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Guest
·So, I'm doing the Tokico 6-pot upgrade. I managed to get a set of calipers off a Z-Rex & 2 sets of new EBC pads for less than some places charge for pads for my 2-pots. The rotors cost most of my food budget for January, but I'll survive... :razz:
Thing is, these calipers are butt-ugly! I think they were originally a metallic beige that the manufacturers call "Champagne" or "Titanium." It's not a color that appeals to me when it's new, & it's a lot less attractive when you factor in grime & fading. Here are some pics from after 2 rounds of cleaning; first with environmentally friendly Simple Green, then with highly toxic AutoZone brake cleaner:
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That got a lot of grime off, but they were still pretty filthy. My grandmother always used to say that a little bit of elbow grease was worth more than a lot of cleaner, so I tried that. Didn't really do much, so I resorted to a *lot* of elbow grease, combined with dish detergent, hot water, & a wire brush. That got 'em pretty clean, so I put on some masking tape:
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And cut it down:
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I wasn't very careful with some of the masking, as I just don't care about the inner bits that no one can see. :razz: I was, however, very careful not to get any paint where it could get into the actual fluid path.
Not having an actual spray booth, I turned on the exhaust fan in my bathroom, taped an old copy of the onion to the walls of my shower stall, & went at it:
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The paint is DupliColor semi-matte exhaust paint. I wanted to have the calipers powdercoated, but I blew my budget (and then some!) on the rotors. Fortunately, I had the exhaust paint already, & I figured it was perfect. Semi-matte black is exactly what my calipers should be, IMHO, & high-temp paint seems like a good idea. Here's hoping it'll hold up if I spill some brake fluid on it...
Anyway, here are a couple pics after painting:
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Note the numbers inside the caliper casting: I was trying to keep track of which piston came from where. It didn't work, as the corresponding marks on the pistons came off during cleaning. D'oh!
After painting comes detailing: I wanted the Tokico logo in bare metal as it was before, so I hit it very carefully with a fine emory board followed by 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper:
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Sort of hard to see in the pics, but I wasn't careful enough. I sanded down some of the paint to the left of the "T" & above the "K", alas. I touched it up 24 hours later, despite the warning on the can to wait a week. We'll see how it turns out...
Not the best paint job I've ever seen, maybe not even the best I've ever done, but I know which caliper I'd rather put on my bike:
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Besides, they wouldn't really look right on my bike if they were perfect... :razz: :hammer:
Cheers,
-Kit
Thing is, these calipers are butt-ugly! I think they were originally a metallic beige that the manufacturers call "Champagne" or "Titanium." It's not a color that appeals to me when it's new, & it's a lot less attractive when you factor in grime & fading. Here are some pics from after 2 rounds of cleaning; first with environmentally friendly Simple Green, then with highly toxic AutoZone brake cleaner:
That got a lot of grime off, but they were still pretty filthy. My grandmother always used to say that a little bit of elbow grease was worth more than a lot of cleaner, so I tried that. Didn't really do much, so I resorted to a *lot* of elbow grease, combined with dish detergent, hot water, & a wire brush. That got 'em pretty clean, so I put on some masking tape:
And cut it down:
I wasn't very careful with some of the masking, as I just don't care about the inner bits that no one can see. :razz: I was, however, very careful not to get any paint where it could get into the actual fluid path.
Not having an actual spray booth, I turned on the exhaust fan in my bathroom, taped an old copy of the onion to the walls of my shower stall, & went at it:
The paint is DupliColor semi-matte exhaust paint. I wanted to have the calipers powdercoated, but I blew my budget (and then some!) on the rotors. Fortunately, I had the exhaust paint already, & I figured it was perfect. Semi-matte black is exactly what my calipers should be, IMHO, & high-temp paint seems like a good idea. Here's hoping it'll hold up if I spill some brake fluid on it...
Anyway, here are a couple pics after painting:
Note the numbers inside the caliper casting: I was trying to keep track of which piston came from where. It didn't work, as the corresponding marks on the pistons came off during cleaning. D'oh!
After painting comes detailing: I wanted the Tokico logo in bare metal as it was before, so I hit it very carefully with a fine emory board followed by 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper:
Sort of hard to see in the pics, but I wasn't careful enough. I sanded down some of the paint to the left of the "T" & above the "K", alas. I touched it up 24 hours later, despite the warning on the can to wait a week. We'll see how it turns out...
Not the best paint job I've ever seen, maybe not even the best I've ever done, but I know which caliper I'd rather put on my bike:
Besides, they wouldn't really look right on my bike if they were perfect... :razz: :hammer:
Cheers,
-Kit
