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2003 E85 G2 Caliper Paint Project

376 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Gregory_tolson, 16 d ago

Gregory_tolson

Ever since I purchased my E85 back in 2018 the calipers and brakes in general were just insanely rusty. The car was only driven in the summers so the brake pads had a lot of meat on them but over time the rust just built up.

Finally got around to changing the rotors and the brake pads to zimmerman rotors and akebono pads. I also put in the labor intensive grinding of a wire wheel on all the calipers. While i was at it i decided to give the G2 high temp caliper paint a go and thought i'd give it some character with blue instead of a normal silver or black. I also used VHT high temp black paint and clear coat on the brake dust shields. The results came out good and the blue doesnt pop as much as red calipers which is what i was going for. Finally doesn't look like crap in the wheel well anymore. Its been a couple months since i did it and the calipers are now getting a little dusty with brake dust, still better than before. Just hoping the 3 coats i applied hold up and dont fall apart over time with chips in the paint. So far no chips have been present. The zimmerman rotors look like crystals still, very impressed with them

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NCEdwardM

· #2 · 18 d ago

A lot of work but it looks Great!

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Gregory_tolson

Discussion Starter · #3 · 18 d ago

I purchased a dust mask half way through the job, definitely should of had one from the start. The rust floating around in my garage after wire wheeling them down was bad. Was hoping brake cleaner was going to keep it from floating around but i was definitely wrong lol.

The blue couldnt of looked any better, just the right shade. I also didnt even use the entire can it came in even though it was very small.

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Rebound

· #4 · 17 d ago

You did a great job! The truly professional way to paint a caliper is powder coating, but it requires a dedicated oven and other specialized tools. It’s the same kind of coating used on the wheels. It’s very durable and easily cleaned. The difference is only noticeable if you look very closely, though.

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Gregory_tolson

Discussion Starter · #5 · 17 d ago

If the paint starts getting chips in them maybe ill go that route and get quotes lol. I'll probably rebuild the calipers also or purchase refurbished ones if it gets to that.

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Rebound

· #6 · 17 d ago

Gregory_tolson said:
If the paint starts getting chips in them maybe ill go that route and get quotes lol. I'll probably rebuild the calipers also or purchase refurbished ones if it gets to that.

I went all-in and bought the BMW "M-Performance Brake Kit" for my F33. All new powder painted calipers and rotors, oversized. All Brembos all around. But it cost over $2,000 for the parts alone.

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Gregory_tolson

Discussion Starter · #7 · 17 d ago

Yeah, $90 for paint is much better than $2k lol. I also would probably need 18's or 19's to fit those. It would of been nice to upgrade to larger calipers, if only i werent married lol. Wife views even standard maintenance items as a waste of money 😂

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Rebound

· #8 · 17 d ago

Gregory_tolson said:
Yeah, $90 for paint is much better than $2k lol. I also would probably need 18's or 19's to fit those. It would of been nice to upgrade to larger calipers, if only i werent married lol. Wife views even standard maintenance items as a waste of money 😂

I explained that it was still less than what the dealer quoted for a pad/rotor replacement. I don’t know if I’ll get away with that again.

But I’m a big believer in maintenance! If you buy a new $50,000 car, you put down $10,000 and pay $735 a month for five years!!! My feeling is that it’s easily worth three car payments… $2,000 a year… to keep my car running perfectly and just as enjoyable as a brand new car.

Last year was the most expensive, because I bought the brake kit and also replaced the water pump and thermostat. This year has only cost $400 so far — valve cover replacement, cabin filter and an oil change. I’m itching to refinish or replace my curb-rashes wheels though, and that won’t be cheap.

Year before that was only $1,200, mostly for a new set of tires. And the total for everything before that, since buying the car, in 2017, was $560 plus an $800 set of tires.

These cars definitely cost more than my Toyota, but if you do it yourself and set reasonable expectations ($1,000 is way less than $700/month!) it’s very manageable.

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Gregory_tolson

Discussion Starter · #9 · 16 d ago

Rebound said:
These cars definitely cost more than my Toyota, but if you do it yourself and set reasonable expectations ($1,000 is way less than $700/month!) it’s very manageable.

Oh for sure. I've been purchasing all parts at FCP Euro and the prices have been reasonable. Everything is pretty easy to change. Only thing im not looking forward to doing in the future is clutch, rear main seal, and oil pan gasket which i plan to tackle myself. I love the amount of resources that can be found on this M54 motor on the web. Working on my 2014 ford fusion was difficult since parts were not easily viewable on how they get removed and replaced and could only be purchased from the dealer. Now i own a 2019 Audi A5 sportback and loving the ability to get lifetime guarantee via FCP Euro.

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