Caliper Painting and Engine Detail

[stilez]

First up: 1999 Saab 9-3



Stock Rotors were all rusty so my girlfriend wanted to have them painted. She picked out an unusual color of "Cast Iron Gray". I was a little skeptical at first, but the results came out Oh, So Cool.



I used PlastiKote`s Engine Paint (not Enamel). I have used the Enamel before and 1) it`s only rated to 500* and this is 900* and 2) it is a PITA to work with. This Engine Paint says you don`t need to really prep other than de-greasing. I stood by their claims and proceeded to hose down, soak with simple green for 2 minutes, then brushed it in with a medium stiffness nylon brush, hosed down again, then let air dry.



After it air-dried (about 20 mins on an 80* day), I masked off the rotor with just 1 plastic bag. BTW: This is my 5th set of calipers that I have painted. Anyways, I felt this was sufficient for her setup.



I sprayed one light-medium coat and was astonished. No fish-eyes, drips, or overspray WHATSOEVER! It seems as this stuff self etches itself in which is a HUUUGE + in my book. Anyways, it dried for 10 mins, then I applied another light coat to insure uniform thickness.



Let em dry for 30 mins and Voila!





Before with the paint can







Before





After





(Sorry no finished pics yet...The pollen and rain combo is horrendous in the North East and haven`t been able to get a good time to wash her. I dressed the wells before I put the rims/tires back on, dont worry )

[stilez]

Here is what I`m talking about by the pollen and rain sucking





My Integra:





My Girlfriend`s Saab:





Saab receieved a full clay, polish, Klasse job Friday, and Teg was washed and given a coat of #26 on Saturday. This is them now and barely driven.

[zzyyzx]

I used Plasti-Kote`s Caliper paper on my rear drums about 2 years ago. I chose the exciting color of Black. Really simple to use. Still looks great. Haven`t got around to doing the front calipers yet b/c I`ve been lazy and don`t want to do all the masking, but that picture has made me want to look into it again. Maybe I`ll pull the brakes apart this weekend....



Looks good!!!

[stilez]

Next Up: 1996 Acura Integra GSR



I had a day off today so I figured since the weather has been sketchy, I`d detail the engine. First, I checked and topped off all the fluids (PS, Brake, Oil, Clutch, Battery, Rad) then I proceeded to detail away.



I let the engine idle for about 6 mins with the hood closed. After this, I quickly took off the K&N Filter, covered it`s pipe up with saran wrap and tape and began to hose down the compartment. I then sprayed Simple Green generously and worked it in with a brush. Followed by that, I washed the inside of the hood with Mother`s Gold Wash and a Sponge ( :scared ). I didn`t want to mess up my nice cotton chenille pads on something that didn`t need "that" much care.



Anyways, I then rinsed down the engine, popped the filter on, started her up, and let her run for 5 mins.



I then turned the engine off, K&N came back off for its cleaning (with K&N Filter Re-Charge Kit). I dried down the engine the best I could and began on more detailing. I took out my Gliptone Pro-Buff (similar to VM) and polished the inside of the hood by hand, all the painted surfaces I could reach, the radiator, strut bar, battery tie-down, and the clear plastic levels for the headlights. This drastically improved the appearance.



Next, I took out the 303 Aerospace Protectant for ALL of the plastic and rubber pieces as well as the valve cover. I went over each piece 2-3 time to insure full saturation of the product. I let it dry for 10 mins and buffed any excess off.



This concluded the engine detail and I think I should be set for the rest of the summer unless I have shows in which I will just touch it up since this was the major cleaning of it for a while.



Elapsed Time: 2.5 hrs.





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Couple Afters