Weekend Mod... Red Calipers... Pics

Ok, I finished painting my calipers RED. I think they turned out rather well. Hopefully it will be durable. It feels like the red paint added 10 - 12 HP!

Tim, those calipers look brand new!! Did you brush them or spray them?

Yes more infor as I have wanted to do this for a while, I just didnt want to spend the $700.00 and the down time.

Me too. Did you just use some descent caliper paint? And as for the decals, did you put some kind of clearcoat/protectant over them? What about removal of the old material?

I'm thinking about doing the same on my car, I have the same color exterior and red calipers look great against the car. Let us know how you did them.

I have two words for that: NICE! good idea to get a layer of your favorite sealant wax over those once they've cured. I've seen this mod deterioate after a few months of exposure to the elements. I've been using the Michelin brake dust repellent lately on my wheels and calipers and its cut down the cleaning time.

Wow! These look great!! After reading another related post/thread, I bought the caliper paint set from Pepboys (~$15). It's a brush set (not spray). However, I have not used it yet. What paint did you use? Was it spray or brush? Are the letters painted or sticker? If sticker, who did you get them from (prob. eBay, right?)? JM

Guys - thanks for the nice comments! I used the Dupli-Color kit I got at Autozone for $15.00. It comes with an aerosol can of caliper cleaner. The paint is a brush on paint. I used a brass wire brush with the caliper cleaner to help roughen up the OEM paint. Hopefully this will enable the new paint to adhere better. I bought a cheap 1" bristle brush at Sears and used that rather than the small brush that was included. It took 3 - 4 coats. The first coat will not cover well and will be spotty at best. Just follow the directions. Take your time taping the parts you don't want painted. That will really help with the final outcome. I got the stickers/decals at Xenonmods.com. I bought the 3.25" decal which is actually .25 too big compared to OEM lettering. They do carry the 3.0" lettering also. Your can either dry or wet transfer them. I chose to do the dry transfer. I bought some clear Dulpi-color Engine Enamel spray to help seal the PORSCHE lettering, but I have not used it yet. The instructions said to spray within 1 hour of painting or wait 7 days. I finished painting late last night and waited until late this morning to put the lettering on the calipers. I'll spray the clear coat in about a week. Hope this helps! Thanks again for the comments!

Good job Tim, after I completed mine I thought to myself "how come you didnt do this ASAP"...

Alex - Thanks. I decided to paint mine after you posted pics of your "paint job." I had seen a few other posts about 6 - 7 months ago and forgot about it. Then when I saw your pics, that pushed me over the edge. Just took me a while to get to it.

Tim, Thanks for the info. The set I bought at Pepboys is the Dupli-Color set as well. I wasn't sure about the brush vs. spray. Now that I've seen your pictures, it definitely makes me want to do this mod real soon. Thanks about the Xenonmods.com tip. I'll check them out. I had read about the 3.5" vs. 3.0" letter size issue but seeing yours, it doesn't seem to make a big difference (at least not to me). Great job! JM

JM - You are welcome. I actually like the larger lettering because I always thought the OEM lettering was too small. Most people would not even know that these are a little larger than the OEM lettering. I'm really pleased with the way they look. Thanks for the kind words!

Well done. Looks really nice.

Turned out fantastic! Good job! Did it take long? Did you remove the caliper to get the job done? Now you've got me interested in doing this!

Riad - Thanks for the kind words. Dub-U! It probably took 6 to 6.5 hours. That includes getting the car up on jacks, wheels off, clean, paint, lettering, wash & wax wheels, re-mount wife... er, I mean... re-mount wheels, get car back to earth. That was spread out from yesterday afternoon until this morning and I was also doing some other stuff around the house too, so the time could be +/- 45 to 60 minutes. No, I did not remove the calipers. I painted them in place. I removed one from the disk but did not remove the pads or disconnect the brake lines. I didn't think it was going to help much with the painting, so I re-installed it and then proceeded to clean, mask, and paint. Hope this helps.

OK thanks to those pics I am doing them this weekend. I just need to find that paint kit here is Canada. Thanks for the tips Tim! ** EDIT i just bought the decals online via e-bay**

Tim, they look great - post a pic when you have a chance, showing the body too - I'd like to see the contrast with the blue and red - I bet it looks sweet.

what other colors does the dupli-color paint come in? i think i might do mine silver just to be different.

They have red, yellow, black, silver, and blue. See the attached link. On the left side of the page, click on the caliper color you want to enlarge. FYI. http://www.duplicolor.com/products/caliper.html

I recently did the mod..couple of weeks ago and have put about 1K mls on the P since...no flaking or chipping yet.....they still look great!!

OK, here are a couple of additional pics. We had rain this weekend so the P-car is filthy.... lighting is bad... late evening pics. Sorry. I'll post better pics when the sun comes out again.

looks great on your P.....I think the red calipers are the best mods...

Ok, here are some better pics. I cleaned up the car and had sunlight.

Paul - Are you going to paint your calipers this weekend?

Yes Tim and thanks for the showing how well yours turnout, I now have the confidance to complete the Job, any tips you may suggest.The car will be in my heated Garage even if its -20 outside its a balmy + 15 in my garage! Thanks

Paul - Have you painted your calipers yet?

I have the kit and I have the decals now, they just came in the mail today, I am thinking I will start in the morning(SAT). I will post pics once its done, I have some new wheels to put on as well, so I might wait and do it all at once. You did a great job tapeing the pads, cant even tell. Thanks for that I was going to get them powder coated but after seeing yours I know I dont have to!.A little off topic but i bought 2 decal kits one white and one mettalic silver whick ones ?? I am thinking silver what do you all think?

I got the white ones but almost bought the silver ones instead. I'd really be interested in seeing how they turn out, if you end up using them.

IMHO: white if ur doing red calipers. the silver may just look too busy, not to mention not standing out as much. But whatever floats ur boat man! What rims did you get yet? (u should open up a porsche part museaum and charge all the honda guys 5$ to come by ur garage and drool).

Paul - You REALLY have become the Emelda Marcos of Porsche shoes! Can't wait to see the pics of your calipers and wheels. If you apply the logos using the dry method, you could put one white and one silver on the same side of the car (front & back) so you could then stand back and look at them both. After you decide which color you like better, you can peal the other one off and apply the color you want. I think the silver would look OK, but will probably not look as "clean" as the white.

Tim, thank you for posting this! How long did you wait for the paint to dry before putting the wheels back on?

I did the painting on a Saturday afternoon/evening and let the paint dry overnight. I applied teh decals and put the wheels back on the next morning. I think the instructions on the paint container said to wait at least 3 hours before remounting the wheels.

Great. This will make a fun DIY project. Thanks again.

Paul, where in canada did you locate the paint kit, i need to find it in Edmonton too!! the mod sure looks great! show us as soon as you finish! Shalil

Hey Sharp go to your local Canadian Tire , in stock for $19.99 Canadian, Also its a good idea to buy a few 1" brushes that you can toss once the job is done.Good luck and if you cant find it I can pick one up for you and send via the mail. Paul

Sharp - Buying a different brush is a good idea. The brush that came with caliper paint is very cheap and may not spread the paint as smoothly as a natural bristle brush. See one of my earlier posts in this thread for more info.

Just a random thought.... How long do you think the paint will hold up? Or even the stickers before you notice wear? Aben8057 (alex), how long have you had yours for? I think I'm going to be paint the calipers this weekend, but I was just curious. I don't mind painting it again as I think this could be a fun DIY project.

oh, Paul, forgot to mention, let me know which decals you go with i may just take the other set off your hands... if you dont need them ofcourse...

I don't know how long the paint will last. I would imagine quite a while. The Dupli-Color (which is what I used) is rated up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (not sustained). I know that Karlooz painted (spray painted) his about a year ago, maybe he can chime in about the durability.

OK - Just finished clear coating the painted calipers. Capilers are even shinier now. Here are a few pics.

It looks great! I still haven't done mine. Hopefully, they will look as good as yours.

Yea looks great, I havent done mine yet , I will Just a guestion do you need to wait that long befor you clearcoat them?

Hey Paul - you don't have time for caliper painting - you have belts to do!!

Paul - No, you do not have to wait that long. The Dupli-color caliper paint instructions said to apply additional paint coats as needed within one hour, or wait 5 days. The Dulpi-color clear coat (spray) said to spray within one hour of final painting or wait 7 days. I finished painting the calipers late Saturday evening and was too tired to finish that night. I applied the decals the next morning. It has been a couple of weeks since the painting, and I was waiting for a warm day with low humidity. Right now (3:10 P.M. Eastern Time) it is sunny, 66 degrees, with 28% humidity. ... and you need to find your belly button.... er, I mean.... your e-brake button.

I did the 2 rear wheel calipers this weekend (other 2 wheels will wait until next weekend). I love the look. Here are before and after shots (the shots are actually not from the same wheel but you get the idea).

jedier - They look gerat. Have you clear coated them yet?

Thanks, Tim! Yes, I have. I did the clear coat about 1 hour after the last coat of red paint.

jedier: What kind of clearcoat did you use on your calipers, something readily available at pepboys/autozone? And did you clearcoat over the decal? I need to undertake this project as well, soon.

Izzy- I used the clear Dupli-Color� Engine Enamel with Ceramic ( http://www.duplicolor.com/products/engine.html) . It's a spray. I bought it at Pepboys. Yes, I clearcoated once the decals were in place. That way they're sealed.

Looks awesome - we just had baby number two last week, so I don't have time for projects like this, but I love to see the work done by others. I hope those hold up for you, because it looks like you did a great job.

BlackCab- Thanks for the kind words! Being the perfectionist that I am, I still need to clean-up a couple of spots where I "overpainted" (e.g., the base of the bleeder cap in the picture). I didn't want to do it the same day I painted because the paint was still too soft/elastic and I didn't want to risk tearing it. That being said, if you don't know it's there, you wouldn't notice it...

Now I want to freshen up my Big Reds...off to Pep Boys I go, I go!

Last dumb question, where did you get the decals from? My original plan was to make a stencil and use white engine enamel paint, which would have disasterous results I'm sure.

No worries, I was dumb too as I had the same question! I bought them from www.xenonmods.com They have 2 prices ($7.99 and $12.00) although I don't know what the difference is. I bought the ones at $7.99. I agree that trying the stencil option may prove challenging and will probably take more time. Using the stickers took literally 1-2 minutes for each caliper (and that's going slowly to not mess up the letters when removing the backing paper).

Well my friends its March 27 and mine will be done over the next 2 days!, I will post some pics, but if anyone needs a DIY let me know!

kilrgt- looking forward to those pics. I finished the 2 front ones this weekend (all 4 are now done. Yeah!). A couple of tips, if I may:

Jedier, Im off to vietnam to see Vove on thursday, I will be leaving my 996 at your house for the Caliper mod, hahahahahahaha

Paul - what Jedier said about the softer paint brush is right on! I used a natural bristle brush I bought at Sears for about $1.00. Not a premium quality brush, but 10 times better quality than the brush that came with the caliper paint. The pics I posted, with the masking tape still in place, after I sprayed the clear coat may also be fo help to you. Looking forward your pics!

Hey guys- I bought the same Duplicolor kit and will be doing it this weekend as well (as long as my decals come in from xenonmods.com...it has been almost 3 weeks since I bought them online). I will try to take pics when I do it.

Looks great!

JC - It only took about 3 or 4 days to get my decals from xenonmods. They came in a legal sized envelope, so it could be easy to overlook it with all of the junk mail floating about. You might want to contact them.

Question- Right now the clear coat on my calipers if flaking. I want to make sure that i have all of the old clear coat removed before repainting. Did anyone have a problem with this? If so, what is the best way to remove the clearcoat?

JC - use the spray on caliper cleaner and a brass brush.

thanks gota911. By the way, xenonmods emailed me today to let me know that they just received payment from paypal (way too slow). Advise for others is to pay with credit card if you want fast shipment.

If you paid by CC in Paypal then it is INSTANT. Not sure what they are trying to tell you about that paypal is too slow. If instant is too slow for them they need to find another line of work.

Thank you for this DIY mod... I did mine after reading this post a few weeks ago, it took me about 3 weeks to get the decals from Xexonmods (and many e-mails back and forth...) Used Duplicolor red pain, and Duplicolor Engine Enamel clear coat.... So far I like the way it looks... Thanks again for this idea...!

OK my car is way too low for a jack, I will do this the next time I have a lift! Its a pain in the ***

Bring your black beauty to me and stay in Vietnam for as long as you want... One day the coupe, one day the cab, one day the coupe, one day the cab, ...

That's almost what happened to me. I almost tossed Xenonmods's letter as junk mail.

Speaking of calipers, how bout these ones on that slime ball Federline's Ferrari? COME ON. http://popsugar.com/4616

Yeah, he really is a F-wad! However, did you notice anything strange about his "customized" calipers? The lettering is up-side down. I don't ever recall seeing the lettering positioned in a way that you could read it from the top of the caliper. I have always seen calipers that have the lower part of the lettering toward the wheel hub. What a dweeb!

OK so I finally got around to painting my calipers with the same method: duplicolor paint xenon mods decals high temp clear coat it came out just as well as everyone else. Relatively easy mod. Thanks to everyone for the DIY steps. here are the pics

Beautiful job...!

nsang - The red calipers look great with your Guards Red paint! Nice job!

JC - the red calipers look great! Good job! It looks like you removed all of the old, black caliper paint. How long did the paint removal take and what technique did you use? I didn't remove my original paint, I just cleaned it and scuffed it up with a brass brush to help the new paint adhere better.

Removing the paint took a bit of work but as long as you have a good steel brush and you use plenty of the supplied caliper dleaner it comes right off. total time start to finish took me about 4 hours (including jacking the car). Not all of the calipers were as bad as the one in the original picture. ones that wer not chipping (rear) only needed scuffing. biggest tip is to be very liberal with the cleaner. thanks again Jarrod

Anyone have a good idea as to how long I should let it dry until I drive the car?

Thanks gota911... It's actually arena red, and it looks great with red calipers (you gave me this idea..). I removed the old paint with a dremmel... jcalhoun I drove my car a few hours after painting the calipers...

Nsang......if that is your car in your sig and the links you have under it then your car is NOT Arena Red. Actually not even remotely close to Arena Red. Looks like Guards Red to me or possibly Zanzibar Red.

JC - Three hours after the last application should be enough time for the clear coat to dry.

nsang - I have to agree with Dell (damn, I HATE it when that happens - Dell J/K ). His cab is Arena Red and yours does not look like Arena Red. Check under the trunl lid or in your manual for your option code sticker to find the color code. If you list the color code here we can verify exactly what color it is.

Its Guards Red....Mine is Artic Silver i could call it Blue all day long, but in the end its still Artic Silver

L84A SK....

Here is what Arena Red looks like....... If you look under your hood and get the paint code sticker we can help you out with the color. My guess is your paint color is 84A. If not, then maybe 1A8.

DING DING DING.....ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner...... GUARDS RED IT IS!!!

Thanks LVDell... You all are right.. I just ordered touch up paint at the local dealership using this color code, they told me the color code name was Arena Red (however, they have been know to be wrong many times when repairing my car..!!)... I've never seen the Arena Red before, thanks for the pictures (I just ordered Arena Red bumper plugs..).. Nice car LVDell..!!

Thanks for the compliments! So, I hope the dealer is going to give your $$$ back for the Arena Red plugs (or give you Guards Red ones)???

Nice car. Carmon is closer to Arena than I thought

Very true......Carmon and Arena are in fact very close. Carmon is more burgandy though than Arena. The only way to really appreaciate the "red" in Arena Red is to park it next to a red car and you will immediate see all the red in it. If not, just looks like a nice merlot Thanks for the compliment!

Mike - I still can't believe you sold the '05 Turbo! What are you planning to replace it with, or have you already done so?

I'm thinking of ordering a 997S Tim. Trying to make up my mind if I want "paint to sample" Merlot..ahh.. Arena Red or just go with the Carmon. The person that bought my car brought a bottle of Merlot with him when he picked it up and I have to say he has very good taste in wine. That's not the reason for the Arena Red or Carmon choice. I've always like Arena Red but if I went with Carmon I wouldn�t see myself coming and going all the time as I do with my Sterling Silver BMW .

Mike - Why did you sell the Turbo? I saw your Aerokit thread on the 997 forum. About 6 months ago, I saw a Carmine Red with Sande Beige interior at the local dearleship. Man, was that nice looking! I have not seen Arena Red in person recently, but I think a few years back (before I really started getting "into" Porsches) I saw a Bosxter in Arena Red (I didn't know the color name at the time) . I recall telling myself that if I ever got a Porsche, it would be that color. I like the Arena Red a little better than the Carmine, but both are SWEET!

Arena Red cannot be ordered anymore (unless paint-to-sample is approved). Carmon Red is the replacement. I do agree with you Tim (damn I hate when that happens ) that Arena is better than Carmon.....but then again I am a little biased.

There were a few things about the Turbo that really bothered me every time I drove it. When I added the X-73 it really helped the ride and handling but didn�t clear up the other issues. I've driven a couple of 996 non turbo cars and liked them. I also have driven a couple of 997 cars and one 997S and really like them a lot also. The 997S seems to do and be what I want. If my wife was reading this she would laugh and say...you will sell it in 18 months and buy another. Women just don't understand the male species

Very nice job to everyone. I'm thinking about this. What is the process & equipment you used to jack the car up. I've never done anything like this, so am a little concerned about tipping the car or something stupid like that.

Do they have a Yellow Color - With my Targa being Black, I Think it will look great - Thanks for the detail info, now I have my next project

Wow. awesome job. Looks completely professional. This exact mod is on my list - I'll have to borrow a friends garage, though. I did not know you could paint them without removal - that will make things easier (for me.)

I know i'm late to the party, but great job Tim! Red Calipers makes a huge difference in apperance.

I assume you folks did all 4 brake calipers at once. What was your preferred method for jacking and standing the vehicle up (the hover method won't work in my garage ). I'm off to Sears to get some stands and a jack, but wanted to get the advice of those that have already done this mod. I did some searching, and there is some discussion on renntech about jacking one side up from the back, putting a front stand in, then jacking up the other side from the back, putting another stand in -> and then jacking the back up from an engine brace to put in the back 2 stands. Is this the method you guys used? http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3404 Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Kirby - Great to "hear" your voice again! Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you're back. RJMDAD996 - Yes, they make the paint in yellow. However, the yellow on a P-car designates PCCB brakes, so if you paint them yellow some (not me) might call you a poseur. I know you can say the same thing about the red brakes, too. Personally, I think your car would look good with the yellow calipers. Here is a link to the Dupli-color site. http://www.duplicolor.com/products/caliper.html Alstoy & TD873 - I bought the Sears 3-1/4 ton jack for $29.99. It is compact and comes in a hard plastic carrying case. I also bought 4 (2 pair) of Sears jack stands. The P-car is so stiff that if you jack up the car using the rear jacking point (immediately in front of the rear tire), you can lift both the rear and front tires off of the floor. After you have done this, slide a jack stand under the front jacking point, then lower the car. Do the exact thing to the opposite side. After you have both front tires in the air, you can now jack the rear up using the motor (just behind the oil pan). Here is a pic that Orient Express posted of his under carriage. I have circled the part of the engine to put the jack under. (Make sure you do NOT try to jack the car up using the oil pan. It is VERY soft and will crush under the weight.) Slide the jack under the car from the rear and position it under the point illustrated in the pic. Once the rear is up high enough, place a jack stand under both rear jacking points. Lower the floor jack and you are re4ady to start. When you are finished, reverse the jacking process to lower the car again. Don't forget to buy a different brush. The brush that comes with the paint is too stiff and too short bristled to let the paint flow very smoothly. I bought a cheap ($1.00) 1" wide natural bristle brush at Sears. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

I had been drooling about this mod..... I bought the kit (and the letters).... haven't got the brushes nor the masking tape yet... tho I'll do it as soon as I have time to do the brake job.... (new pads, new rotors)

DAMN THAT IS CLEAN!!!! I have been meaning to do this chore for some time. I have steam cleaned all of my cars over the years time to do the TT. Thanks for the insperation your car looks GREAT!

BTW, the pic in post #100 is Gary's (Orient Express) car, not mine.

It looks pretty professional. Isn't red supposed to signify something? In other words, why does red come on some 911's, and not others? Same with yellow? I know why Boxster S's do. I had a V and hated it when i'd see a mesh grill on a CTS NOT a CTS-V. Also, I used to have a Boxster S and saw standard boxsters with Red callipers and/or 2 exhausts, kinda hated it. Am I just being lame and petty? If so, lemme know. Don't mean to stir the pot and ruffle feathers.

Black Calipers = Base Model Silver = 4WD non S Model Red Calipers = S Model Yellow = PCCB ($10k Brakes!!! OUCH!) Personally, I think all the calipers should be Red unless of course you get the PCCB's which are yellow. I never understood why the 986S had the same brakes as the 996C2 yet the 996 were just.......986S calipers painted Black or 996C2 calipers painted Red (whichever way you look at it).

Got it, so if i were to paint yellow, THAT would be looked down on by other PO's? But, since the 986s and the 996 base have the same breaks, it's all good?

I don't think that looks bad or should be looked down upon. Christ, you can order ANY color you want on the brake's (note the spelling) that you like when you order your car new. Porsche just likes to create differentiation b/t the models with paint color. Maybe they think we can't read the trunk lid badge. But then again, you could slap a GT2 badge on a TT and most wouldn't notice the difference. Personally, my favorite are just standard plain old red calipers that announce your braking potential to the whole world when they see those beautiful calipers through the wheels

If someone put a GT2 badge on a TT and you knew about it....That would be SO gay!!! I think it was differesnt on teh Boxster S. Red calipers on a standard boxster is just lame, so I think.

Dell, You could get yellow brakes on the 993 C2S. A friend has them as part of a package with yellow seat belts. If you wanted to pony up the cash Porsche would paint them pink with green polka dots.

Looks awesome! Ive been wanting this mod as well! How much does it cost to just buy the calipers red like that and have them installed?

Sweet! The wife would love that.....sans the dots of course

I DID IT!! I DID IT!! Instead of using their "caliper kit", I opt for their new Spray Can product. http://www.duplicolor.com/products/caliperaero.html Plus the usual Xenonmod stick, and Duplicolor Engine Enamel Clear Coat. The masking is a LOT more extension for the "spraying" process, but the final product is certainly AMAZING. With the aerosol can, you would need to get some generic brake cleaner to clean your caliper. And then I use both a steel-wire brush and some ~300grit sand paper to prep the surface. I did this while I was doing my brake job(new pads and rotors), so all the pads and rotors are out; but I had seen DIY stating that your pads and rotors can be in place and still be able to use the aerosol. I'll post some pic soon.

(Click on the pics, and you can see larger versions) Before: After: ---- here are the WIP pics ---- Since I am putting in new rotors and new brake pads, both the rotors and pad parts are out for this mod. Also, we take this chance to patch up some dings on the caliper too: We are using aerosol, so masking means cover everything up! Operating room: WIP: Clear Coating: Wah la! With the wheel back on: Finally the car back on the ground:

Great job! but you do know you could have just removed the calipers right?

Used the identical method as gota911 including the stickers from Xenonmods. Did this six months ago and the calipers still hold its high gloss.

nobody mention the "poser" stuff yet? nice job. wish i had time for this.

Jicko - Great job! The calipers look GREAT!

Tim, they look amazing! Thanks for the info on how you did it as well as how long it took. The timeline was the ley for me planning to do my calipers. As soon as I can arrange to "borrow" a garage or I can set aside an empty warehouse bay for a weekend, I'll do mine. (Assuming the coming storm doesn't blow down all the warehouses/garages/structures in South Florida).

Thanks for the kind words. It might be a little easier with the spray paint than it was with the "brush on" paint. Using the spray paint would not require any additional masking especially if you were doing to spray a clear coat after painting. I clear coated mine about two weeks after painting, so I ended up doing double work on the masking.

I have a spare afternoon this weekend, so I think I just worked out how to fill it with something relaxing Tim; How are your calipers holding up? Any peeling or blistering on any of them?

Job well done! Mine are black, was thinking of changing them to red as well. They are still in "mint" shape, but red looks more sporty. I thought the lettering was recessed, or it might have just been on my BOXSTER?

The stock OEM calipers have the PORSCHE logo painted on them over the caliper color. You could do the same to your calipers if you decided to repaint them, but the sticlers/decals from Xenonmods.com would be much easier to do, IMO.

Tim, Just went through this complete thread... this is a great mod. Believe you did yours a year ago. How do they look? Any significant wear and tear?

There has been no noticable decline in the paint or the decals. Of course, brake dust has settled into the small areas that are hard to clean when washing the car. I am not **** enough to clean that off very often. Mike, thanks for the compliment!

How did you transfer the decals? Is the paint soft of hard after one hour, so its easy to put the decals on? I would prefer to clearcoat the within a hour to save the number of operations.

How long did you wait between every coating and how long in total for a caliper?

too damn nice....... i need to take off a weekend and do this... have you guys seen the 9ff one with the ORANGE caliper...... sexxxxxxy!

if the caliper is removed, wont you have to flush your brake fluid?

The decals are actually stickers. You have to remove the backing paper, align/position correctly, press, and voila! You just have to wait for the paint to be dry otherwise you'll get finger prints and scratches on the paint from applying the decals. You have to clearcoat either about 1 hour after the last color coat or wait a few days. I think that it has to do with the curing process.

The decals are adhesive backed and were very easy to install. You peel the backing off of the decal, but leave the "front" (or top) paper in the decal because they are individual letters, not all one piece. Then you position the decal and rub (burnish) the individual letters with a blunt object to make sure they adhere properly and peel back the top paper. The paint is quite firm after an hour or so following the final coat of paint. As Jedier said above, you have to clear coat about 1 hour after the last color coat OR wait a few days and then clear coat. I completed that painting very late on a Friday night (11:00 P.M.) and was simply too tired to wait an hour to spray the clear coat. Consequently, I waited about two weeks and then clear coated the calipers. If I had started Saturday morning, then I would have clear coated them that same day.

I want to do mine yellow!!

Thank guys for the help. Will try to post some pictures when I am finished.

Hey Gotta 911, I only see the 3.50" x .25" decals on the xenonmods site, where did you find yours? Looks great btw!

Then you will want to get the BLACK decals. Thanks for the compliment! I just looked at their web site and didn't see the 3.25" X .25" decals listed. You might want to send them an email (address listed on teh first page of their site) to see if they still offer the 3.25" decals.

Actually, the decal length should be 3.00" by 1/4" as factory -- Rich at xenonmods will sell such a decal in just about any color. Great guy!!

Chris - that is correct, and is what I stated in the first page of this thread (post #8) "I bought the 3.25" decal which is actually .25 too big compared to OEM lettering. They do carry the 3.0" lettering also." Agreed, he is a very good guy to work with.

How many times do you need to paint to get the calipers solid red? I guess I have put on 3 times on each caliper now, but they don't cover yet.

3 coats was enough for me. I was generous with refilling the brush frequently throughout each coat though.

would yellow be different or would it be the same on the amount of coating?

I think I ended up with 4 coats of paint on my calipers. Did you get a different brush? The brush that comes with the caliper paint is poor quality and does not spread the paint evenly enough to use. I don't think yellow would require more than 3 or 4 coats of paint.

anyone paint it yellow yet?

Newport996 did.

any pics?

So I've been all excited about doing this project. Bought the kit, got the clear coat, and ordered the stickers. But 11 days later and now three emails to XenonMods (no response), I still don't have the stickers. I was hoping to do this over the weekend but want to do it all at once. I noticed earlier in the thread someone esle had this problem. How about the rest of you? Did you get your stickers quickly?

i got mine in a couple weeks. took a LONG time. they also come in a blank white envelope so don't accidentally throw them away.

Same here. I almost threw the envelope away thinking it was junk mail...

Too bad. I doubt it will arrive this week then. I hope it doesn't take too long otherwise I may need to wait for a warm weekend. Paint doesn't like cold weather.

Hey Tim, 1 more thing to put on my to-do list. Looks awesome....JP

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Jp - OK, one more item to add to your mod list is painting the "top hats." Since my wheels are silver I painted the top hats silver also as shown in the pisc below. However, since your wheels are black, you might want to consider painting the top hats black like Steven (TheSpeedDemon) did on his car. Here is a link to some pics of his black hats. https://rennlist.com/forums/showpost...21&postcount=1

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Yep +1 on painting the top hats to match the colour of the wheels, it does make a difference as most of the time people are looking down on the wheels and can see the top hats clearly.

Deleted.

I am ready to do the project this weekend. I have a question on methodology. This thread has focused on painting the calipers while leaving them on the car. It involves a large amount of taping and covering of the car, especially surrounding spraying of the clear coat. My question is, and it was touched on lightly earlier in the thread, would it be easier to remove the calipers? What's involved with that? I've never done it before on any car.

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I didn't emove my calipers because I didn't want to have to bleed the brake lines (I have never done that on any car). That is the only reason I didn't remove them. The taping is not bad, especally if you use a brush versus spray for the caliper paint. I used a plastic bag to cover the rotors when I sprayed the clear coat. It took only about two minutes per wheel to wrap the bags around the rotors.

Tim- You may be tired of hearing this...but AWESOME JOB. So since the original post...how many miles on the brakes and any noticible wear? Thanks!

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Thank you for the compliment. I really appreciate it. I have put about 22,000 miles on the car in the last 20 months since I painted tha calipers and I would say that the calipers look about 95% as good as the day I painted them. I have one small chip on the edge of one caliper, which I chipped off when I was removing a wheel. Since that time I have been using the tire hanger bar to support the wheels when I remove them and replace them. Live and learn, I guess.

If you guys owned a red Carrera, what color would you paint the calipers? They are the stock brakes, so they are black right now. I was thinking that red might be TOO much red, so would yellow look good? Should I just keep them black?

Paint them Red.

Tim, did you spray or brush your top hats? What paint did you use if you brushed them?

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I used the Dupli-Color kit I got at Autozone for $15.00. It comes with an aerosol can of caliper cleaner. The paint is a brush on paint. I used a brass wire brush with the caliper cleaner to help roughen up the OEM paint. Hopefully this will enable the new paint to adhere better. I bought a cheap 1" bristle brush at Sears and used that rather than the small brush that was included. It took 3 - 4 coats. The first coat will not cover well and will be spotty at best. Just follow the directions. Take your time taping the parts you don't want painted. That will really help with the final outcome. I got the stickers/decals at Xenonmods.com. I bought the 3.25" decal which is actually .25 too big compared to OEM lettering. They do carry the 3.0" lettering also. Your can either dry or wet transfer them. I chose to do the dry transfer. I bought some clear Dulpi-color Engine Enamel spray to help seal the PORSCHE lettering. The instructions said to spray within 1 hour of painting or wait 7 days. Hope this helps!

OOPS, you said "top hats" not calipers. My bad! PM sent.

Did it this weekend. They turned out nice, but it was harder than expected. Might have had something to do with it being of the 40's when painting! I'll post pics soon. Thanks to Tim for his advice on this project.

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You are welcome! What part was harder thatn expected?

I was having issues with paint lifting. I thought I scuffed and cleaned the calipers well before painting. It took 5-6 coats to complete the job. Also, I may not have waited long enough for the paint to set up before applying the decal on the first caliper. The paint seems to have raised around the lettering. I may have to redo that one. The overall job doesn't look as good as I'd like, but probably nobody else would notice the imperfections.

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OK, because I answered "caliper" instead of "top hat" when replying to your initial question, I was still thinking "top hats." At first you had me TOTALLY confused because I thought you were talking about painting the "top hats." The calipers probably do not look as bad as you think they do, because as you said probably no one else will even notice that anything is wrong. BTW painting the top hats is MUCH easier to do. While it does require a little more masking on the rotor, using a plastic bag to cover the calipers is quick and easy. If you decide to paint the top hats, when you are masking off the rotors, don't worry about trying to get the tape real close to the top hats. In fact you want to leave a 1/4" or more of the rotor exposed so you you get some paint on the rotor. Once the paint is completely dry just take the car for a short drive and the brake pads will remove all of the over spray from the rotor and you will have a nice clean edge to your paint job.

Sorry fot the confusion Tim. I have been mixing my posts here on those two subjects. I was planning on doing the top hats after I finished the calipers but was worn out. I'll save that for sometime in the near future.

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Hey Tim, Tim here. Resurecting this thread because I want to do this project as soon as the weather permits. So how did you get the paint around the smaller details on the caliper, like the nipple, the small recessed nub in the hole above the porsche logo, and the two rings below the porsche logo? (See red arrows) I assume you masked the nipple and the nub, but it seems like it would be tough to get paint around the base of the nipple without removing it, and hard not to get paint into the recess of the nub. What's your secret? Thanks for the descrip on lifting the car lifting process. Very helpful for a first timer like me.

Hi Tim, Until Tim has a chance to reply I (Tim too) thought I'd share my experience with this mod. I masked off the bleeder screw and didn't worry about the other points you've highlighted. I did mine over two years ago and they've held up very well. Here is a link to the thread: More painted calipers Good luck!

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Tim, Red calipers would look awesome on your Basalt Black car! The answer to your question is.....TAPE! Here are a couple of pics I took when I sprayed the clear coat on the calipers. When I painted the calipers I didn't put the plastic bag over the brake rotors. I painted around the small hole but just painted over the two "rings." Make sure you buy a better brush to replace the brush that comes with the Dupli-Color paint. Also, check out my other thread about painting the "top hats" (hubs). Do a search in the title only on "hat" (singular) and threads started by "gota911" Hope this helps!

Thanks Tims! - Tim PS: The car is Metallic Black after all (not Basalt). My bad.

huh - well what do ya know.... I thought it was basalt too - still very nice color Tim's calipers turned out really nice. I personally never did this because I have seen some that didnt turn out so well... looked a little cheezy with paint over all the pieces and even on the backing plates for the pads, I mean from standing and looking they are fine, but when you really look close - not so much - I think being careful and doing a really good tape job is were you get the best rewards and the best results...

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Uhmm, Basalt Black IS the metallic version of Porsche Black, so you can keep your current screen name. The four standard colors (Black, Guards Red. Carrara White, and Speed Yellow) are non-metallic colors. Ed, he is a Newbie so I'll cust him some slack, but you should know better!!!

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Oh Gawd.....its been way too long since Tim has had a 911....he's forgetting how to spell Carrera! Or did he really have a Camaro instead?

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Pete..... Pete.... Pete..... < Tim shakes his head > The car is spelled Carrera, but the color is spelled Carrara, as in Carrara, Italy, where Carrara (white) marble is mined. BTW, Michelangelo carved many of his sculptures in Carrara marble.

How does the red hold up in a high heat setting such as a track day? Ive seen red calipers turned brown from the heat...has anyone who has done this tracked them?

I didn't track my car so I can's say how they would hold up under repeated hard braking. However, after 2.5 years of normal daily driving, my calipers looked to be 95% as good as the day I painted them. I attribute the 5% drop because they were slightly less shiny because of washes and brake dust.

Pete, are you there?

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I can't find it now, but I found a master porsche paint code list somewhere and Basalt Black was code LC9Z, while mine is L744 and listed as Metallic Black. Edit: Found this - http://www.911c1.de/porsche/Technik/...de_schwarz.htm

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OK, I checked RennTech for the color codes. You are correct 744 (Metallic Black) was used on '99 - '01 Model Year cars and C9Z (Basalt Black) was used starting in Model Year '02. I thought you car was an '02. My bad.

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OH - B ! S !!! Looks at that avatar - clearly an MKI - TIM !!! you are NOT getting off that easy!!!

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+1...... Tim, you've been without a Porsche way to long. Maybe you should get an NSX for your next vehicle instead of a 911. You might miss that V-tec rumble.

The red color makes it look larger calipers?

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I'm here now.....was in MKE and Chicago for the past 2 days. Potatoe Patatoe...get a car damit

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No they make the rotors look smaller

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Reminds me of a joke..is that a rotor in your pocket or are happy to see me..

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I would love to be able to do just that!

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I due time Tim! I look forward to your next ride.

Does anyone have a phone number for xenonmods.com? their site is down and I'd like to order a set. thanks

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Xenonmods received a nastygram from the Porsche lawyers a while back and they stopped selling Porsche decals. I think if you look on eBay you may find some.

thanks!

I just painted my calipers red, and I used the PORSCHE decals from Suncoast - http://www.suncoastparts.com/product//caliperdecal.html Sandblasted the calipers down to bare aluminum, rebuilt with fresh seals, sprayed with VHT Caliper Paint (Real Red), applied the decals (3" White), then clearcoated with VHT Caliper Paint Gloss Clear. They came out great! Just take your time applying the decals. I used a length of blue painter's tape applied across the length of the caliper body as a guide. Mark the center point of the caliper on the tape and on the decal, then line up the points and apply the base of the decal along the edge of the tape. I've seen too many DIY jobs ruined by misaligned decals.

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$700 I had mine done here locally at a cost of $150 in speed yellow and I love the way they look