Painting Calipers Cyber Green

[Zendrumdude]

Hey Everyone,

First off, I'd like to thank several NBers who helped me research before doing this job. I wanted to share how this went. I was looking for a tutorial post like this before I started, so maybe this will help the next caliper customizer! Disclaimer: I am not an expert- this is my first caliper painting experience. Despite my inexperience, it went well, and I am pleased with the outcome. See below for more pics.



Since getting new (to me!) wheels from another NB member, those old corroded calipers were looking pretty nasty. The way my car looks, I either wanted Cyber Green or black. I figured you wouldn't really even see them if they were painted black, so I decided to go for the green. But, of course there's no such thing as CG caliper paint.

I had read that you can use engine enamel for the calipers (it's rated to 500F), and that some folks have sprayed the paint into a jar for brush-on application. I decided to make my own custom Cyber Green paint.

I painted a million models when I was a kid, so color mixing is familiar territory for me. I bought Duplicolor Engine Enamel in 3 colors: Grabber Green, White, and Beige. I then mixed them by spraying into an 8-oz. jar (I ended up with about 5 oz. total, and used over half of that). The color is pretty close, but not exact of course (see pics). I was experimenting and testing the whole time, so I don't have an exact measurement of the mix. However, this is an estimate of the mixture:

5 parts white
4 parts green
1 part beige

If you do this, I'd advise starting with half the total amount of paint you want to end up with in white, then adding green until it's the right intensity, and then lastly adding the beige to "tame" the neon look of the Grabber Green.

Here's the process I used. It took me about an hour and a half per side (thanks to others for the advice here!)

Shopping list: (I spent around $30)
-Duplicolor caliper cleaner
-Brass brush (like a toothbrush with brass bristles)
-Steel wool
-Cheap natural hair paintbrushes (I used 2)
-Jar (with lid) for mixing
-Paint (I used Duplicolor Engine Enamel in the 3 colors listed above)
-Stir sticks (I stole mine form Starbuck's)
-Rubber gloves (wear while mixing- spraying into a jar yields a lot of overspray)

Process:
-Jack up and remove both wheels on one side (park so the side you're working on is out of the sun)
-Pry off the anti-rattle spring clip on front caliper
-Clean the calipers with a brass brush and Duplicolor Caliper Cleaner
-Brush on a thin to medium coat of paint with a natural hair brush on both calipers (stir paint often!)
-Brush on a second thicker coat on both calipers in the same order (the time spent painting the second caliper will allow the first coat to set on the first caliper)
-Use steel wool to polish the spring clip
-Wait an hour or more to dry, then replace the spring clip (have the paint handy; you'll probably scratch it a little while reattaching the clip)
-Carefully replace the wheels
-Ready for use 3 hours after painting

Good luck!

Jer

[akasha1963]

Pretty dang awesome!

[Zendrumdude]

Thanks so much, Akasha!

[hyakugojyuuichi]

I love it!

[marvins_dad]

Cool!
Love the solution on the color, really creative!
I was able to gimp out and go yellow because of the yellow I have in my paint scheme.

[VDub Dan-O]

Put the wheel on and let's see it together!!


BTW, I'm just saying, but it's pretty awesome that you set it up on stands while working.
I can't tell you how often I see cars just on a jack or even a cinder block.

[Zendrumdude]

Originally Posted by VDub Dan-O

BTW, I'm just saying, but it's pretty awesome that you set it up on stands while working.
I can't tell you how often I see cars just on a jack or even a cinder block.

Oh yeah man, no way I'm anywhere near underneath it with the crappy emergency jack...

Once when I was in college I got a flat on an uneven area of the street. When I got it jacked up and got the wheel off to change to my spare it FELL OVER. I STILL lose sleep over the "what ifs" of that situation! Luckily nothing bad happened, but I'll bet the alignment was off!

Jer

[Zendrumdude]

Originally Posted by marvins_dad

Cool!
Love the solution on the color, really creative!
I was able to gimp out and go yellow because of the yellow I have in my paint scheme.

Coming from you Antoine, I will take that as a BIG compliment... you have probably the coolest Beetle I have ever seen. Marvin ROCKS, man. I hope to do a few more things to mine, and you already have: interior Cyber Green, for one. I love your engine cover too... but the helmet for the speedo bezel surround? GENIUS!!!

Jer

[Zendrumdude]

Originally Posted by VDub Dan-O

Put the wheel on and let's see it together!!

Thanks for the interest Dan-O,

I will be putting up a pic thread when I have done 2-3 more little jobs. Under wraps for now... but should be cool! Nothin' crazy, just fun and simple. (Read: cheap!)

Jer

[Zendrumdude]

As requested, pics with wheels assembled. I know the blue details on the wheels don't go with the theme... I have ordered carbon fiber caps and am shipping the rings to be powdercoated black tomorrow.

Jer

[marvins_dad]

Nice! Like that the wheels really show them off!

Since my arm rests are falling I'm looking into green ultrasuede to replace my dyed panels...and I also have a head liner to replace next year before Roswell as well. These beetles are starting to show their age, no matter how pampered they are.

[VA bugn]

That Rocks!! Thanks for the color breakdown! The cyberbilities are endless it seems.