[E9xfan89]

hi - I'm planning on painting my brake calipers this weekend. What is the best paint to use? A lot of people have recommended hammerite but how does this compare to halfrauds calipers paint? My e92 is Le Mans blue so I'm looking for a darker blue like that... Where is the best place to pick some up?

Thanks

[ben-e92]

I just put some hammerite hammered blue on mine and think they look great. Hasn't melted with the heat either.

Not sure i love the hammered silver i went for the hubs, however.

Edit also don't get carried away and buy a big tin one of the small ones is more than enough

Ben

[Dann]

I've used hammerite and Sparex tractor paint in the past. Both were fine and didn't fade/peel etc

[Phil325i]

You could try this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1608297408...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

At least it's high temp, which Hammerite isn't. I've got silver Hammerite on my disc centres and it bubbles from the heat over time...

[Snappy russ]

Hi just a bit of advice. I wouldn't paint the wheel mating surfaces of the disc. This can cause wheel imbalance and judder. They do look a lot better for painting. What colour blue is that.

[MattOz]

I use Smoothrite from Hammerite as the finish is less mottled. Great for hubs too, but as above, don't paint the mating surfaces. I use spray Smoothrite for the hubs and a mix of silver and gold for the calipers. Retaining clip done in silver.

[Ao1]

I used Foliatec High Temperature Brake Caliper Paint Lacquer Kit. Not cheap and some nasty chemicals, but so far so good.

You can find it on Ebay.

[KM79]

Originally Posted by ben-e92

I just put some hammerite hammered blue on mine and think they look great. Hasn't melted with the heat either.

Not sure i love the hammered silver i went for the hubs, however.

Edit also don't get carried away and buy a big tin one of the small ones is more than enough

Ben

If you've done all you're hubs like this,I would get all you're wheels off and sand it off mate.With a layer of paint between hub and wheel the brakes can't dissipate heat out to the wheel and you'll warp you're discs.

[Dann]

Originally Posted by KM79

If you've done all you're hubs like this,I would get all you're wheels off and sand it off mate.With a layer of paint between hub and wheel the brakes can't dissipate heat out to the wheel and you'll warp you're discs.

Sorry but that's balls.

I always paint the edges and hubs of my new discs to stop them going rusty (with a decent smooth zinc primer)
I've never had an issue with discs warping from heat. The only reason I've had warped discs was because they were cheap crap.

Also never had issues with wheels wobbling or being unbalanced due to having paint between the mating faces.

[KM79]

Believe what you want,I'm not talking about the bell of the hub in taking about the mating face to the wheel.You look at the mating face of the wheel its bare metal hence to transfer heat away from the disc.Ive seen this many times and also the flip side where people have there wheels painted where it's supposed to be bare metal.Heat can't transfer and the discs will go out of shape.of course what do I know eh..

[Aragorn30d]

Heat will still transfer, just perhaps at a slower rate, and bear in mind the mating face on the wheel itself is often powder coated or painted too.

The primary cooling for the brake disk is airflow over the disk and drawn thru the vents in the rotor. Disks dont generally warp due to heat anyway, "Warping" is usually caused by uneven pad deposits, which occur due to bad driving habits.

Its generally a good idea not to have a huge thick layer of paint on the mating interface as it could ofcourse cause the assembly to run slightly out of true, but a quick blast over with zinc primer spray isnt going to hurt.

[KM79]

Yeah I know heat will still transfer,but a thick layer of hammerite is different to a thin layer of zinc spray.Again obviously the fins in discs cool them also but how does that work when the vehicle has become stationary and discs are piping hot after a good drive?Heat is transferred out to the wheels.Take a wheel off and you'll see it's practically bare metal where the bolt holes are and not painted.And the primary cause of warping is sitting on hot brakes with you're foot on the pedal.Bmw are extremely wise to warranty claims on this,and I've had claims kicked in the past because owners have painted over the mating faces or wheels that where powder coated/painted on the face that meant to be bare even to the point they released a bulletin on it instructing these checks to be made before warranty is considered on warped discs.

[ben-e92]

Nuts. Luckily I only did it on one because I slipped and thought bugger it I'll just paint this one so it doesn't look stupid. For the sake of 20 minutes I'll go get it off. Just sand it off then clean off with a wire brush?

Ben

[KM79]

Yeah mate,just the disc to wheel surface.The rest is fine.

[ben-e92]

Originally Posted by Dann

Sorry but that's balls.

I always paint the edges and hubs of my new discs to stop them going rusty (with a decent smooth zinc primer)
I've never had an issue with discs warping from heat. The only reason I've had warped discs was because they were cheap crap.

Also never had issues with wheels wobbling or being unbalanced due to having paint between the mating faces.

Originally Posted by Aragorn30d

Heat will still transfer, just perhaps at a slower rate, and bear in mind the mating face on the wheel itself is often powder coated or painted too.

The primary cooling for the brake disk is airflow over the disk and drawn thru the vents in the rotor. Disks dont generally warp due to heat anyway, "Warping" is usually caused by uneven pad deposits, which occur due to bad driving habits.

Its generally a good idea not to have a huge thick layer of paint on the mating interface as it could ofcourse cause the assembly to run slightly out of true, but a quick blast over with zinc primer spray isnt going to hurt.

Originally Posted by KM79

Yeah mate,just the disc to wheel surface.The rest is fine.

Cheers for the advice all round lads. For the sake of the 20 minutes it took me its all gone. Was only on a week so came off easy enough.

Rep added all ways

Oh and sorry to the OP for the unintentional thread high jack!

Cheers
Ben