Courtney
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To start with you will either need to decide what type of paint you want to use - spray paint or liquid brush-on. I used brush on coz after reading around and through advice it gives the best results and is easier to do than spraying!!
Calipers get very hot so the paint you need to use will have to be high temperature suitable. Bog standard caliper paint from Halfords is all used but there are other brands such as hammerite which are slightly more expensive.
You will need: A Wheel Jack, Axel Stands, Tape and Newspaper and a decent brake dust remover/cleaner.
Firstly i done the back wheels on mine, a bit bizare but as i dont have rear brake calipers i thought i would get used to the paint when doing the drums that the wheels sit on. (skip this bit if you have rear calipers!) To get the wheel off loosen the bolts, jack it up - at this point put the axel stand in its place under the car (tells you where in the handbook i think) - and then take the bolts off - and off pops the wheel be careful not to nudge the car though!
This is what you should see:
Before you start painting it is important that you completely wash and dry all of the bits you are painting to avoid flaking and bits of dirt getting in the way!
When you paint the drum dont get any on the middle section where the wheel sits!
Then leave to dry for 10 to 15 minutes ... i did three coats started thin and got slightly thicker to the end.
Pop the wheel back on, do the bolts until the stiffen slightly and then let the jack down and tighten the bolts back up!
Between coats leave for maybe 10 or 15 minutes.. in the mean time you can clean the inside of your wheels - doesnt get done very often!
The wheels with the calipers on are somewhat more complicated as you have to be careful not to get the paint ANYWHERE but the caliper!
To start with pop the wheel off (as above) and then clean the caliper.
And cleaned:
I used Autoglym Custom wheel cleaner - low acidity, and just my alloy wheel cleaning brush - now redundant with gloss black wheels - to scrub away and get all the dust off!
I have a steady hand so didnt use any tape or paper to mask off where i didnt want to get paint but it might be an idea to do this if you are nervous and have shaky hands!
Then just apply three coats again being careful and just get it done!
Then same again on the other side:
Pop the wheels back on and hey presto! My car is still in the garage drying but you should leave them for a good few hours before any use and then probably about 24 hours before any major use!
A few finished pics:
Happy Painting! (and yes my car was absolutely filthy after driving 360 miles on the motorway when it was raining!
Calipers get very hot so the paint you need to use will have to be high temperature suitable. Bog standard caliper paint from Halfords is all used but there are other brands such as hammerite which are slightly more expensive.
You will need: A Wheel Jack, Axel Stands, Tape and Newspaper and a decent brake dust remover/cleaner.
Firstly i done the back wheels on mine, a bit bizare but as i dont have rear brake calipers i thought i would get used to the paint when doing the drums that the wheels sit on. (skip this bit if you have rear calipers!) To get the wheel off loosen the bolts, jack it up - at this point put the axel stand in its place under the car (tells you where in the handbook i think) - and then take the bolts off - and off pops the wheel be careful not to nudge the car though!
This is what you should see:
Before you start painting it is important that you completely wash and dry all of the bits you are painting to avoid flaking and bits of dirt getting in the way!
When you paint the drum dont get any on the middle section where the wheel sits!
Then leave to dry for 10 to 15 minutes ... i did three coats started thin and got slightly thicker to the end.
Pop the wheel back on, do the bolts until the stiffen slightly and then let the jack down and tighten the bolts back up!
Between coats leave for maybe 10 or 15 minutes.. in the mean time you can clean the inside of your wheels - doesnt get done very often!
The wheels with the calipers on are somewhat more complicated as you have to be careful not to get the paint ANYWHERE but the caliper!
To start with pop the wheel off (as above) and then clean the caliper.
And cleaned:
I used Autoglym Custom wheel cleaner - low acidity, and just my alloy wheel cleaning brush - now redundant with gloss black wheels - to scrub away and get all the dust off!
I have a steady hand so didnt use any tape or paper to mask off where i didnt want to get paint but it might be an idea to do this if you are nervous and have shaky hands!
Then just apply three coats again being careful and just get it done!
Then same again on the other side:
Pop the wheels back on and hey presto! My car is still in the garage drying but you should leave them for a good few hours before any use and then probably about 24 hours before any major use!
A few finished pics:
Happy Painting! (and yes my car was absolutely filthy after driving 360 miles on the motorway when it was raining!
