Brake Caliper Colours?

[NawidDaoud]

My zed has new discs and pads, some very mint sport alloys, and also shiny new rubber. But the wheels are being let down by rusty old callipers.

I want to fix this by having a go at removing the rust with a wire brush, and maybe painting the callipers as well. Anybody have painted calipers? Looking for colour inspiration. Especially on an Estoril blue car. I will add a picture of the car for reference shortly.

Currently thinking either Estoril blue to match the bodywork, or a gloss black maybe.

 

[benf]

I have an estoril z4 and did the calipers and hubs silver to match the wheels, very pleased with the results on holiday at moment so no pics

 

[NawidDaoud]

Here are images. Silver is not a bad shout. My hubs have already been done silver I believe.

 

[Fender2004]

Did mine red stand out really well when car is moving

 

[Fender2004]

Just saw the photo bit

 

[Althulas]

I removed my callipers to do mine last year as they were pretty rusty. Required use of angle grinder and dremel to clean up to my satisfaction. They were etched primed and then painted with a 2 pack paint, unfortunately with the weather being so nice last year it caused the paint to go on thick spioling the finish but still looked ok. In hindsight I should have sprayed them for a better finish or had them powdered coated. Removing them was a good opportunity to change the pistons and seals from Biggred http://biggred.co.uk/

 

[Davyhoogy]

I removed my callipers to do mine last year as they were pretty rusty. Required use of angle grinder and dremel to clean up to my satisfaction. They were etched primed and then painted with a 2 pack paint, unfortunately with the weather being so nice last year it caused the paint to go on thick spioling the finish but still looked ok. In hindsight I should have sprayed them for a better finish or had them powdered coated. Removing them was a good opportunity to change the pistons and seals from Biggred http://biggred.co.uk/

View attachment 149431

I always remember a comment made by someone on here when I asked for opinions on M stickers on the calipers as I was fancying it.
They said something along the lines of "why would you even do something so ridiculous, if you want an M just go and buy an M"

The M police chief constable it must have been.

Anyway I painted mine purple on a silver car, but it wouldn't match blue. I'd say silver would look the best.

 

[NawidDaoud]

@Fender2004 the red looks great on yours! Not sure it would on my blue car though. Also I love those chrome nut covers! Are they just covers/caps or the nuts themself?

@Althulas great job on those calipers! I am not really comfortable taking the whole thing off and having to put the hydraulics back together, so was hoping to be able to do it in-situ with high temp spray paint by masking the disc and arches off. Seen a few youtube videos on it. Not sure if this is a good idea though.

 

[NawidDaoud]

@Davyhoogy purple is quite nice on silver! Agreed not the best idea for blue car. Did you do yours in situ or take the calipers off?

 

[Davyhoogy]

Those chrome bits are just caps. Cheap on ebay but there's a few sizes so measure your nuts
They look lovely on silver wheels i have them on mine.

I painted mine off the amcar as I had the full car stripped down anyway.
You can do them on the car but you get a better finish and much better coverage if you take them off.

I did my wife's 3series calipers on the car and they came out great!

 

[Althulas]

@NawidDaoud its is ok doing them on the car but fiddly as I found the when I tried it before. I’m no master mechanic by any means but is quite simple to do and a opportunity to change the rubber hoses for braided items at the same time. Whatever you do prep is the key as in Davy’s post above if your going to spray.

 

[t-tony]

Here's mine. Blue callipers and bright silver hubs.

The nut caps are 17mm for VAG cars without logo on them. You can get packs of 20 (No security bolt ones) for about £4 on eBay. They take paint well are a good fit too. I have sterling grey ones for these wheels and silver ones for my winter wheels.

Tony.

 

[Nodzed]

I like red But on an estoril I think I would go BMW caliper blue

 

[mrscalex]

You could always buy a spare set of calipers to work on then have a garage fit them.

For DIY removal/replacement the only additional step is bleeding the brakes (apart from undoing the hose). And that's something you'd need to do if your car was due a brake fluid change anyway.

I've seen enough nasty assemblies not to want to do the full works and send them away to be blasted/powder coated. The last pair I did the mounting bracket was so crusted up it was stopping the pads sliding. The new seals are easy to fit.

I've also Deox'd a pair before and sprayed them up. It's a long job if they are crusty though.

Personally I'd be wary of any heaving duty cleaning up with the hose attached/on the car as it's awkward and might even result in a mistake/damage in the limited space.

 

[Keavo69]

I did mine While still on the car in blue to match the body Atlanta blue The colour can’t be wrong if you like it that’s all that matters after all it’s your zed

 

[Fender2004]

@Fender2004 the red looks great on yours! Not sure it would on my blue car though. Also I love those chrome nut covers! Are they just covers/caps or the nuts themself?

Yes they are just plastic covers bought from eBay. I had to cut one down to cover the locking wheel, otherwise it would have stuck out.

 

[NawidDaoud]

@Keavo69 did you use spray paint, or paint and a brush?

I think I will give it some time and do them in the future when I can take the calipers off and do it properly. Will look into getting some nut covers for now though!

Cheers everyone.

 

[Stevo7682]

 

[Keavo69]

As I didn’t want to take them off this time I use a small brush

 

[black fingernail]

While we were in lockdown SWMBO and I did the inner sills and front wings etc.
When the wheels were off, she brush painted the calipers in engine enamel, a very similar shade of blue to the BMW caliper blue.
I had painted them red when I changed the pads not that long ago, but she didn't think they matched.
The car is Estoril with a bit darker blue wheels, I must admit it does look better.