you can paint them while they are on. Or if you want to do a whole flush of the brake system before auto X season is here you could take them all off. It is a cheap under 100 buck mod IIRC. Just do not plan anything for the whole day.

 

Calipers need to be taken off to do that right, or else it will look ricer Honda style. Powder coat is the way to go. Plus if you go that route you will end up having to do a caliper rebuild anyways which will ensure even consistent braking.

 

i think it's like $40'ish for the caliper paint....and then whatever labor they charge to do it for you. hmm......i wonder if this is a job for the silversurfer? do you guys know if bens shop does this?

 

There have been MANY MANY people that have done a very nice job painting while on. Look under the Pedros garage site. If you take the precautionary steps and time you can do it while on. That being said I would have mine powder coated.

BTW Jody David has a powder coat guy to use. PM him he is in FL now but will be back soon.

 

Wiki on painting Boxster Calipers. Yea I do know everything....


http://boxster.wikia.com/wiki/Brake_...rs%2C_Painting

 

I copied and pasted this from PPBB and give CoryNJ all the credit!

First of all, the disclaimer. If you are not comfortable working on your brakes do not attempt this as you will be working on and around a very important part of your car, the brake calipers.
Second part. You get what you pay for. I used the G2 brake caliper set from performance products. This kit is great and leaves no brush marks. It was about $50 bucks.
Next I used the prospeedmotorsport hi-temp caliper decals(see link). These are used by prospeed motorsport when they rebuild porsche calipers. I also used Krylon acrylic clear(non yellowing) spray paint as recommended by prospeed motosport to protect the decals.
So here's my material list.
-G2 brake caliper kit (in black for my case) $50
-2 pairs of prospeed motorsport's porsche caliper decals $40(I bought 4 pair just in case)
-1 can Krylon Acrylic clear, non yellowing spray paint $4
-1 can of laquer thinner(to clean the supplied G2 brush, even though the brush looks like a cheap 1.49 for a pack of four brushes it's not I tried them and they kept leaving brissles in the paint I had to pick out, so I cleaned the included brush between wheels). $3
-Masking tape (2-3" wide, easy release) The blue stuff $7
-Wire brush $3
-3 extra cans of brake cleaner(non clorinated) $12
-jack stands $20
-Wheel Chock $6
-bag of terry cloth towels $15
-goggles $5
-1 bag of rubber/surgical gloves $5
-floor jack $50-500 you choose
-1/2 torque wrench set to 130nm(96ft/lbs) $60
-19mm socket 1/2 $?
-5" 1/2 socket extension $?
-1/2 socket wrench $?
-1 glass jar about the size of a baby food jar
-a watch, timer or sundial
-big piece of cardboard to mask the wheel well when you spray the clear
-newspaper to protect the driveway/garage floor
-Patience $priceless
Step 1: Practice, practice, practice. Well what do I mean. The G2 kit is a very similar to technology used in nail polish. When applied correctly the brush marks dissapear as the paint dries and the gloss appears.
Well you may ask how do you practice. You need a volunteer and use a colour similar to the G2 kit you ordered, also use cheap nail polish it will make you better as the cheap polish leaves brush lines when applied poorly. A wife, girlfriend, daughter or if you are so inclined, your self, will do( Our female boxster owners have no excuse for not having perfectly manicured boxster calipers).
Also go look at another porsche who's calipers are painted by the factory(i.e. neighbor's, dealer's or your other car if you are so lucky)
Step 2: Set the parking brake, insert the wheel chocks on the opposite side you will be working on. Remove the "lug bolt" key from the front trunk storage, you will need this on one special lug bolt per wheel. Then start jacking up the car on one side, but before the tires completly leave the ground, break loose using the 19mm socket(side note:Mine's rubber coated on the outside to prevent scratching the rim, not necessary but prevents accidents) the lug nuts on one side of the car. Remember to use the star pattern to remove the torque evenly
Step 3: Finish jacking up that side of the car, use the recommended rear jack point and place a jack under the front point and under a support bracket in the back and lowered the car on the stands(never support the car for an extended period of time on a jack alone.) Leave the jack in place as an extra measure of safety.
Step 4: Using the 1/2 socket wrench and your 19mm socket finish removing(using the star pattern) the lug bolts from the front rim and remove it. Put the rim out of the way for now. Repeat for the rear rim on that side.
Step 5: Check everything is secure (i.e. jack stands.)
Step 6: Put on your goggles, learned this one the hard way, brake cleaner is not fun to get splattered in your eyes. Also put on the rubber gloves, don't want to ruin the nice manacure you put on in step 1. Also put the newspaper under the wheels.
Step 7: Start with short bursts and spray and wet down one caliper with the brake cleaner(clean only one caliper at a time) Using the wire brush, scrub the caliper constantly wetting it down in the area you are working. Note: This is the most important part, nothing should come between your caliper and the paint. The using the terry cloth towels, rub the caliper until there is no risidual dirt or dust. You must clean every part of the caliper that will accept paint. Note: You will not be painting the brake pads, so don't scrub them)
Step 8: Repeat step 7 on the same caliper
Step 9: Repeat step 7 & 8 on the other caliper.
Step 10: Spray the calipers both down again and wipe with a clean terry cloth towel to veryify they are clean. You may remove the goggles and put on clean rubber gloves.
Step 11: Masking time for both calipers. Use the maksing tape to cover the parts of the rotor that are near the caliper, the brake pads and anything else you don't want to paint. Also I popped off the brake bleeder screw's rubber covers and masked the tip of the screws and was just careful not to paint the rubber.
Step 12: Mix 1/2 of the supplied paint with 1/2 of the supplied reactor in the glass jar( The other half will be used for the other side), note this stuff hardends really quick and if the temperature outside is in excess of 70 degrees you will need to mix 1/4 and 1/4 of the paint/hardener and only work on one caliper at a time and also use a new jar each mix.
Step 13: Stir for about 1 minute and then let sit for 5 minutes then stir again for 1 minute. The paint will bubble during this process it's ok.
Step 14: Apply using the supplied brush, the paint smoothly in long even strokes all the visible areas caliper using a thin, but covering amount of paint. You should remember to paint the tube that runs at the bottom of the caliper from one side to the other (the factory ones are painted). Brush out any drips, Then wait 15 minutes, stirring the paint every 5 minutes if you are doing one caliper at a time.
If you are doing 2 at a time, note the time you completed this task and paint the second caliper as in step 14. Note the time you completed the other caliper. If the 15 minutes are up proceed to the next step.
Step 15: The second coat, this should be a good covering coat with just enough paint to cover the caliper, but not enough to drip. Smooth out any bubbles and short brush strokes. The brush strokes will dissappear as the paint dries if you use long smooth strokes. If it is time, you may now repeat this step for the other caliper.
Step 16: Wait another 15-20 minutes and apply the 3rd coat to each caliper.
Step 17: Clean the supplied brush with laquer thinner(you'll need it for the other side of the car) and Wait 2-3 hours for the paint to cure (2 hours in 70 degree weather, 3 in 60 degree weather) Trust me I know it was 60 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon.
Step 18: Being very careful, there is no second chance at this, center and apply the porsche decal. It was very helpful the paint was so glossy as the reflection helped me guide it decal on. Note: The porsche should be read upright if the caliper is placed on it's rotor accepting slot. Note: it may leave a small line on the caliper around where the sticker decal application paper was. This is fine as the clear spray will smooth this out.
Step 19: Note: at this step the caliper's look great and are very shiny. However to protect the caliper decals and to give them a more factory and less boy racer look, I applied, as recommended, for the Krylon clear paint. I first used the carboard to mask off the wheel well(I just held it in place) and then just using a light spray 10"-12" from the caliper I just sprayed enough to cover the surface of the caliper where the decal is with a light coat. I waited 15 minutes and repeated the step.
Wait 15 minutes and the caliper is now done and should have a professional glossy satin look, almost like the caliper is coated in a glossy rubber.
Step 20: repeat for the other caliper
Step 21: Re-install the rims one at a time(you will need to be careful not scratch the caliper paint, first put the rim on the rotor's hub lip that holds it, put one bolt in to align it and hand tighten the lug bolts using the star pattern)
Step 22: Jack the car up so that the weight is no longer supported by the jack stands and remove the jack stands out of the way.
Step 23: Lower the car slowly until just enough pressure is on the front tire to prevent it from moving.
Step 24: Using the torque wrench set to 130nm and the star pattern, tighten the lug bolts on each rim until you hear the "click"
Step 25: Lower the jack completely and remove it.
Step 26: Do not touch or do anything with the newly painted calipers(i.e. use them, wash them or anything like driving the car) for 24 hours. You may however repeat everything for the other side of the car right away.
Step 27: 24 hours later, gawk at your handy work, smile and drive the car brakes hard for about 15 minutes to remove any paint that may have gotten where it should. And what I mean by hard is do 30mph and slamm on the brakes a few times. The do 50 and do the same. Please be aware of what is in front and behind you when you do this as for the first couple of times you may either brake faster or slower than you are used to so please only do this on empty roads.
After 15 minutes, let the calipers cool down. I then washed my whole car, but was careful not to hit the calipers with a full on blast of the hose just yet.
And that's it. One whole day's worth of work. Now for a day at the spa to go with my manicure...

 

josh,

is it mike z?

oh you don't want me to paint my own! it'll look like a preschooler did it! hehe!

i'll have to get in touch w/ david's guy!

 

No not Mike Z he can do the rebuild and all the work but not the guy I had in mind.

 

You beat me to it, but you know....ladies first

 

^^^lol! okay....we'll see. perhaps this spring i'll swap them out, take pics, and post them. but no matter how bad they look compared to the silver ones....just say that you love them!! hahaha!

 

more pics of black wheels on silver boxsters please.
preferably with no lip. monoblock is the future.

 

Not quite silver:

 

 

great pictures! thanks you guys! you've been most helpful!

i think i may do the switch over this spring!

 

any comments on switching to black twists on my box.
would be selling the fiskes
am i on crack? i dunno know why but i like black rims and there are pretty much none available in boxster offsets and sizes that are monobloc no lip. any suggestions??


here's a chop with black twists


as the car is now.