Grind Calipers Smooth Before Paint?

TnM6i · 04-29-04, 04:40

I'm planning on painting my calipers soon. I had the wheel off today cleaning the inside of the rim and inspected the brake calipers. They have a very rough texture with sharp edges and irregular sufraces. I took the dremel to a tiny area to see how they reacted to smoothing. I noticed that the top coat rubbed off and revealed a very shiny surface underneath. I dunno what they coat them with from the factory, but it's only the front set. The rears are already shiny metal

Anyway, has anyone used a dremel/rotary tool to smooth the calipers before painting? I just think they would look a lot better if they had a little grinding first. Any ideas or experiences appreciated!

flynfrog · 04-29-04, 04:53

i would advise smothing them that rough texture is what helps cool them it also gets rid of stress riseres on the surface

Hartman · 04-29-04, 05:16

I grinded mine smooth. I used a flapwheel on a grinder and it went pretty fast.

tkajeff · 04-29-04, 06:01

When I painted my calipers, I did remove any sharp edges and sanded them as smooth as I could get them. I noticed the same thing you did, when I began sanding with a dremel and removed the topcoat they were shinny.

99SVTCobra · 04-30-04, 10:59

I would at the minimum ruff them up a little with some low grit sand paper...then a higher grit to smooth it down. Then (most importantly) you need to clean them very good. I had mine off the car. Cleaned with brake cleaner. Don't allow brake cleaner to touch the paint on the car. After cleaned and dried, start adding thin coats of paint. I put clearcoat over that.

Look great. Good luck.

4DSC · 04-30-04, 07:22

Would going over it with a wire brush attachment on a Dremel work instead of sanding?