A guide to painting the calipers

One problem with the 3rd Generation MX-5 it that it suffers badly from corrosion on the hubs in the centre of the brake discs, although this is detrimental it looks very unsightly, this is a guide to painting the hubs and brake calipers which can also be greatly improved visually by carefully being painted.

This  process can of course be applied to all the MX-5's. 

The first thing to do is to raise the car and remove the wheel, I do this one at a time although with the correct equipment all four wheels can be removed at the same time, either way it it is a good idea to loosen the wheel nuts slightly before lifting the car.

Note: Please remove wheels in accordance with the manual supplied with the car, and remember safety is paramount, never work under a car while on a jack alone, if you need to reach under a car always place axle stands under the correct positions, and then proceed only if you are certain it is very safe to do so. 

As with everything, preparation is the key to a professional looking job

I decided to use a paint manufactured by Foliatec, this is a 2 part paint (paint and hardener) it is also supplied with a spray cleaner that removes brake dust.

It is best to start with a bowl of soapy water and give everything a clean with a small brush removing as much brake dust as possible, this is best done the night before so everything has time to dry, ready for the next day.

Looking at the front caliper you will notice that there is a casting line or ridge of metal that needs to be removed to achieve a nice looking finish.

You can see this casting line in the photos above left, this can be removed quite easily with a fine file, you can clearly see the line removed in the photos on the left.

It is best to give the calipers and surrounding areas a vacuum to remover any fillings.

The brake calipers and surrounding areas can now be cleaned with the spray cleaner supplied with the caliper paint. Simply spray liberally over the area and allow to dry, this usually is fairly instant.  

While I was preparing the calipers etc I thought it would be a good idea to give the brake ducts a coat of paint as these too can look unsightly.

Very little preparation was needed for these just a quick rub down and clean

It was then masked very carefully with newspaper, it is also a good idea to cover the car with a dust sheet to protect from any over spray. 

As with all spraying it is better to do several light coats rather than try to cover the area in one coat.

For the brake ducts I used a tin of high temperature black paint.

Once the paint is dry (probably about 1 hour) all the news paper etc can be removed.

The hubs and calipers can now be painted.

The hubs (centre of discs) and the edge of the calipers can now be painted, to do this I used a tin of Silver/Grey Hammerite, although High temperature paint can be used especially if the car is used for track events.

Using a small paint brush gradually work the paint into the edge of the disc, although any paint on the actual disc will come off when the brakes are applied it is advisable to try to avoid getting excess amounts on the disc.

The center hub can be painted in the same way

It is then best left overnight before attempting to paint the calipers.

The calipers can now be painted, this is the most difficult part.

I used Fiolatec's caliper paint, this is a 2 part paint which creates a chemical reaction making a very durable and hard paint.

You will need a couple of paint brushes, one for general areas and one modelling paint brush for the very hard to reach areas, start by mixing the paint as per manufacturers instructions and gently start applying the paint with the very small brush in all the hard to reach areas, when you then apply the paint to all the main areas you do not have to pay so much attention to cutting in.

Using the larger paint brush apply the paint to the main areas, this can be applied quite liberally as the paint does not run that easy.

When you have completed the above procedure leave the caliper to dry for about 10 minutes and then apply a second coat.

Points to be aware of   

Only mix enough of the brake caliper paint to do one caliper as the paint will only last for about 30mins to 1 hour before it starts setting after which time the paint will be unusable.    

Below you can see the end results which I think you will agree are a great improvement