Removing old brake paint from calipers?

[JohnnyDaJackal]

I painted my brake calipers about 2 years ago with the Duplicolor paint kit from Autozone. That following winter when I was washing my car in the bitter cold I ended up flaking some of the paint on the calipers and it's been down hill from there. I've purchased a G2 paint kit since I want to redo them.

My question is whats the best way to remove the old paint since theres actually lot left on my calipers? I've been doing some google searches and read a bunch of different answers from Aircraft Remover, brake fluid or paint thinner. I want to remove the paint the easiest, and safest way so that I don't compromise my brakes. I tried it today with some caliper cleaner from my Duplicolor kit and a steel wire brush and at my rate it would have taken me days to remove it all.

Any information would be greatly appreciate.

Thanks!

[LouisanaJeeper]

brake cleaner will take off alot (should not hurt anything)

MEK will take off most any epoxy type paint, this may or may not hurt pads.. best to remove them. MEK will require a respirator, googles, and gloves. about $5 at lowes

[BigJimZ28]

did you price out remanufactured calipers?
a nice clean surface, new seals and hardware, and should be cheap

[VroomVroom]

If you don't mind tearing them apart, media blasting might be worth considering. It's lickety split and really gives you a clean slate. Otherwise, I'd think the methods discussed above would work, along with an ample dose of elbow grease.

Just in case you haven't already used the G2 kit, a note of caution: be ready to paint before you mix. That stuff turns to cement in a hurry. If you're meticulous and want to do a quality job without rushing, you'll want to have all four calipers exposed, cleaned, and dry ahead of time. Somewhat ironically, I ended up having to go with Duplicolor because of this. (Actually, I was okay with it, even though I wasted $30 - the Duplicolor red was a bit deeper in color than the G2.)

Alternatively, there is plenty of product in the kit, so you could use separate containers and only mix half at a time. Ahh, the lessons learned after-the-fact.

[Yal]

I agree you definitely want to start the G2 kit when you have everything clean and ready to go. I decided to do mine after I bought reman calipers.

[JohnnyDaJackal]

I actually found a pretty nice DIY on CRSX from a member who I believe posts here as well. Anyway the Aircraft remover seemed to make light work of the paint literally melting it off and requiring minimal wiping from the post. I ended up finding a can at my local Autozone after unsuccessful previous attempts at Home Depot and Lowes. I really want to buy some good gloves and maybe an apron before I do this, from what I hear this stuff is pretty powerful/dangerous and even my younger bro who is a chem major was a little concerned after looking at the can.

I appreciate the tip on the G2 paint too. I think I'll just use small containers for each caliper so I don't feel rushed to do all 4 of them.

[TortoiseAWD]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDaJackal

I appreciate the tip on the G2 paint too. I think I'll just use small containers for each caliper so I don't feel rushed to do all 4 of them.

Make sure your containers are up to the task of surviving the G2 mixture. A friend of mine figured a plastic cup would be fine for holding the mix . . . oops, wrong kind of plastic. He finished painting his calipers, but when he picked up his mixing cup, the G2 had eaten through the bottom. There's now a lovely red stain on his garage floor as a reminder.

FWIW,
Tort

[BigJimZ28]

if the aircraft remover is that nasty
I hope you are going to tear down the brakes and replace the seals

[Turbocoop]

Yeah that aircraft remover gel stuff is sick. Ive done a few calipers and they never last long. I would take em off to get powdercoated if I wasnt gonna just get bigger brakes eventually anyway. You really have to take em off if you want a good show quality job

[Veyron2008]

This is not a hard thing to do you can just wipe it off with some break cleaner and a rag, use acetone if the break cleaner dose not work. GOOD LUCK!