check out my red calipers!
 

:)
got so bored after changing my oil...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...rotorSmall.jpg
...and then...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...drearSmall.jpg

then...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...heel1Small.jpg

:thumbup: Very nice. What type of paint did you use? Urethane or laquer? Any particular brand?

I do like the BMW decals. Did you get the propellor decals with your BMW text decals?

I Like! Details!!! That is another useless mod I might do!

Starting to look like the Porsche Pepper Shaker :)

Looks good :)

Hi-Temp Caliper paint ( Duplicolor )
Yes, i also have the roundel)propellers

hmmmmmmmmm.........
very interesting. i may have to do this. where did you get the paint? pep boys, murray's or auto zone?
Thanks.

:thumbup: :thumbup: nice!

Caliper Painting 101
 

If you're interested: You'll need 0000 steel wool, brand name VHT (Very High Temperature) caliper paint (it's made specifically for calipers and comes in silver, red, black and yellow). You'll also need a roll of scott towels, a spray bottle of water, a can of 3M brake cleaner and maybe a wire brush.

Jack the X. Take off the wheel. Clean the caliper using the brush (I also use an old paint brush to dust off the brake dust before I start). Tear off several pieces of paper towel. Spray a little water on the towels so they're damp and 'sticky' and drape the towels around the caliper, essentially outlining the caliper. Tear off a few smaller pieces of paper towel, spray on a little water and wedge into the openings on the front side of the caliper (three openings). Paint only enough to coat the caliper for now. Then, while waiting for the first coat to dry, clean the inside and outside of your rims. Hey! Why go through all this bother if you're going to put a dirty wheel back on the X? Now hit the caliper with some more paint. Now, the fun... Chock the wheel, then place the X in neutral. Take off all paper towels and don't forget to remove the wedged pieces (I use needle-nosed pliers to remove the wedged pieces). Turn the rotor so the overspray is accessible. Use the 0000 steel wool and "wipe away" the overspray. You can also use the 3M to clean it up even more. Put the wheel on and move on to the next wheel. Now the hard part is not driving the X for a while in order to give the paint a chance to harden (~3-4 hrs).

I have found the VHT paint can last for several months (3-4). Also, another point, when you clean your X, don't use a spray-on wheel cleaner on the painted calipers. It has a tendency to dull the finish. I use a stiff brush and some of the soapy water left over from washing.

PS - The two pot calipers painted RED on my 4.6 look massive against the black sapphire body.

Enjoy!

Looks nice, red is the best color for calipers :thumbup:

Iop, those calis look
fine! Amazing how rusted
your cals were...soaking in saltwater puddles?!
BR,md

I hope not to offend anybody, but in my opinion this is a poser modification. To me the goal of the mod is to draw attention to the brake calipers in an attempt to mimic the look of the Brembo calipers.

You had better keep up on those things, or when winter rolls around and you are driving around in the salty slop those things are going to look hideous.

Iop:

Looks hot!!!, I am thinking of doing mine BMW blue(same as propeller on roundel), anyone know a paint match?

Yep, you don't want to make people think you have better brakes than you actually do!!!! :rofl:

got them at murrays i think $16 kit, it comes with i can paint, brush, brake cleaner, masking tape.....

i used VHT before, too messy because it comes only in spray can version, i like this one Hi-Temp Caliper paint by Duplicolor- brush on-less mess...:thumbup:

how hideous can it get? look at my first pic...:rofl:

,
poser? i dont think so, a poser will put fake "brembo" decals, IMO

IMHO I like subtle clean calipers. so I normally opt for either silver, or a gloss black unless I have an upgraded set up.

The best way I have always done mine were to use a High temp paint VHT is pretty good. I use a water color brush (cheap is fine) and a dixie cup or plastic cup. Once you have scrubbed, and prepped (brakkleen) is good for this too as it evaporates)

Then, take the spray paint and spray it into the cup, then use the brush to paint on. It allows the natural clearcoat in the spray paint to mix well and will last longer

Best part is you have total control over the paint, and there is NO masking involved. Touch ups are easy as well if you do get a chip in the paint.

I have done about 30 different sets of brakes like this withh 100% good results

:thumbup:

Poser? Mmmm, maybe. I'd like to think that Brembo saw my paint job back in 1995 and are trying to mimic me.

Okay. Reality check. I think a good looking car with a great set of rims looks like kaa-kaa with a big ole hung of rusting caliper sticking out from between the spokes. And, no, I cannot afford to drop $6,000 for a set of BBK's. Even if I could, I'd rather stick it in the bank and draw interest.

So, I'm left with dressing up the calipers the best way I can. I could use black or silver. But then, why bother?

Besides, I like it.

To each his own. When I see brightly painted calipers that are plain ole OEM calipers, it just screams out "please look at my neat calipers". But, that's me. If you like it, that's great.

Its not that hard to clean up the rusting calipers. Brake cleaner works like a charm.

I think they look great! I like the extra effort put into the BMW Lettering.

I think someone already asked this but I'm not sure....Did those BMW Letters come w/ Roundals? If so why did you decide not to also put them on? Was Space a deciding factor?

One Request:...Could you please take some more side angle pics away from the X w/ the wheels on. TIA

As far as some people not putting their stamp of approval on this mod, To each their own. As far as I'm concerned it's just 'Another Mod'...I try not to think about the owner of the car as a 'poser' but as another fellow car lover who appreciates taking the time to work on their own vehicle and make it 'theirs', however they choose to express that.

Don't get me wrong.....There are some mods out there on Bmer's and other makes that I don't think look good: whatever my reason; but I would never insult them or suggest they're doing the mod out of vanity. Why would I say/think such things about someone doing something that I also love to do.

thanks for the insight, as far as the propeller goes, space is a bit concern, will take some more pics soon

OMG why try to shoot down anything someone does? The before and after shots speak for themselves and paint looks better than rust. Silver, black, red, or whatever, live and let live.

I would say K-Fed's monogrammed calipers deserve a poke. Go for it.

So, what's wrong with the "please look at my neat calipers" issue? All that tells me is that the owner is taking good care of his vehicle. Painting the calipers red doesn't necessarily make them a Brembo knock off...as they don't own the rights to calipers being RED. Just because you associate RED with Brembo doesn't necessarily means that everyone else does.

dkl;

You said it well. I applaud people who take care of their vehicles. Here in Texas, I see things that people do and don't do to their vehicles that scare the crap out of me from the standpoint of being on the same road as they are especially with my family in my car with me.

Example: last week, the X was in the shop having a list of items fixed for the second time because the stealer didn't even attempt to get it right the first time. So, they give us a loaner: brand new 330i.

My wife calls me around 5PM to tell me she's been in an accident. Seems the lady in the lane next to her, for no apparent reason, canged lanes and swapped paint samples...in the loaner.

You'll love this part: the lady was on her way to her parole board meeting in someone else's vehicle, had no insurance and a revoked driver's license and the car was an absolute wreck.

We, on this board, have a love relationship with our cars. We paid hard earned money for the priviledge to own the vehicles we drive and we're proud to own them. With that said, we have a passion for them when it comes to taking care of them. It shows right here when we ask for help to care for them, mod them and find others like ourselves who understand this and take great pride in showing this fact to others like ourselves.

So far, I've owned around eight other BMW's since 1982. The last four cars I've owned were a 1995 red/black Dinan SC M3 coupe, an 01 M3C and up until recently an 03 M3C. And, the only reason I got rid of the 03 was because the streets in Houston have become so deplorable that it broke my heart to see my car slowly getting torn up driving on the streets around here. Ergo, the 2002 4.6is. Now, I have power, grace, beauty and I no longer fear potholes. It's a good compromise for now.

And, I've been fortunate enough to have found a great board with some really cool guys (and girls) to share this with.

Thanks for the pics, looks great. I have been looking at my calipers wondering what they would look like painted red. Now I think I have found another weekend project for my X5.

Good point, the Brembo calipers on my kart are actually black. :thumbup:

So no red or balck calipers? :rolleyes:

Very cool!

Tirerack sells a blue paint caliper kit, but it might be too blue.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/g2/caliper_paint.jsp

The calipers look great. I can understand why some may say it's trying to be flash and the're entitled to their opinion. But equally some of us prefer the look to the crappy way the calipers normally look.

I did my Z4 some time back in red and will probably do my X in black. If BMW had any sense they'd offer a powder baked colour selection for their calipers as an option. I bet the uptake would be huge.... just my opinion.

Stick with it iop.

Thanks for all the diverse opinions, Fivers!
This is why they call X5World the best forum on earth

Thanks asawa

Might work