Eventually I'm going to get to replace my brakes. Bought the car second hand. Had a box in the back with 3 locking lug bolts, and the key. The kid I bought it off explained it (so I understood) that he lost one of the bolts, and took them all off. Ok, had the car for several months. Got new brakes to put on. Somewhere along the line I threw away the box thinking what the hell am I going to do with 3? Come to find out, he bought a second set, and installed 3 again?? So of course I dont have the key. Had to make the trip down to the dealer, didnt have the key in stock for sale. So borrowed the key they had that fit, and bought 3 new lug bolts which they did have in stock.

All good to go right? Wrong, find out the bolts holding the caliper in place is 1. a allen key, ok no problem I have a set, but find out 2. its metric (I only have standard). Should have known.

Atleast I got the car washed and waxed. First nice day we have had in a while. So... now I just need to wait to get my allen keys in the mail, and am going to order caliper paint while I am at it. Trying to decide on what color. Leaning toward red blue or black. The car is electric blue. Thoughts?

 

Red is classic for race cars and stands out very well. Blue would be interesting, depending on the color of the paint compared to your car. I'd go black only if the idea is to minimize the visual appearance of the calipers - depends on if that's the look you're going for.

I'd vote red personally, just for the contrast.

 

You mail ordered allen keys?
I have this set from Sears and have seen similar ones at Harbor Freight which don't have the Torx ones.

On the color, I'd say red is the way to go. If you're going to paint them, it's because you want them to "pop", right? Nothing stands out like red.

 

red

 

Yes I mail ordered allen keys. The base doesnt sell them, and if I buy them off base, I get to pay twice what I normally would because of the exchange rate. The pound exchange rate has been hovering around 2:1.

 

plkdb,

Did you check in the "foam block" (that holds wheel changing hardware) in the boot for the locking lug bolt key?

If they are MINI locks, some dealers have put the necessay key in there. I put my non-MINI one in the "jack bag".

Double check whether the flat-head screw holding the brake disk on is Allen or Torx. Torx only comes in ons size series.

Caliper paint color - Lets see; my MINI is Red, with JCW brakes (red) - I vote Red (especially with black wheels).

However, Blue might "pop" with your Electric Blue MINI (especially with silver wheels).

The caliper paint I have used is the two part brush-on paint (vs. spray can). Worked great - Glossy finish - Enough for all 4 calipers.

 

Sorry. Didn't realise you are in Britain. The only thing I found that was cheaper in Britain than in the US was Dr Martens.

 

Check out my gallery for pics of my calipers and wheels.

 

May I ask what brand of caliper paint you used?

YD

 

I used the G2 brand. It's a 2 part paint and it stays real glossy. I wasn't real careful or complete when I painted mine. Just did the parts that would show up. Even left the calipers in place.

 

Who sells G2? Does it brush on?

 

Check here among other places: http://www.mossmini.com/Shop/ViewPro...38&SortOrder=6

$35 and does brush on.

 

That's not a bad price for such a good-looking MOD... Does one set do all 4 calipers? Also, how hard is it to get the brakes off, clean them, paint them and then do the re-install? Can you do 1 or 2 wheels at a time, or must you do all 4 at the same time (requiring you to totally jack all 4 wheels off the ground)?

I always worry about doing modifications to such a crucial component, but I know that many do so it must work and be safe...

 

I read a post on how to take them loose and paint them and I've seen other posts where they masked off the good stuff and painted them were the were attached. I think there is a long drying time, 8 hours or so. I also think, don't know, but the paint is a two part mix so i would guess it is a use it when you mix it. One could mix it proportionally, but one shot would be the bet IMO.

 

You can get it from any of the venderos listed here.

I is a 2 part systems and it will give you enough for all 4 calipers plus a bit. I just left mine on and painted the parts that would show, basically just the outside side. I wasn't very neat and tidy, but you can't tell from the sidewalk. You can see how sloppy it was only when you have the wheels off and are close to the calipers. You would have to do all 4 at once. Not hard to do just need 4 jack stands, or you could do one side and then be very careful putting the wheels back on so as not to smear the paint and then do the other side. It does take about 8 to 12 hours to dry completely.

 

These are good instructions if you are inclined to remove the calipers:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ead.php?t=1577

I recommend the Folia Tec paint, or G2. The colors
seem a bit brighter - the blue looks pretty close to EB.

http://www.autobarn.net/brakcallaqse.html

I do not recommend Duplicolor that can be found at your local auto parts
store. I used it on another vehicle and was not pleased with the paint. It
did not go on very evenly and looked bad after about 6 months. I have
heard similar stories from others.

 

I have a red G2 kit in the garage, just waiting for it to get warm enough to apply (it needs to be 56F or something like that...) - I plan to do the clean / mask / paint in place method, all four calipers at one time on jack stands... I've had Blimey up on four stands several times already for various things (most recently my M7 USS install). No worries - though the first time I crawled under there I was a little antsy...

And Matt - it comes in ORANGE...

 

I painted my calipers with the red G2 kit. Results were excellent. Full writeup is on my blog.

 

And with the caliper paint don't forget to have plenty of brake cleaner. I had about 60K miles on my car when I decided to do it. It took 3 cans plus the can that came with the kit. Also used a small brass brush to clean out some of the tight spots. I probably cleaned more area then I needed to just paint what shows, but last thing I wanted was to be painting and need to do a spot that I didn't clean. Good luck. Looks great when finished.