems?

I thought G2 was reputable and I am going to call them to see what they think. But of course I wanted to run it by all of you at the forum to see if any of you had used this product or any ideas what happened.

 

wow thats wierd... I used the 14 dollar duplicolor kit and it looks great.. I didn't even let them cure for 24 hours, I drove my car the night I did it.

 

I used the Duplicolor also and it still looks just as good as it did 3 months ago.

 

I did mine with the G2 kit about a month ago and they are still perfect looking. Maybe you got some bad paint or something.

 

Thats what I am thinking but I am having problems contacting G2. Their website lists a number that says it can not be completed as dialed and the only link is to their webmaster. Frustrating at the least. I can't believe their number is out and they dont have a customer service link!

 

I used engine paint from Kragen. $5 for a can I think. Worked great....only a couple chips from rocks...and I have driven probably 4k miles or so with them painted.

 

OT: Are most doing Red? Cause I would like to do blue to match my car.

 

I did the exact same thing except I used Krylon engine paint. Did it about 3 or 4 months ago, still looks like the day I painted it.

 

Most likely something on the caliper is stopping the paint from sticking. After all paint is a glue with pigment added. Water on a hot surface could have cause the release of the paint. Like driving into rain. Or washing when to hot. Maybe you cleaned it well, but it just required more cleaning or a light sanding to those areas. You don't know untill after the paint is applied. I can't name it but I understand what you are saying.

I would just try sanding and repainting. Should work.

 

OT: I want to do blue as well to match my stripes

 

How difficult is it to remove the brake calipers? I am not a mechanic by any means, so any advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

 

Yo Chuck, those are sweet wheels you got...... how much $$$? I was looking at having some 18x 8 or 9 custom made by American Racing (torque thrusts), at about $225 a pop.

 

I too, used G2 - 3 weeks ago . . . no problems.


Possible reasons

1) Did you run out of cleaner on the backs during prep?

2) Took more than 4-5 hours before painting the backs?

3) Rears sprung a fluid leak?

:scratch:

 

No...No...No...

That is what is blowing my mind. In fact I had to do the work in the street so i did one side of the car at a time. I mixed the 1/2 of the paint, did one side. Mixed the rest and then did the othere side. If their had been any inconsistency or failure on my part you would think I would have the problem on one side or the other or all the way around. Not just on the rears.

G2 still won't return my emails.....Guaranteed I won't use their products again!

 

it's a longshot, but did you happen to run through a puddle with your brakes applied? If the calipers were hot enough and you splash through a puddle, the calipers could have flexed due to the extreme temp change and could have started the cracking. You would think that the company's engineering department would have known this potential problem though...

 

Sometime the paint just doesn't stick right and you have to sand it off and do it again. Did you see that one episode of American Hot Rod where they restored an old mustang? Well they painted the engine silver and when they were almost done assembling the car, they noticed the paint was chipping right off the engine. They had to completely pull the engine, scrape off all the paint and re-do it.

 

Well here's a real long shot for you... maybe your rear Smoothie II's are rubbing against the outside of the calipers? Since the problem is happening consistently on both rear wheels I guess its possible that the two rear Smoothie II's have too little clearance between their rear edge and the outer shell of the caliper.

And if you really want a stretch maybe there's some sort of imbalance in the rear axle causing it to flex. As I said these are long shots but the fact that its affecting both rear wheels makes me wonder what the common denominator is.

 

One solution would be to powder-coat them
My dad is getting a powder-coating setup in the next couple of weeks and after some experimenting to get a feel for the process, I plan on coating mine!
jeff