Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/622021
January / February 2016 20 For this issue, I'm going to cover how to repaint both your calipers and rotor hubs. Let's say you've just washed and waxed your car and it really looks good; then you decide to go that extra mile and thoroughly clean your wheels and tires for that showroom look. Later, after spending many hours on your car, you stand back to check out how great it looks and it is a beautiful piece of machinery. Except now something looks out of place. It's that chalky faded paint on your calipers and those rusty rotors showing through the spokes of your wheels. Those ugly calipers and hubs just don't look as good as the rest of your car. Since cleaning and waxing won't bring back the factory finish, what do you do? The solution can be anything from removing and powder coating your calipers to just repainting them on the car. If you want to powder coat them, it's better to let a professional remove and refinish them. In this article, I'm going to show you how to do it yourself leaving them on the car. I painted my calipers back in 2011 and they still look new. 1. To start, you will need to get a plastic body bag for your car. You can get these at most auto parts stores that have painting supplies. These bags are thin plastic, so they won't damage the finish, but will keep any overspray from getting on your car. 2. Ideally, you will do this in a garage so cover your floor with drop cloths before driving your car in. Overspray can get on everything so don't leave any cars in the garage and throw drop cloths over anything you don't want paint on. NOTE: Remember; to get a quality paint job, most of the work is in the preparation. 3. Depending on how long you want to tie up your garage, you can either do all the calipers at a time or just one side at a time. I start by jacking up one side of the car using two floor jacks. Remove the two wheels. 4. Before starting on the prep, get out your camera and take a picture of both the front and back calipers. You do this so you can place the new Porsche script back in the same place. 5. Take a razor blade and remove the Porsche script. Clean the calipers thoroughly and then lightly scuff them with 200 grit sandpaper. Do the same on the rotor hubs. 6. The plastic bag over the car should come down below the car's body. Line up the bag across the center of the hub and cut it from the bottom to just above the disc. THE CLEAN CORNER By Spencer Cochran Taking Detailing To The Extreme CALIPERS